When you’re making a fish soup, the broth is everything. There’s always good fish soup on the Amalfi Coast, where each town has a slightly different version. This is my own Hell’s Kitchen version, intensely flavorful and complex—this is not zuppa for the faint of heart.
I use the sweeter imported canned tomatoes with the DOC label on them. (In 1955, Italy enacted DOC laws to safeguard the names, characteristics, and origins of certain Italian foods.) Don’t be afraid to use oilier fish in your zuppe, like mackerel and monkfish, which lend tons of flavor. If you use shrimp, leave them in the shell or else they’ll dry out. The anise liqueur adds an interesting licorice flavor. Prepare the broth the day before, to make it easier on yourself, and to allow the broth’s flavor to intensify.–David Pasternack and Ed Levine
LC Italian Style Note
While this seafood soup recipe is a classic, it’s eminently variable and can accommodate any manner of shellfish, such as mussels or clams, as well as the addition of olives or the substitution—within reason—of various aromatics and spirits. We consider this approach to cooking Italian style.
Seafood Soup Amalfi-Style
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus high-quality extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 fennel bulb coarsely chopped
- 1 small leek washed well and coarsely chopped
- 1 stalk celery coarsely chopped
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 fresh Roma or canned San Marzano tomatoes halved
- 3 cups canned San Marzano tomatoes and their juice
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup Ricard (or other anise liqueur)
- 2 sprigs parsley
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 2 pounds fish bones cleaned
- 1 pound assorted fresh fish fillets (cod, bass, flounder, salmon, grouper, cut into 2-inch pieces)
- Chopped parsley for garnish
Directions
- Heat the 1/4 cup olive oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Add the garlic, fennel, leek, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are translucent, 7 to 10 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add the fresh tomatoes and continue cooking until they begin to break down, about 10 minutes.
- Add the canned tomatoes and their juice, wine, Ricard, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil over a high flame, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the tomatoes have broken down substantially, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently throughout.
- Add the fish bones and enough water so that the bones are covered. Stir while the stock simmers for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve. Let cool, then refrigerate for up to 2 days.
- Before using, skim the surface of any impurities that rise to the top.
- Reheat the zuppa in a stock pot over a medium flame until gently simmering. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the fish pieces and cook for about 6 minutes; the fish should be well cooked and flaky. Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Add the chopped parsley just before serving, and drizzle with a high-quality extra-virgin olive oil.
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Originally published February 18, 2010
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What can I substitute for the fish bones? Thank you.
Diane, for this, there really isn’t anything. If you can find fish stock (this is my favorite brand), that would definitely help. But the bones are what make up the (forgive the pun) backbone of the soup.
Where is the shellfish pictured? It’s not in the recipe???
Boomdog02, the note above the recipe mentions that clams, mussels, and olives can be added to the fish soup. The author, David Pasternack, for whatever reason, chose not to include it in the recipe.
If you’d like to include shellfish, add them at the beginning of step 5. Cover the pot until they open, 5 to 8 minutes. Then add the fish.
Heavenly! What was amazing about the recipe was that it was all inclusive and could be done in under 2 hours. I had just gotten started and then Voila! I was done…
and the taste…luxurious…
I was glad not to skimp on purchasing the Ricard (I purchased PASTIS Henry Bardouin …same as Pernod another brand- all anise-flavored liqueur from France). I could not find a small bottle but I see now that many recipes use Pernod or its equivalent so I am pleased to have it among my Kitchen Supplies. I got the fish bones from my local Fish Market along with a variety of Fish- I took David Pasternak’s advice: …and substituted oily fish Mackeral, Shrimp Mussels and Vongole Clams (those baby clams). A real crowd pleaser! Thank you. Maggie
Your very welcome, Maggie. We couldn’t agree more on the necessity of the anise-flavored liqueur, whichever brand one chooses. It’s truly must, lending a really lovely undercurrent to seafood dishes. The rest of that bottle will serve you well.
This looks like the perfect slow cooked Sunday meal. I’ve got fish stock already so I think I’m going to use that with the initial tomato simmer and then add the fish.