Brodetto (Italian fish stew)

I was wondering what to do with the wonderful fresh clams I had delivered on Friday and, quite randomly, came across a recipe originating from the Italian province my Grandparents lived in, Ancona. I remember having this for dinner as a child and just had to make a version of it.

I was lucky enough to have a few squid and queen scallops in the freezer, courtesy of The Fish Society. I defrosted these along with some homemade fish stock I cooked up a few weeks ago. I also had some pancetta and dab fillets in the fridge, so I figured that with the clams this would make a pretty decent meal.

For something so tasty it really doesn't take a lot of effort. A bit of chopping: garlic (I used wet garlic because I'm lucky enough to have had some in my veg box this week), onion, celery, chilli and carrot. And then straight into the cooking part...


I heated up some olive oil in a big pan and added the garlic and chilli, a few moments later the pancetta, celery and onion went in and, on not too high a heat, cooked almost through. Then the carrots and a glass of white wine, letting it sizzle until almost (but not quite!) evaporated. Then a tin of plum tomatoes, chopped up a bit with scissors, and some tomato puree. I let that cook for a bit and then added the stock, about a pint, a handful of chopped parsley and a shot of vodka (once again I must say please trust me on this... the vodka works).


I left that to bubble away for a good twenty minutes to reduce before adding the squid, scallops, dab fillets, clams and a huge handful of fresh basil. It was only few minutes before they were cooked, ready to be served in giant bowls with freshly sliced homemade bread - perfect for scooping up all of the lovely sauce.