Cacciucco alla Marchigiana con Verdure di Mare

Ingredients

• For the fish brodo
• 500 g fish heads and frames (scorfano or mixed white fish), rinsed
• 1 litre cold water
• For the vegetable base
• 1 medium fennel bulb, finely sliced
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 80 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 150 ml dry white wine, for deglazing
• 400 g tomato passata
• 1 pinch saffron, dissolved in 2 tbsp warm brodo
• For the fish
• 250 g seppie (cuttlefish), cleaned, cut into strips
• 250 g gronco (conger eel) or other firm white fish, cut into portions
• 250 g scorfano (scorpionfish) or other delicate white fish, cut into portions
• 400 g vongole (clams), scrubbed, in their shells
• For serving
• 8 slices stale country bread, cut thickly
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled, halved
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, raw, for finishing

Method

1. 1
   Place the fish heads and frames in a pot with cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 minutes, skimming any foam. Strain through a fine sieve and discard the solids. Dissolve the saffron in 2 tablespoons of the warm brodo and set aside. The brodo is ready when it is clear, pale gold, and smells of the sea without sharpness.
2. 2
   Warm the olive oil in a wide, deep pot over a medium flame. Add the fennel, celery, carrot and onion. Sweat without colouring until the fennel is fully soft and translucent and the mixture smells sweet and aromatic, approximately 10–12 minutes. The fennel must surrender completely — this is the Marche character of the dish and cannot be rushed.
3. 3
   Raise the heat to medium-high and pour in the white wine. Deglaze, scraping any deposit from the base of the pot. Cook until the sharp alcohol smell has left the steam and only a clean, fruity note remains, approximately 2 minutes.
4. 4
   Add the passata and the saffron-brodo. Stir to combine. Pour in enough of the remaining fish brodo to give a loose, brothy consistency. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes until the tomato loses its raw edge. The surface should move with a quiet, even bubble — not a rolling boil.
5. 5
   This is where the dish lives or dies: add the seppie and firm white fish (gronco, scorfano) in sequence strictly by cooking time. The seppie and any firm fish go first; cook, without stirring, for 12–15 minutes, repositioning gently with tongs only if required. After 12–15 minutes, add the vongole in their shells and cook for a further 3–5 minutes only. The soup is done when every clam shell has opened and the cuttlefish yields without resistance to a gentle press. Discard any clams that remain shut. Do not stir; do not overcook.
6. 6
   While the fish finishes, grill the bread slices on the cut side until the surface is hard and deeply golden. Rub immediately with the cut face of a garlic clove. Place two slices in each wide bowl. The bread is correctly prepared when it resists the thumbnail and smells of toasted grain and raw garlic.
7. 7
   Lay the fish portions over the grilled bread, arranging any reserved unopened-looking clams for presentation. Ladle the broth over everything. Finish each bowl with a thread of raw extra-virgin olive oil. Serve immediately: the bread should be soaked through but still hold its form — neither dry nor dissolved.