Let’s discover the world inside the brodetto alla vastese

Typical of Abruzzo, the brodetto alla vastese contains the flavors of the sea and the earth. Here's how to prepare it with the original recipe.

Brodetto alla vastese is not a simple fish soup. In fact, more than two centuries of history and peasant wisdom are kept inside. Also known with the dialectal term lu vrudàtte , it was created to reuse the smaller and unsold fish brought home by fishermen in the typical scafetta . The recipe for fish soup Vastese is now strictly codified and includes both fish and vegetables.

The mezzatempo tomato (that is, the Florentine ribbed tomato) together with pepper, chilli pepper, parsley and garlic represent the vegetable part of the dish, introduced by the housewives to make it even tastier. As far as fish is concerned, gurnard, scorpion fish, skate, cuttlefish, sole, monkfish, sea cicada, weever, red mullet, cod are inevitable, while mussels and clams can be added at discretion. There are a few rules to follow in order to prepare a perfect Vastese fish soup: the first is never to cut the fish (except for the larger ones that just won't fit into the pan), the second involves using an earthenware pan and finally the last and perhaps most important… i.e. never mix. Ready to get to the stove?

How to prepare the recipe for brodetto alla vastese

1. First, clean the fish by gutting it and removing the scales. You can also ask the fishmonger to prepare the fish already cleaned for you.
2. In an earthenware pan , brown the garlic, oil and pepper chopped with a knife.
3. Then add the pepper and tomato washed and cut into chunks of about one centimetre.
4. Also add a pinch of salt and cook for 20 minutes .
5. The time has come to add the fish in order of cooking , bearing in mind that the total time should be 15-20 minutes so that they don't overcook. Start with the cicadas, continue with cuttlefish, monkfish, weever, red mullet, sole and cod fillets (of necessity). Lastly, add the prawns and, at your discretion, mussels and clams.
6. When cooked, serve the brodetto with toasted bread croutons seasoned with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Staying on the subject of fish soups, we advise you to also try the more northern version of the one we have just proposed, i.e. the brodetto alla fanese .

storage

Like all fish recipes, it is always best to avoid keeping them for too long. Consume the fish broth within one, maximum two days , heating it in a pan. We do not recommend freezing in the freezer.

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