P
Italian · Vasto, Abruzzo
Brodetto di Pesce alla Vastese con Peperoni Dolci
Vasto's fish stew is distinguished from all other Adriatic brodetti by one irreplaceable ingredient: sweet bell peppers (peperoni dolci) cooked into the base — not as garnish but as a structural flavour component. A soffritto of olive oil, onion and garlic is built, then sliced sweet peppers are cooked until completely soft and beginning to caramelise. White wine deglazes, followed by crushed tomatoes. The fish is added in sequence by cooking time — first firm-fleshed cuttlefish or squid, then monkfish or bream, then clams and mussels added last. The stew simmers uncovered over medium heat, each fish type added at precisely the right moment. No bread thickening, no cream — the sweet pepper caramelisation and reduced fish juices provide all the body.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the soffritto and base
80 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
Your own market
1 medium
onion
finely sliced
Your own market
3 cloves
garlic
finely sliced
Your own market
3 large
sweet bell peppers (peperoni dolci)
seeded, sliced into strips
Your own market
200 ml
dry white wine
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
400 g
crushed tomatoes
Origin · ItalyBosa Foods · Vancouver →
For the fish
300 g
cuttlefish or squid
cleaned, cut into rings or pieces
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
300 g
monkfish or bream fillet
cut into large pieces
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
300 g
clams
scrubbed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
300 g
mussels
scrubbed and debearded
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
To finish
30 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
raw, for drizzling
Your own market
1 small bunch
flat-leaf parsley
leaves torn
Your own market
to taste
fine sea salt
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Warm the 80 ml of olive oil in a wide, heavy-based pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is completely translucent and softened — sight: the edges of the onion begin to colour.
2
Add the sliced sweet peppers to the pan. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the peppers are entirely soft and their edges have begun to caramelise into the oil. This is where the dish lives or dies: the caramelisation of the peppers is the irreplaceable flavour foundation of the Vastese brodetto — without it the stew lacks all structural sweetness and depth. Sight: the pepper strips are collapsed, golden at the edges, and the oil in the pan has taken on a faint amber tint.
3
Pour in the white wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up any caramelised deposits from the base. Allow the wine to reduce by roughly half. Smell: the sharp alcohol note gives way to a rounded, fruity acidity.
4
Add the crushed tomatoes. Stir to combine with the pepper base and bring to a steady simmer. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes to allow the tomato acidity to mellow into the base. Sight: the surface shows a gentle, even bubble; the sauce has deepened in colour.
5
Add the cuttlefish or squid pieces to the simmering base. Maintain a steady simmer — not a boil — and cook uncovered until the cuttlefish is beginning to turn tender. Touch: a piece pressed gently with a spoon offers slight but not hard resistance.
6
Add the monkfish or bream pieces, nestling them into the stew. Do not stir; prod gently with a wooden spoon only if necessary. Cook uncovered at a steady simmer until the white fish is just opaque through. Sight: the flesh has turned from translucent to uniformly white at its thickest point.
7
Add the clams and mussels. Cover the pan only at this stage to trap steam. Cook for 3–4 minutes until all shells have opened. Discard any that remain closed. Sound: the popping and clicking of opening shells subsides, indicating the batch is done.
8
Remove the pan from the heat. Rest the stew uncovered for 5 minutes so the fish relaxes. Drizzle with raw olive oil, scatter torn flat-leaf parsley over the surface, and season with fine sea salt. Taste: the finish should carry sweet caramelised pepper as the bass note beneath briny shellfish and tomato acidity, with the raw oil rounding the back palate.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Freshly caught mixed Adriatic fish — live clams and mussels, whole cuttlefish cleaned to order, day-boat monkfish tail — with sweet red peppers from Vasto's own market at peak summer ripeness and a single-estate Trebbiano d'Abruzzo for deglazing.
02
Estate — Day-fresh fish from a trusted fishmonger, with live bivalves and good sweet red or yellow bell peppers purchased at a farmers' market; a clean, dry Verdicchio or Trebbiano used in the base.
03
Market — Good-quality fresh mixed fish from a supermarket fish counter — cuttlefish from frozen is acceptable if thawed overnight — with firm, ripe supermarket bell peppers and a dry, unoaked white wine of reasonable acidity.
04
House — Frozen mixed seafood pack, canned crushed tomatoes, standard supermarket bell peppers, and a neutral dry white wine; the caramelisation step remains mandatory regardless of ingredient grade.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. Pepper strips are fully collapsed and their edges have bronzed; the oil in the pan carries a faint amber tint before any liquid is added.
◇Smell. After the wine is added, the sharp raw-alcohol note resolves into rounded, fruity acidity as the wine reduces by half.
◇Touch. Cuttlefish pieces pressed gently with a spoon yield with slight, not hard, resistance when ready to receive the white fish.
◇Sight. White fish flesh has turned uniformly opaque at its thickest point — no translucency remains at the centre.
◇Sound. The audible popping and clicking of opening shells has ceased, signalling the clams and mussels are done.
◇Where it lives or dies. The sweet peppers must be cooked to full softness and the onset of caramelisation before any liquid enters the pan — this step alone gives the Vastese brodetto its structural sweetness and distinguishes it from every other Adriatic brodetto.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Wine
From British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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