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#60 of forgotten italian classics: Brodetto alla Vastese
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#60 of forgotten italian classics: Brodetto alla Vastese



#60 Brodetto alla Vastese (Abruzzo)

Brodetto was born on the Abruzzo coast, cooked on the trabocchi with whatever the nets brought in. One pot and no stirring, just fish, tomatoes, vinegar, and a bit of patience. I made mine with five kinds of fish and when it hit the table the sauce was deep with the fish still whole, and the bread disappeared in minutes. Simple and better than most stews I’ve cooked in my life.

Full story with recipe, method, and tips coming soon on Substack (link in bio).

#brodetto #abruzzofood #seafoodstew #italianfood #italianrecipes

Welcome to Forgotten Italian Classics, where Italian food becomes more than just pasta and pizza. Today we’re on the coast of Abbruto discovering broadto alastes, a simple fisherman stew that turned the day catch into something nourishing and alive. On the old wooden hats called Traboki, fisherman cooked whatever came to their nets. Small fish, too bony to sell, a bit of squid, maybe a few shrimps. The fish were cleaned on board and cooked whole. In half an hour, the sauce thickened and the deep bread straight into the pot. That was dinner. Rodto stay local because it’s tied to the fisherman’s tradition. Fast, honest, and impossible to separate from the sea itself. But if you’re lucky enough to make it, bring the pot to the table with good bread, and you’ll feel how this humble stew fed generations.

47 Comments

  6. @Popo-hi7or

    Bro grind the saffron into a fine powder then put ice on it to melt. That is how you get the true essence of the caviar of spices. It is not called red gold for no reason.

  11. @zmp79

    Scoperto ora questo canale, per caso.
    Mi sono subito iscritto, in bocca al lupo!

  15. @RealJensenHuang

    A small tip for the saffron: crush it with a mortar and pestle and put the dust on top of an ice cube in a glass to get the most out of it.

  19. @VariGiochi

    May I suggest you check out the CARDONE BENEVENTANO? Our president Napolitano used to have it during Christmas time and it’s still a classic in the Benevento city during that time of the year

  22. @torom86

    I love the concept at the base of your channel, as an Italian I'm sick of foreigners who think we're only about pizza and pasta. They know absolutely nothing about real Italian cuisine and how infinitely diverse it can be, I want your channel to get bigger and spread the verb!

  24. @kennethlooi9996

    So many anecdotes of how fishermen use unwanted catch that cannot be sold and make wonderful stews and soups…what did the rich make with the good seafood that were sold? Any recipes?

  39. @BatkoBrat

    Brodetto is regional only in the sense that it can be found all around the Adriatic and more, where the Italian or Venetian had their influence. I am from Montenegro and we have Brodet made in a very similar way to how you prepared it. It was brought here by the Republic of Venice which had rule over most of Adriatic coastal towns.

  40. @mdg0409

    I'm from Abruzzo and Puglia. I didn't know this dish but I definitely know zuppa di pesce pugliese😂

  44. @ruruio

    I was born in Vasto but grew up 30km south of it 😀 and this other town, termoli, had it's own version of this dish. Never tought I'd see this on the internet

  47. @TyinAlaska

    I learned about fisherman's stew from the show Two Greedy Italians. I've made it a few times, and I loved it each time I ate it.