Photo of Seafood Brodetto by WW

Seafood Brodetto

3
Points® value
Total Time
1 hr 5 min
Prep
30 min
Cook
35 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
Easy
Living in a country with more than 4,500 miles of coastline means Italians eat a lot of fish. Seafood soups called brodetto, cioppino, or cacciucco were created by fishermen who made them on board their boats, in a big pot, with the catch that hadn’t been sold at market that day. Our version of brodetto is sweet, spicy, and garlicky with bread to mop up the savory bits. Serve this warming dish to begin a larger meal or as a complete meal on its own. The varied textures of the fish and onions will surely delight your crowd.

Ingredients

Italian bread

3 oz, cut into six 1/2-oz slices

Garlic

5 clove(s), large, 1 clove cut in half, 4 cloves finely chopped

Olive oil

2 tsp(s)

Onion

1 medium, chopped

White wine

1 cup(s), dry

Canned crushed tomatoes

28 oz, (2 cans)

Dried oregano

½ tsp(s)

Crushed red pepper flakes

1 pinch(es)

Uncooked shelled mussels

24 medium, scrubbed and debearded

Little neck clams

24 item(s), scrubbed

Uncooked boneless squid

½ pound(s), cleaned, cut into rings and tentacles

Uncooked shrimp

½ pound(s), large, peeled and deveined

Fresh basil

½ cup(s), chopped

Table salt

¼ tsp(s), or to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. On rimmed baking sheet, arrange bread in single layer. Bake until toasted, about 10 minutes. Rub garlic halves, cut-side up, over toasts. Set aside.
  2. In large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chopped garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  3. Stir in wine and cook for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups water, tomatoes, oregano, and crushed red pepper and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
  4. Stir in mussels and clams. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until mussels and clams open, about 6 minutes. (Discard any that do not open.) Spoon mussels and clams into large bowl. Add squid and shrimp to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil and 1⁄4 tsp salt.
  5. Place 1 toast each in bottoms of 6 bowls. Top with clams and mussels. Spoon 1 cup soup with shrimp and squid over each bowl.
  6. Serving size: 1 toast, 4 clams, 4 mussels, and generous 1 cup soup

Notes

Most of the work of this soup can be done ahead: The broth can be made the day before and the toast can be made several hours in advance and stored in an airtight container. Just cook the seafood in the broth shortly before serving.