Fish Soup or Stew Vasto Style (Abruzzo)

Fish

Ingredients

Mixed fish - 3 - 3 1/2 pounds

Olive oil - 6-8 tbsps

Dried sweet peppers - 10

Garlic, finely chopped - 3 cloves

Red wine vinegar - 1 cup

Parsley, finely chopped - 3-4 sprigs

Salt and pepper

Slices of home made bread

Clean the fish. Cut the larger ones into thick steaks or simply into large chunks. 

Heat the oil in a large heavy pan or casserole and add the sweet pepper and garlic. Fry these over a high heat for 15 minutes. Remove the peppers and pound them in a mortar, gradually adding the vinegar. Stir this mixture back into the casserole.

Add the larger pieces of fish and cook these for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add the rest of the fish, the chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Cover the casserole and continue to cook gently for about 20 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time to prevent the fish from sticking. Serve the soup very hot poured over slices of home made bread, taking great care not to break the fish when taking them out of the pan.

Serves 6