A terrific benefit of having all of you out there reading making SundaySauce… is that when I need a recipe that is not in my arsenal, I can really count on you to come through. I was entertaining, just three days after an oral surgery that made chewing about as much fun as…well…having your wisdom teeth pulled. The evening’s guests, who are always really flexible about whatever I cook, I know prefer fish. So, I needed something pescatarian, soft, easy and not too spicy. My idea was bouillabaisse but I wasn’t in possession of a recipe I had tried and really loved. I was tired, drugged and achy, so, I reached out and back came a wonderfully flavorful, non-pain inducing Tuscan seafood stew recipe, or Cacciucco that was the perfect prescription for my dinner mates and my aching jawbone. Little fuss, less chewing, no leftovers. I guess we hit a home run..oh wait…right…no more baseball metaphors for a while…sorry…we really succeeded on many levels…boring…we whacked it out of the park.
Cacciucco
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped sage
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, more to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 lb squid, cut into 1 ” pieces
3/4 lb baby octopus, cut into 1 ” pieces
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 c dry white wine
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
kosher salt and pepper to taste
1 c fish stock
1 lb monkfish, cut into 2 ” pieces
1 lb red snapper, cut into 2 ” pieces
3/4 lb large shrimp
3/4 lb mussels, scrubbed and debearded
serve with crusty bread
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the chopped parsley, sage, red pepper flakes and garlic and cook about 1 minutre. Add squid and octopus and cook until opaque, about 4 minutes. Add tomato paste, cook additional 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring often or until liquid has mostly evaporated, about 20 min.
2. Add tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, stirring occasionally until octopus and squid are tender, about 10 minutes. Add monkfish and cook, covered about 5 minutes. Add snapper, then shrimp and mussels, give one careful stir so as not to break up the fish, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Mussels should be widly opened when stew is done.
3. Toast country bread after rubbing with a cut half of garlic. Serve with stew.
