Brodetto alla giuliese

Along the Adriatic coast every port has its own brodetto. Giulianova’s, in the province of Teramo, began as a fishermen’s dish: the mixed fish left after the sale was cooked together in a wide, shallow earthenware pan.

The sauce is made with tomato, pepper, garlic, oil and a splash of vinegar, which gives the brodetto its characteristic note. It is brought to the table in the pan, with slices of toasted bread.

• 1.5 kg mixed cleaned fish (scorpion fish, gurnard, monkfish, smooth-hound, small hake)
• 400 g cuttlefish or squid
• 500 g mussels
• 8 mantis shrimps or prawns
• 1 green or red pepper
• 400 g peeled tomatoes or passata
• 3 garlic cloves, parsley
• Half a glass of wine vinegar
• Extra virgin olive oil, salt, chilli
• Toasted country bread

1. Clean the mussels and open them in a covered pan; strain and keep their liquid.
2. In the earthenware pan warm the oil with the garlic and the pepper in strips; when soft add the tomato and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add the cuttlefish in pieces and cook for another 15 minutes, then splash in the vinegar.
4. Arrange the fish, starting with the firmest-fleshed and the largest pieces; add the mussel liquid and a little hot water.
5. Cook over medium heat without stirring, shaking the pan now and then, for 15–20 minutes; add the mantis shrimps and mussels in the last 5 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with parsley and serve in the pan with toasted bread.

• Do not stir the fish with a spoon: it would break. Shake the pan by its handles.
• Ask your fishmonger for «brodetto fish»: they know which varieties are fresh that day.
• Use leftover sauce to dress spaghetti the next day.

We do not have photos of this dish yet: the image is an illustration made for this page.

Giulianova has one of the busiest fishing ports on the Abruzzo coast. Brodetto was born on board the boats and in fishermen’s homes, using the less valuable catch that could not be sold.

Today it is the city’s signature dish, found in almost every restaurant along the seafront and the harbour.