I have been on my wheat fast for only a week and I have cheated several times. We made an impromptu trip to the Amalfi coast this weekend, stayed in a gorgeous little B&B in Vico Equense, a town that is famous for their pizza a metro. A meter of pizza. My husband has been telling me about la pizza a metro since we first started dating, I couldn’t go to this place, famous in the entire bay of Naples and eat a lean cut of chicken.

The pizza wasn’t my only sin, I had pasta, twice. I am happy that I am not a Catholic or I may actually feel guilty about it, I don’t. I am going to stick to it at my own house, but frankly don’t want to make a big deal out of this experiment when I am out, unless it can be easily avoided. This is the closest thing that I have ever done that resembles a diet in my life, I don’t think I would have ever been good at it. Luckily until now I have never had to worry about my diet, age and childbirth have not helped this former skinny mini.

I am being good at home and having fun along the way. I made this delicious zuppa di pesce the other day, with the last of the orata that I bought and we didn’t end up eating. I added some calamari and mussels. It was a lot of fun, I have made a few zuppa di pesce, but they usually just involved one fish, not three.

Zuppa di Pesce

• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
• 1 lb mature tomatoes or 1 14 oz can of tomatoes
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3 medium squid, cleaned and cut into rings
• 1 lb white fish fillets
• 1 lb mussels, cleaned and debearded
• 5 cups of fish broth
• 1 fennel bulb with fronds, cut into slivers, fronds set aside
• 3 small potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 sprigs of parsley
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a wide saucepan over medium-high heat and add the whole cloves of garlic. When garlic starts to sizzle add the whole tomatoes, tossing occasionally, allowing the tomatoes to break down a bit. After about a minute, using the back of your spoon press on the tomato so that it releases its juices and breaks up. I used small winter tomatoes, but if using larger plum tomatoes you will want to plunge them into boiling water for about 30 seconds, and then put them in an ice bath to remove the skins.

Add the squid to the tomatoes when they have started to get a little saucy. Once the squid has released its juices and become a bit more opaque, add the white wine and the fresh herbs. Bring to a simmer and add the fennel and the fish broth, once that has been brought to a boil add the potatoes.

Prior to serving, add the white fish, stir into the soup and add the mussels. Cover the pan and cook 3-4 minutes. Discard any mussels that do not open. Sprinkle the fennel fronds over the soup and serve with crusty bread.

One Year Ago: I Secondi della Lanternaia

Two Years Ago: Kale with Cannellini and Polenta

Three Years Ago: Lentil Tomato Soup & Spaghetti alla Gricia

Four Years Ago: Asparagus and Spinach Risotto, Chicken Tikka with Pomegranate Couscous Salad, Pot Stickers & La Carbonara

~ by italicious on February 20, 2013.

Posted in calamari, fennel, gluten free, mussels, orata, parsley, potato, soup, stew, thyme
Tags: calamari, fennel, mussels, potatoes, seafood, soup, stew, white fish