Brodetto di Pesce con Spaghetti Spezzati Recipe: Puglia Cooking Vacation

Brodetto di Pesce con Spaghetti Spezzati, otherwise known as fish stock with broken spaghetti, has been, for centuries, the preferred dinner meal for farmers and fisherman in Mola di Bari, Puglia. This particular light and healthy dish comes from the kitchen of Chef Rita, who used to lead one of our cooking vacations in Puglia.

Before Rita makes this intoxicating dish, she heads to the fish market that’s just in front of the charming Mola harbor to pick the freshest fish possible. You might not have a fish market close to hand, but hopefully your grocer can provide you with appropriate fish: small, white-flesh fish or fish bones. (I ask the people at the fish counter to save bones for me for next time if they are not avaiable.) Varieties to look for are sole, flounder, turbot (similar to halibut, but generally less expensive), sea bream (also called porgies), hake (or cod or haddock, which are from the same family of fish).

Learn more about the Puglia region of Italy.

Brodetto di Pesce con Spaghetti Spezzati

Serves: 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Cook method: Simmer

Ingredients:

• 6 pints hot water
• 1 lb. 1 oz red tomatoes
• 5 cloves of garlic
• A sprig of parsley
• 3 1/2 ounces oil
• Salt
• Chili pepper
• 3 lbs 3 ounces small white fish or fish bones
• 8 1/2 ounces spaghetti, broken by hand into thirds or fourths

Instructions: 

1. Saute the garlic with the olive oil, add the chopped tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Then, add water and salt; cook until it is reduced by about 1/3.

2. Add the parsley, chili pepper, and fish; cook for about 30 minutes, then strain the broth.

3. Cook the pasta separately, strain, then place in a bowl and cover with broth.

4. Serve immediately.

You can discover the “heel of Italy” by visiting it on one of our Puglia culinary vacations, complete with cooking classes, accommodations, and wonderful excursions to local sites of interest such as the old town of Bari, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Alberobello, famous for its trulli houses, and even the stunning stone city of Matera in nearby Basilicata. Add in foodie tours to local markets, pasta and cheese producers, olive mills, wineries, and butchers, and you have the cooking vacation of your dreams!

Try more recipes from Puglia:

• Calzone di cipolla
• Focaccia Pugliese
• “Ran-Away” Fish Soup

By Peg Kern

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