Cacciucco

Cacciucco (Italian pronunciation: [katˈtʃukko]) is an Italian fish stew native to the western coastal towns of Tuscany and Liguria. It is especially associated with the port city of Livorno in Tuscany and the town of Viareggio to the north.

It is a hearty stew consisting of several different types of fish and shellfish. According to one tradition, there should be five different types of fish in the soup, one for each letter c in cacciucco. A wide variety of Mediterranean fish and shellfish may be used, such as red gurnard,armored gurnard,scorpionfish (scorfano), small clams such as littleneck or manila, firm-fleshed fish such as monkfish or other whitefish, red snapper, John Dory, or grouper,mussels,shrimp, and calamari. Traditionalist chefs add a stone taken from the sea to the dish.Crabs, eels, cuttlefish, octopus, bream, mullet, or anything else caught that day might be used.

A wide variety of other ingredients are used in the broth, including various vegetables (which might include onions, tomatoes, leeks, zucchini, or yellow squash), spices (which might include garlic, aniseed, dried crushed red pepper, kosher salt, black pepper, parsley, thyme, or bay leaf) and other ingredients (which might include fish stock, tomato paste, vermouth, or wine, either white or red). There are many variants of cacciucco, varying by region and availability of ingredients.