It’s an incredibly simple yet satisfying soup that just requires a variety and abundance of fresh seafood. I have featured it before, here, here and here (a loose recipe and method included). The beauty of the dish, if you aren’t too anal about it, is that is varies just ever so slightly every time you make it, based on the ingredients you have on hand. It is true to its roots, supposedly what Italian fishermen in San Francisco cooked up when they got back to the dock after a day out at sea.
This dish, along with chili crabs, is fast becoming the “signature dishes” of a stay at the Marketman family home by the beach. A cool gentle evening breeze, a glass of wine, a warm/hot soup, lots of toasted or crusty bread and a salad on the side.
For this version, I sauteed garlic, onions, cherry tomatoes and some sliced chilies. Added some wine, then bottled passata (Italian tomato sauce) and some homemade fish stock. Seasoned to tasted and added the seafood…
…which included a rather large curacha, some slices of tanguigue, two types of prawns/shrimp, some blue crabs and lots of squid.
I almost always think we don’t have enough food for a crowd, but inevitably cook too much. :)
From the large platter, guests could pick and choose their preferred types of seafood, add a little broth, take a piece of bread, and settle down to a hearty dinner. Great fare during a week with mostly seafood on the menu… :)
8 Responses
“I almost always think we don’t have enough food for a crowd, but inevitably cook too much”….my husband tells me i always cook too much when we have guests, but i always say better leftovers than hungry tummies. love your recipe MM..simple and straightforward. and yes, it looks like it’s for a hungry crowd!
You are like my Mom who always cooks too much and there is plenty of leftovers. I am the opposite I cook just enough so most of the time everyone is craving for more, sadly there is no more to serve.
simple, yet satisfying..love colorful food!
are those curachas? are they available in batangas? the first time my husband and i ate curachas was in zamboanga. we liked them soooo much that we bought 20 kls home, asked our hostess to steam them before our flight.
I can already imagine how this spread would taste. There is always left-over food for us, specially those cooked with vinegar. Food always tastes better after “curing” …
Mouthwatering photos! Reminds me of the French Bouillabaisse.
Reading your posts has inspired me to cook again, even if I technically live alone. I hope one day I can duplicate this dish at home, with guests of course
This was for Holy week?……would love to be your guest during Holy week! he!he!he!