Cacciucco, Livorno Seafood Stew over Garlic Toast

What you need

• 400 g (14 oz) clams
• 1 kg (2 1/4 lb) mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 100 ml (1/2 cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 5 cloves garlic, 4 thinly sliced, 1 halved for the toast
• 1 fresh red chili, chopped
• 4 sage leaves
• 500 g (1 lb) squid, cleaned, bodies in rings, tentacles halved; or octopus or cuttlefish
• 250 ml (1 cup) dry red wine
• 400 g (14 oz) canned peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 750 ml (3 cups) fish stock
• 600 g (1 1/3 lb) firm white fish fillets, such as monkfish, gurnard or snapper, in 4 cm chunks
• 12 large shell-on prawns
• 15 g (1/2 cup) flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 6 slices country bread, thick, a day old
• salt, to taste

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Soak the clams in cold salted water for 30 min to purge sand, then drain. Throw away any clams or mussels that are open and do not close when tapped.

2. 2

   Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy pot over low heat. Add the sliced garlic, chili and sage and cook gently until the garlic softens without browning, 1-2 min.

3. 3

   Add the squid, raise the heat to medium and cook, stirring, until it turns opaque, 2-3 min.

4. 4

   Pour in the wine and let it bubble until reduced by about half, 3-4 min.

5. 5

   Add the tomatoes and 500 ml of the stock, season lightly with salt and simmer, partly covered, until the squid is tender, 25-30 min.

6. 6

   Lay the fish in the pot, firmest pieces first, and add the rest of the stock. Simmer gently for 4-5 min, shaking the pot rather than stirring so the fish stays whole.

7. 7

   Add the prawns, mussels and clams, cover and cook over medium-high heat until the shells open and the prawns turn pink, 3-5 min. Discard any shells that stay shut.

8. 8

   While the seafood cooks, toast the bread until golden and crisp, then rub one side of each slice with the cut garlic.

9. 9

   Taste the broth for salt and scatter the parsley over the pot.

10. 10

    Put a slice of toast in each warm bowl, ladle the stew and seafood over it and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Imported from gourmettraveller.com.au. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.