Italian · Porto San Giorgio, Marche

Brodetto di Porto San Giorgio Marchigiano

Porto San Giorgio's version of the Adriatic fish stew — distinct from the Ancona brodetto in using vinegar in the base and a fixed selection of 13 fish types, one for each apostle and Christ. Each fish type is added in a specific sequence to the pan and cooked in its own section of the pan without stirring — the organisation of fish by type is part of the tradition. Finished with a handful of fresh herbs. The acidity of wine vinegar in the base is what distinguishes Porto San Giorgio's version from its neighbours.

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ServesFour portions

Sourced1of 15 in BC

Cook

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The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

3 tbsp

extra-virgin olive oil

Your own market

3 cloves

garlic

finely sliced

Your own market

1–2

dried red chilli

crumbled

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

120 ml

white wine vinegar

not white wine

Your own market

Fish — firm (first addition)

300 g

scorpionfish

cleaned, gutted

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

300 g

cuttlefish

cleaned, cut into pieces

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

Fish — second addition

200 g

squid

cleaned, cut into rings and tentacles

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

200 g

mantis shrimp

whole, rinsed

Your own market

200 g

sole

cleaned, portioned

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

Fish — delicate (final addition)

300 g

clams

purged in cold salted water

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

300 g

mussels

scrubbed and de-bearded

Not yet stocked in British Columbia

600 g

assorted local Adriatic fish

remaining species to reach 13 types total, cleaned and portioned by firmness

Your own market

To finish

1 handful

fresh flat-leaf parsley

roughly torn, not chopped

Your own market

1 handful

fresh basil

torn at service

Origin · New ZealandPurely Artisan Foods · San Diego →

To serve

4 thick slices

country bread

grilled and brushed with olive oil

Your own market

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

The Method

Select the widest, flattest cooking vessel available — a large terracotta or heavy steel pan of at least 36 cm diameter. Warm the olive oil over a medium flame. Add the garlic and chilli and cook gently until the garlic is pale gold and fragrant but not brown.

Pour in the white wine vinegar. Raise the heat to medium-high and allow it to reduce by half. The sharp acidic vapour softens and the liquid coats the base of the pan with a thin, glossy film — this is the defining base of the Porto San Giorgio brodetto, distinct from every neighbouring version.

Arrange the scorpionfish and cuttlefish in the pan in separate, clearly demarcated sections. Do not stir, now or at any later point. Cook over a moderate flame for 15 minutes. The cuttlefish will firm and turn opaque; the scorpionfish flesh will begin to lift from the bone at its thickest part. The broth released by these two fish forms the flavour base in which all subsequent fish will cook — do not rush this stage.

Add the squid, mantis shrimp, and sole, each in its own clearly defined section of the pan, working around the fish already present. Cover and cook without disturbing. The squid rings will turn opaque and just tender; the sole flesh will be white through to the centre. This is where the dish lives or dies: every fish type must retain its individual identity — a single act of stirring collapses the structure of the dish into an undifferentiated mass.

Arrange the clams, mussels, and the remaining fish varieties — the most delicate species last — into whatever sections remain in the pan. Cover again and cook until the clam and mussel shells have opened fully and the flesh of the most delicate fish is just set. Discard any bivalves that have not opened.

Remove from the heat. Scatter the torn parsley and basil over the surface without folding them in — the herbs are not cooked. Serve immediately from the pan, placing grilled bread in each bowl to absorb the broth.

III

Quality Hierarchy

Reserve — Adriatic fish landed the same morning, sold whole at the quayside at Porto San Giorgio or Fermo — scorpionfish and cuttlefish of market weight, live clams and mussels, wild mantis shrimp still alive; all 13 species sourced from a single day's catch.

Estate — Day-boat Adriatic fish from a reputable fishmonger, purchased whole and cleaned to order; the 13 species may be slightly adjusted to the day's catch without departing from the coastal Adriatic range.

Market — Good-quality mixed fish from a trusted inland market, chilled but not frozen; the 13-species count remains the target, using Mediterranean species of comparable texture where strict Adriatic varieties are unavailable.

House — A reduced selection of widely available species — scorpionfish or gurnard, squid, mussels, clams, and a white-fleshed flatfish — held to the vinegar base and no-stir rule; fewer species, but the method intact.

Sensory Tests

◇Sight. The white wine vinegar has reduced by half and forms a thin, glossy coating on the base of the pan before any fish is added.

◇Sight. The cuttlefish has turned uniformly opaque and firm after 15 minutes; the scorpionfish flesh has begun to separate visibly from the bone at its thickest point.

◇Touch. The sole flesh yields cleanly under the lightest pressure of a spoon and is white through to the centre; the squid rings are tender but hold their shape without resistance.

◇Sight. All clam and mussel shells have opened fully, and no fish section has collapsed into another — each species remains in its own defined area of the pan.

◇Smell. At service, the torn herbs release a fresh green fragrance over the cooked broth, distinct and uncooked — a clear contrast to the deep marine and vinegar base beneath.

◇Where it lives or dies. The dish is decided in the sequenced, section-by-section addition of all 13 fish types without a single stir — every species must arrive at the table distinct in texture and flavour, preserved by order and stillness alone.

V · Cross-Cuisine Parallels

Suquet de peix (Catalan, Spain) — Mediterranean fish stew in which each variety is treated distinctly within a single pot; thickened with a picada rather than built on a vinegar base. Bouillabaisse (Marseille, France) — strict species requirements form part of the dish's identity, and grilled bread is the canonical vehicle for the broth. Caldeirada de peixe (Portugal) — multiple fish species layered and added in sequence according to cooking time, the same structural logic as the Porto San Giorgio brodetto.

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The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.

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What to Pour

A flinty, mineral Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi — its lean acidity and saline mineral character mirror the vinegar base and the Adriatic fish. Serve well chilled.

The whole pairing

VII · Origin & Lineage

Porto San Giorgio, Marche, Adriatic coast. Recorded in La Cucina delle Marche by Dorino Guancini. The dish is one of several distinct brodetti of the Adriatic Marche littoral, each town maintaining its own defining variable — Ancona's version uses white wine; Porto San Giorgio's version substitutes white wine vinegar, producing a sharper, more pronounced acidity. The tradition of 13 fish types — one for each apostle and for Christ — anchors the dish in local devotional culture and gives it a ritual structure that governs both the ingredient list and the organisation of the pan.

Pillar 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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Sourced through Provenance

The hands behind the plate.

Purely Artisan Foods

San Diego · fresh basil

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