Ciambotto – Fish Stew
A fish and shellfish stew from the Gargano coast of Puglia, cooked without stock. The broth builds from the fish, mussels, and tomato. Served over grilled bread in the bowl.
Equipment
- Wide, deep pan or cast iron casserole
- Fine sieve
- Sharp knife
Ingredients
- 700 grams whole sea bass or sea bream cut into 3-4cm steaks through the bone, skin on (ask your fishmonger)
- 500 g mussels scrubbed and debearded
- 300 g scampi or langoustines whole and shell-on
- 300 g calamari cleaned and cut into rings
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves finely sliced
- 1 small glass white wine
- 200 grams cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 small onion finely sliced
- 1 small fresh chilli finely sliced
- Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped
- Salt to taste
- 4-6 thick slices of country bread toasted or grilled until well coloured
Instructions
- Put the mussels in a dry pan over high heat, cover, and cook 2-3 minutes until open. Remove and set aside. Discard any that stay closed. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and keep it.
- Warm the olive oil in a wide, deep pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft and translucent. after the garlic and chilli soften, deglaze with the white wine and let it reduce by half off before adding the tomatoes and about 200 ml of water.
- Add tomatoes and mussel liquid. Add the crushed tomatoes and the strained mussel liquid. Season lightly — the shellfish will add salt as they cook. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes until the tomatoes break down into a loose broth.
- Add the calamari rings and cook 5 minutes.
- Place the fish steaks into the broth. Cook 6-8 minutes without stirring. Move the pan gently if you need to shift things around.
- Lay the scampi over the fish and cook 3 minutes until they turn orange.
- Add the mussels back in and cook 1 minute to warm through.
- To serve, scatter over the parsley. Taste and adjust salt. Place the grilled bread in the base of each bowl and ladle the stew over it, or arrange the bread around the rim.
Notes
Ask your fishmonger to cut the fish into thick steaks through the bone — 3-4cm cuts, skin on. The bone adds to the broth and holds the fish together.
Do not add stock. The broth builds from the fish and shellfish themselves.
Do not stir once the fish goes in — move the pan instead.
The traditional Gargano ciambotto uses small, inexpensive fish that couldn’t be sold at market — scorpionfish, gurnard, grey mullet. This recipe uses sea bass or sea bream and premium shellfish, which are what’s available outside Puglia. The technique is the same; the fish are different.
Fillet variation: use thick skin-on fillets of sea bass or red mullet. Add at step 5 but reduce cooking time to 4-5 minutes and handle carefully — fillets break more easily than steaks.
Do not add stock. The broth builds from the fish and shellfish themselves.
Do not stir once the fish goes in — move the pan instead.
The traditional Gargano ciambotto uses small, inexpensive fish that couldn’t be sold at market — scorpionfish, gurnard, grey mullet. This recipe uses sea bass or sea bream and premium shellfish, which are what’s available outside Puglia. The technique is the same; the fish are different.
Fillet variation: use thick skin-on fillets of sea bass or red mullet. Add at step 5 but reduce cooking time to 4-5 minutes and handle carefully — fillets break more easily than steaks.