It's a must-try, but don't take it for granted: a true fish soup has a lengthy and laborious recipe. Here, the three-star chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo reveals his tricks for comfortably replicating it in your own kitchen.

Ingredients for 4 people

For the octopus

One octopus

3 liters of water

500 ml of wine

1 carrot

1 celery

1 onion

1 stem of parsley

1 dried chili pepper

Method

In a saucepan, bring 3 liters of water and 500 ml of wine to a boil with the carrot, celery, onion, stem of parsley, dried chili pepper, and salt. Immerse the octopus, starting from the tentacles, and cook it for 40 minutes. Let it cool in its broth, then drain it and cut it into pieces.

For the seafood

500 g mussels

500 g clams

500 g razor clams

1 stem of parsley

1 dried chili pepper

1 clove of garlic

Method

Separately, soak the clams and razor clams in salted water or purified seawater for about 1 hour. This step is to wash the mollusks and remove impurities and sand.

Drain and tap each clam individually on a cutting board: if mud or sand comes out, it means the mollusk is dead and should be discarded.

Thoroughly clean and scrape the mussels under running water, removing the beard.

In a saucepan, sauté 1 clove of garlic, 1 stem of parsley, and 1 dried chili pepper with a drizzle of oil. Add the mussels and cover. After about 30 seconds, pour in a glass of water and, while keeping it covered, continue cooking for a few minutes, occasionally giving the saucepan a rotational movement.

Remove the mussels from the pot as they open, using tongs, to achieve even cooking throughout.

Filter and preserve the cooking liquid.

Repeat the process with the clams and razor clams.

For the squid

4 squid

Method

Separate the body from the tentacles, clean the interior, including the cartilaginous part, and remove the outer skin. Rinse well under cold running water and dry. Work on the tentacles using a pair of scissors, cutting just below the eyes and removing the beak. Divide it into four parts.

For the crustacean broth

12 langoustines

8 prawns

1 onion

1 carrot

1 celery

2 cloves of garlic

500 ml of wine

2 vine-ripened tomatoes

Method

Clean the langoustines and prawns, removing the intestine, carapace, and head, but keeping the last two to prepare the broth.

Trim, wash, and dice 1 onion, 1 carrot, and 1 celery, then sauté them in a saucepan with a bit of oil and 2 cloves of garlic. Add the carapace and heads of the crustaceans and toast them; crush them with a wooden spoon. Add the washed and chopped vine-ripened tomatoes and continue cooking until all the liquids have been reabsorbed (to prevent burning, scrape the bottom of the pot with a spatula as the liquids evaporate).

Deglaze with 500 ml of wine and, once it has evaporated, add the aromatic herbs bundle, cover completely with cold water, and bring to a boil. Skim to remove impurities and let it simmer for at least 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool, then strain it through a chinois.

For the fish broth

1 onion

1 celery

1 clove of garlic

1 stem of parsley

1 medium-small scorpionfish

4 red mullets

500 ml of white wine

Method

Scale, gut, and fillet the scorpionfish and red mullets. Remove the bones from the fillets with the help of tweezers and portion them. Remove the gills and eyes from the heads of the scorpionfish and red mullets, and cut the bones and heads into pieces using scissors. Rinse them under cold running water, drain them, and proceed with cooking.

Trim, wash, and dice 1 onion, 1 celery, 1 clove of garlic, and 1 stem of parsley, then sauté them in a saucepan with a bit of oil. Add the bones and continue cooking until all the liquids have been reabsorbed.

Deglaze with 500 ml of white wine and, once it has evaporated, cover completely with cold water and a few ice cubes. Bring to a boil, skim to remove impurities, and continue cooking for about 40 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat, let it cool, then strain it through a chinois.

For the completion of the soup

1 clove of garlic

1 stem of parsley

1 dried chili pepper

1 kg Passata of "hill cherry tomatoes"

Extra-virgin olive oil

Garlic oil (1 head of garlic for 100 ml of extra-virgin olive oil: blend everything)

8 slices of whole-grain bread

Method

In a large saucepan, sauté 1 clove of garlic, 1 stem of parsley, and 1 dried chili pepper with a bit of oil. Add the fish broth, crustacean broth, mussel and clam water, and reduce, being careful with excessive saltiness from the mollusk water.

Remove the herbs, pour in the tomato passata, and let it infuse. Once the desired consistency is reached, lower the heat and add the fish, previously seasoned with oil and salt: first the scorpionfish fillets, then the red mullet fillets, squid, langoustines, prawns, and finally the octopus, clams, razor clams, and mussels. Remove from heat, add some chopped parsley leaves, a few drops of garlic oil, and adjust with salt and pepper.

Plating

Serve with slices of bread previously seasoned with oil and a pinch of salt, toasted in a pan. The steps of this recipe are longer and more labor-intensive compared to a classic recipe, but I guarantee that the result will surprise you.

Find here the chef's recipes

Cover photos: @Stefano Fusaro