Jacopo Ticchi takes us on a discovery of his element: the sea. Here is his brodetto: watch out for the last ingredient!

Cover photo credits: Stefania Zanetti and Matteo Bellomo

Ingredients for 4 people

Redfish 250 gr
Sanpietro 150 gr
Monkfish 150 gr
Mazzola 250 gr
Sole 200 gr
Lobster 100 gr
Squid 50 gr
Squid 100 gr
Cuttlefish 200 gr
Clams 500 gr
Mussels 500 gr
Scallops 250 gr
Shrimp 250 gr
Celery 50 gr
Carrot 150 gr
Onion
Garlic
Parsley
Peeled Tomatoes
Tomato paste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Apple Vinegar
White Wine
Love a lot

Procedure

Start by cleaning the mussels, removing the byssus and soaking them in water with 3 percent salt. Do the same with the clams, soaking them until impurities and sand are removed.

Open mussels and clams separately in a pan with extra-virgin olive oil, a clove of poached garlic and parsley stalks. Deglaze with white wine. Once opened, save the fruits for the dish and the water for the sauce.

Clean cuttlefish, squid and squid: open the mantle, remove liver, black and eggs (to keep), remove the digestive system and rinse lightly in balanced water (3 percent water). Keep mantle and clumps for the dish and use the tougher parts for the sauce.

For shellfish, remove head, carapace and intestines. Use heads and carapaces for the sauce and bodies for the dish.

Clean fish by removing scales, guts and gills, remove blood and fillet. save heart, tripe, liver and roe for other recipes. Use high and low filets for the dish and head, bone and belly for the sauce.

For the sauce: clean celery, carrots and onion, cut them into mirepoix and brown them in extra virgin oil. When they begin to color, add the parings of cuttlefish, squid and squid, browning over low heat. Incorporate fish and shellfish scraps, deglaze with apple vinegar, add tomato paste, peeled tomatoes, the water from the bivalves, and water to cover. Allow to cook for about 30 minutes from the beginning of the boil. Purée everything to make the sauce.

In a crockpot put extra virgin olive oil, garlic, chili pepper and peeled tomatoes. Brown in a wood-fired oven. Add the previously prepared sauce and incorporate the heads of the cephalopods, continuing cooking in the oven. Add fish filets, crustacean bodies, cephalopod capes, and bivalve fruits, completing cooking in the oven for 5-6 minutes.

Complete with fresh parsley leaves, quality extra virgin olive oil and a touch of apple cider vinegar before serving.