🇮🇹 Italy · Golfo Aranci, Sardinia
Golfo Aranci fish soup
The old fishermen's fish soup of Golfo Aranci, cooked on the boat with the day's catch: cuttlefish as the only base, firmer fish (scorpionfish, gurnard) first, then tender ones such as red mullet, in a tomato broth; no mussels, molluscs or crustaceans, and not sieved.
Origin and history
Golfo Aranci, a fishing village in north-east Sardinia that became a municipality only in 1979, has its own fish soup. It was first cooked on the fishing boats with the unsellable part of the catch, and its method passed from fisherman to fisherman; the Fasolino family is regarded as keeper of the recipe. Local reports say it is recognised by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina, and the village celebrates it each June with a fish soup festival.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 4–6 servings
- Total time
- 1 h 30 min
- Hands-on
- 45 min
Ingredients
- 600 g1.3 lb cuttlefish (seppie), cleaned, cut in strips
- 2 kg4.4 lb whole soup fish from the day's catch: red scorpionfish (scorfano), gurnard (cappone), stargazer (pesce prete), weever (tracina), John Dory (San Pietro) and red mullet (triglia), scaled and gutted, left on the bone; large fish cut in thick pieces with the heads kept
- 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2–3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 small dried chilli (peperoncino), crumbled, to taste
- 150 ml2/3 cup dry white wine, ideally Vermentino di Gallura
- 1 L4 1/4 cups tomato passata
- 1 tbsp double-concentrated tomato paste
- 500 ml2 cups water
- 1 sprig basil
- 1 handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- salt, to taste
- 8–12 slices Sardinian bread (civraxiu) or country bread, toasted or grilled
Method
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1. Sort the fish by firmness: the tough, bony ones (scorpionfish, gurnard, stargazer, weever) go in first; the tender ones (John Dory, red mullet) last. Salt them lightly.
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2. Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy pan large enough to hold all the fish in one or two layers, add the cuttlefish and the chilli and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
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3. Add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 5 minutes more, until soft and translucent.
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4. Pour in the wine and let it bubble until the smell of alcohol has gone.
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5. Stir in the passata, the tomato paste and the water, add a little salt, bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the cuttlefish is tender and the sauce has a light, brothy body.
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6. Add the basil, then lay in the firm fish, cover and cook over gentle heat for 8–10 minutes.
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7. Add the tender fish on top, cover again and cook for 5–8 minutes more, until the flesh comes away from the bone; do not stir, or the fish will break up. Shake the pan gently instead.
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8. Turn off the heat, scatter with the parsley and leave the soup to rest, covered, for at least 5 minutes so the flavours settle.
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9. Lift the fish carefully into deep plates with the cuttlefish, ladle the broth over and serve with the toasted bread.
Notes
- The soup was born on the fishing boats of Golfo Aranci, where the crews cooked the fish they could not sell, such as those damaged in the nets by octopus or dolphins. Any firm, local Mediterranean rockfish will do; the point is fresh, seasonal, local catch.
- The local rule is strict: cuttlefish only as the base for flavour, then fish. Mussels, clams, other shellfish and crustaceans do not belong in the pot, and it is not sieved into a purée like a passato di pesce or made into a cacciucco. Some family versions add a few small crabs to the base, and restaurant versions with prawns and clams exist, but locals do not consider them the traditional soup.
- The fish is served on the bone, as on the boats; warn your guests, or fillet the fish at the table.
- Outside the Mediterranean, use a mix of firm white fish with bones and heads (gurnard, monkfish, red snapper, sea bream) and squid if there is no cuttlefish; the flavour will be milder without scorpionfish.
- Restaurants in Golfo Aranci serve it with toasted crostini or with civraxiu, the large Sardinian semolina loaf, grilled over embers. It is best eaten the day it is made.
Adapted from MangiaeBevi: Golfo Aranci, al via il festival della zuppa di pesce (Fasolino family recipe) and La Nuova Sardegna: A Golfo Aranci l'antica ricetta della zuppa di pesce.
At the festivals
Served at 1 festival in Italy.
Earlier editions
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June 01, 2021 – June 06, 2021
🇮🇹 Golfo Aranci, Italy
Festival della Zuppa di Pesce di Golfo Aranci
On the menu as Zuppa di pesce golfoarancina
By Participating restaurants of Golfo Aranci