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Brodo di Pesce alla Ligure
Created by Chef Graziella
The foundation broth of the Ligurian coast, where fennel fronds and white wine transform humble fish bones into liquid gold. Without this, your seafood risotto is merely rice with fish.
A fish stock is not complicated, but it requires attention. The bones must be fresh, the simmer must be gentle, and you must know when to stop. Overcook it by twenty minutes and you will have bitterness instead of the sea.
In Liguria, the fishermen's wives learned this from necessity. The prized flesh went to market; the bones and heads stayed home. From these scraps, simmered with fennel fronds that grow wild along the coast and a splash of the local white wine, they created the foundation for everything: brodetto, risotto ai frutti di mare, the fish soups that tourists now pay handsomely to eat in Portofino.
What you leave out matters as much as what you put in. No tomato. No heavy herbs that would mask the delicate sweetness of the fish. The fennel is there for a whisper of anise, the wine for brightness. The rest is restraint.
Ingredients
fish bones and heads
Quantity
2 pounds
from white-fleshed fish (sea bass, snapper, sole, or halibut)
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
yellow onion
Quantity
1 medium
quartered
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| fish bones and headsfrom white-fleshed fish (sea bass, snapper, sole, or halibut) | 2 pounds |
| extra virgin olive oil | 2 tablespoons |
| yellow onionquartered | 1 medium |
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