Cacciucco - typical fish stew from Livorno, Italy

Hey Food lovers,

I recently visited Livorno, Italy and tried an amazing dish that I wish to share with you.

Have you ever tried Cacciucco? It’s a fish stew typical for the northwest regions of Italy - Tuscany and Liguria. The traditional recipe is with 5 different types of fish (one for each letter ‘c’ in cacciucco). The stew I tried in Livorno is a variation without fishbones and I personally prefer it. You can find it on the menu as a ‘Cacciucco senza lische’.

If you wish to give it a try straight away, I found a recipe in one of my cooking books that I will try preparing at home this weekend:

Cacciucco senza lische (Cacciucco style fish soup without bones)

Ingredients:

350 g octopus, 350 g squid, 300 g prawns, 100 g mussels

400 g peeled tomatoes, 1 tbs tomato paste

1 glass red wine, 4 tbs olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic, 4 sage leaves, salt, pepper, parsley

4 slices toasted bread

Heat 4 tbs of olive oil and sautè the 2 crushed garlic cloves and the sage leaves. If you like spicy food, add some peperoncino. Add the chopped octopus and the squids previously sliced into rings. Pour the wine, cover and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the tomato paste, diluted in a couple of tablespoons of warm water. Leave to cook over a low heat. Then, add a pinch of salt and the tomato pulp. Add a cup of water and simmer for 15-20 minutes. When the octopus and the squid are nearly done, add the prawns and the mussels. Season with salt and pepper, and cook for further 10 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve in bowls, poured over slices of toasted bread.

Buon appetito!

P.S. I slightly changed the recipe to match my taste. But if you prefer richer broth - you can add 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 red pepper, 1 stick of celery. If you wish to have more fish - you can add 300 g dogfish, 300 g rockfish (or monkfish, or tub gurnard), 300 g mullet fish. Make sure you clean the fish before cooking.

One of the best places to try Cacciucco in Livorno is L’Ostricaio - a small fish restaurant located very close to the port on Viale Italia 100. Along the way, you can find other restaurants that offer fine Italian cuisine and amazing sea views along the coast. It is perfect for a walk after lunch or around sunset.

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Hi @adrianaS2

Thank you for this amazing post. The cacciucco looks amazing and actually, I didn’t know that the five C’s in the name symbolizes the five fishes that you can use for the preparation

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Thank you @Sorbe ! A wide variety of fish and shellfish can be used and actually the recipe for Cacciucco changes from city to city and from region to region. The most important is to use fresh products, preferably caught on the same day.

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Hi @adrianaS2 and welcome to Connect.

Wow! Really amazing post! Thanks for sharing it with the community. While I was reading your post I almost imagine myself being at the Italian shore and enjoying that delicious dish.

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Thank you @JavieraAu ! Livorno is well known with seafood specialties and Cacciucco is definitely one of the best in my opinion.

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i like the photo @adrianaS2 and really the recipe is mouth watering , thanks for sharing :slight_smile:

and congrats ur post is one of the best for this week

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@adrianaS2 , what should I say… I love the Etruscan coast!

Thank you for letting me dream about my next summer holiday already now.

Do you join us in Treviso? @AntonellaGr and @ErmesT for sure would be happy as well, in case you make it possible!

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Thank you for the kind words, @OSAMA ! Italy is a really inspiring place and I always take loads of food pictures while I’m there :slight_smile:

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hey @TorM , thank you for the invitation! I won’t be able to join you in Treviso as unfortunately, I am not in Italy at the moment. Hope you guys have fun and enjoy it!

Halo @adrianaS2 terima kasih berbagi informasi dan pengalaman anda tentang ikan tanpa tulang “Cacciucco” :grin::+1::+1:

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Ogni città costiera ha la sua zuppa di pesce. ognuna ha una tradizione ed una storia particolare ma il cacciucco (quello con le 5 C) lo trovi solo a Livorno :wink:

Ciao @Gianne_Mila ,

Benvenuto su Connect! Visto che questo è uno dei tuoi primi commenti, volevo darti il benvenuto ed invitarti a dare un’occhiata alla nostra guida Your guide to Connect. Il post è in inglese ma puoi utilizzare il comodo tasto traduttore che trovi su ogni pagina del forum.

Se vuoi, puoi anche presentarti commentando il nostro post dove ogni mese i nuovi arrivati ci dicono qualcosa su se stessi: Introduce Yourself - November 2020. :slightly_smiling_face: