Fanciulle Inspires: An Easy, Elegant Tuscan Supper
Yesterday, the Italian holiday season came to a close with the Feast of Epiphany, the last in a long line of family get-togethers and rich meals. For a while, at least, the days of prescribed dishes (tortellini in broth for Christmas, lentils for New Year’s, etc.), multi-course meals and tables of hungry relatives are over. Supper still needs to be prepared, though, and the freshness, warmth, healthfulness and ease of Livorno’s signature dish, Cacciucco, is a welcome antidote to grey January days. What’s more, cacciucco is traditionally enjoyed with red wine, Sangiovese from the Tuscan coast’s sandier soils, like those where we grew the grapes for our Toscano 2020.
Winter Recipe – “Cacciucco” or Tuscan Fish Stew
The Tuscan seafood stew cacciucco is less well known than its French cousin bouillabaisse but has a similar origin as a humble, fisherman’s dish that operates–as the best Tuscan cooking does–less by recipe than by a series of principals. It’s almost effortless to pull together, and it’s warm and comforting, light and healthy to serve and eat. Cacciucco’s layers of flavor belie its rustic origins, especially when made with a nod to your family’s preferences—meatier or lighter fish, mollusks or shrimp, etc. Finally, winter is when even the white-wine devotees don’t especially hanker for a cold beverage, so it’s also an excellent dish for highlighting how well certain Sangioveses pair with fish. And for a cheerful, end-of-the-holidays touch, the brothy, tomato-based bowl filled with jumbo shrimp and jewel-like shells will look like showstopper cooking, even if the most time-intensive part of the prep is a visit to a good fishmonger.
The template is as follows: You start with a soffrito (aromatic ingredients minced and braised to develop flavor), for example the Italian-flag mixture of celery, onion and carrot, though garlic, sage and red pepper are also cited in some popular recipes. After ten minutes, you add wine (red or white). Later come tomatoes, fish stock, and several more kinds of fish, which are simmered for just a few minutes and topped with herbs.
Tradition has it that there should be as many types of maritime ingredients as there are c’s in caccicucco. The recipe below uses a extra-flavorful soffrito of fennel, celery and carrot, a base of calamari or octopus and mussels, jumbo shrimp and halibut, though any meaty white fish will do. We cooked with some Italian red table wine (you can use Fanciulle if you want!) and finished with a big handful of basil, an herb that beautifully complements the Toscano 2020.
The combination of fresh herbs, silky tomato broth, meaty white fish and maritime salinity makes a great pairing with Toscano, which has a touch of texture from aging in neutral oak barrels and fresh, savory and spicy notes that stand up to the flavors in the stew. The red wine base and meaty fish are a nice match for the wine’s earthiness. And the stew softens the tannins in the wine and brings out its fruit—ripe Bing cherries and cranberries. Cacciucco isn’t a New Year’s tradition that we know of, but in warmth and comfort, it should be, especially accompanied by the jewel-like clarity of Toscano’s ruby red color and its vibrant flavor and texture.
– Valerie Stivers
Valerie Stivers is a freelance journalist and the author of “Eat Your Words,” a long-running food column for The Paris Review that creates recipes based on food scenes in classic literature. Her work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Travel+Leisure, Food52 and Edible Jersey. Follow her at @ivalleria and stay tuned here for more of her beautiful cooking!
