Cacciucco alla livornese: the traditional recipe

Cacciucco alla livornese is a symphony of fish, crustaceans and molluscs tied together by an excellent tomato. Artusi, who wrote very well about it at the end of the nineteenth century, set a 13 the number of fish species to be used and variety is still important. In short, it cannot be called cacciucco if the bowl does not contain it at least 6 or 7 and of non-premium quality. Because however it happened – on the origin of the recipe, legends abound – it is a “poor” dish of seafood cuisine: some claim that it was born from the generosity of fishermen, who offered the result of their work to the family of a companion who died during the storm. Others believe it to be the result of the meeting between Jewish, African, Levantine, Anglican and Dutch communities, at the origins of Livorno. And again: according to the historian of Syrian origin Paolo Zalum, cacciucco was invented by a keeper of the lighthouse, the port’s lighthouse, who was forbidden by an edict of the Florentine Republic to fry fish (because the oil had to be used to power the lighthouse’s light). Hence the invention of cacciucco, which requires very little oil. The most likely hypothesis, however, is that the fishermen, after having sold what was saleable, simply began to cook with what was left. Creating a masterpiece.

Guardians of taste: Trattoria da Galileo

To taste the real, rich one, obtained with different cooking methodsin the city stands out the Galileo’s Trattoriainaugurated on 25 April 1959 by Galileo and Lida Piagneri, accompanied by their very young children Aldo, Ivana and Ivo. In the Seventies he began his career as a photojournalist for The Tyrrhenian Sea, thus coming into contact with the protagonists of the show who at the time met in the famous club Compass. And so Mina, Celentano, Carrà arrived at the trattoria… Its fame obviously took off, and Ivo increasingly took over the reins, focusing on seafood cuisine and making cacciucco alla livornese the restaurant’s signature dish. Until, several years later, Buitoni launched the Frozen cacciucco commercial with Diego Abadantuono, causing outrage his and other Livorno restaurateurs, who claimed the authenticity of the traditional dish: the quarrels had national prominence and Ivo was nicknamed “king of cacciucco”. His famous recipe is the same one still on the menu, which Ivo’s wife – who passed away in 2009 – and his children Letizia and Leonardo share here with the readers of Vanity Fair.

The recipe for Livorno-style cacciucco

Ingredients for 6 people: 4 kilos of octopus and cuttlefish; 800 grams of dogfish (or alternatively hazelnut); half a kilo of cicadas (or alternatively mantis shrimp); about a kilo divided between scorpion fish, gurnards, weever fish, gobies, blennies, horse mackerel; half a kilo of mussels; olive oil; two yellow onions; a sprig of sage; five or six cloves of garlic; whole red chilli pepper; a glass of dry white wine; pureed tomato; parsley; fairly large slices of dark Tuscan bread (so-called “pane campagnolo”).

Procedure:

• In a first saucepan, pour some genuine extra virgin olive oil, a base of blond onions, a sprig of fresh sage, two or three crushed garlic cloves and two or three whole red chili peppers. Let’s fry everything, as soon as the onions are golden, add the octopus and cuttlefish cut into small pieces and when these have changed from gray to pink, we will add a glass of very dry white wine and the tomato puree in the amount of two or three tablespoons depending on preference.
• At this point we will lower the heat and let everything simmer for 40 minutes, then we will turn it off and the first of the three parts of the Cacciucco is ready.
• In another saucepan we put oil, chopped garlic, chilli pepper and parsley, and let it fry for a few minutes, then we add a few spoonfuls of tomato pulp and after about a quarter of an hour of boiling on a low heat we will add the dogfish in pieces (or the stone) waiting ten minutes for the fish to cook, then we will turn off.
• In a third saucepan with the exact same base as the second, and always waiting the canonical 15 minutes to flavor the tomato well, we will add all the remaining fish cut into pieces and after a few minutes the mussels.
• While this third pot finishes cooking we can toast the bread and place it in the serving bowls after having rubbed it well with a clove of garlic.
• At this point, having cooked the three fundamental components of the Cacciucco alla livornese, we can serve by assembling them in the right proportions, adding the mussels to each dish lastly and the Cacciucco is served.

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Traditional Italian recipes, Sardinian seadas

Traditional Italian recipes: Apulian friselle

Traditional Italian Recipes: Tuscan Panzanella

Traditional Italian Recipes: Sicilian Eggplant Timbale

Traditional Italian Recipes: Ligurian Stuffed Anchovies

Traditional Italian Recipes: Sicilian Macco di Fave

Traditional Italian Recipes: Venetian Sardines in Saor

Traditional Italian Recipes: Ligurian Chickpea Flour

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Traditional Italian Recipes: Neapolitan Genovese