Combining simple ingredients to create a comforting Sicilian-style fish stew. This stew has layers of flavors from the tender pasta to the tomato-based broth to the garlic herb oil and is best served with crusty bread on the side.
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What makes this dish special
It may be 70 degrees outside, but in my house, it's only 60 degrees. On the bright side, that means I can enjoy comforting soups and pretend that it's still winter. In an effort to stay warm, I'm cooking up a Sicilian-style fish stew with orzo, olives, and capers. Drizzle the soup with roasted garlic herb oil and serve with crusty bread on the side for the perfect cozy meal. Heck, I would even lower my thermostat just so I have an excuse to make this delicious stew!
When I was writing the recipe for this Sicilian-style fish stew, I was inspired by the Italian-American seafood soup, cioppino. Cioppino is a tomato-based soup loaded with all kinds of seafood. It's a very simple soup that relies heavily on good-quality seafood.
Unfortunately, I've had many cioppinos that lack flavor or taste like canned tomatoes. I know that since I'm a professional chef, I tend to be picky about my food, but when it comes to creating recipes, that's a good thing, right? I make sure that all of my recipes are full of flavor, because why waste time cooking something boring?
And so for this Sicilian-style fish stew, I decided to incorporate more ingredients, simplify the seafood, and add a finishing oil. It's not traditional like this eggplant parmesan soup, Italian farro stew, or spanakopita soup, but it sure is tasty!
Recipe
Sicilian-Style Fish Stew
Ingredients
Sicilian style fish stew
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 celery ribs chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 4 cups fish stock
- ½ cup kalamata olives sliced
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 2 cups cooked orzo
- 2 pounds white fish fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
- salt and pepper
Remaining ingredients
- ¼ cup oil
- 2 garlic cloves smashed
- ¼ cup parsley finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons basil finely chopped
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- crusty bread for serving
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and celery and saute until the vegetables are softened, about 7-8 minutes. Add minced garlic and red chili flakes and saute for 1 minute. Add tomato paste, stirring to combine, and cook for 1 minute or until the tomato paste is caramelized.
- Add canned tomatoes, white wine, fish stock, olives, capers, bay leaf, and thyme to the soup. Season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile, make the garlic herb oil. Place the chopped parsley and basil in a heat-safe bowl. Heat ¼ cup oil in a small pot with the smashed garlic over low heat. Continue to simmer the oil until the garlic is golden brown and softened. Remove from heat and pour the hot oil over the herbs. Let cool completely.
- Add the cooked orzo and fish to the stew and increase heat to medium. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. Season the stew with salt and pepper.
- Portion the Sicilian-style fish stew into bowls and drizzle the garlic herb oil on top. Sprinkle grated parmesan and serve with crusty bread if desired.
Video
Notes
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Cook the broth
Let's start by making the broth. Heat oil in a large pot and saute the onion and celery until softened, about 7-8 minutes. Add the minced garlic and red chili flakes and saute for another minute.
You can omit the red chili flakes, but I personally like the little kick.
Add the tomato paste and stir the ingredients so that everything is coated in the paste. Continue to cook until the paste becomes caramelized, intensifying the tomato flavor.
Then, add the remaining ingredients for the Sicilian-style fish stew, excluding the fish and cooked orzo. Season the broth and let it simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.
The sauce will reduce, and the flavors will marry, creating one delicious broth.
Step 2: Add fish
Finish the stew by adding the cooked orzo and fish and simmer for about 5 more minutes or until the soup is done. I used cod for my stew, but you can use any other firm white fish such as haddock, bass, or halibut.
You could also cook raw orzo in the soup, but I prefer to cook it beforehand. When you cook raw orzo directly in the soup, it soaks up a lot of the broth, and I like my stew with a lot of broth.
Step 3: Make roasted garlic herb oil
While the soup is simmering, make the roasted garlic herb oil. Although the soup is tasty without the oil, the finishing oil adds an extra level of flavor.
Heat olive oil in a small pot with a couple of smashed garlic cloves over low heat. Continue to simmer the oil, slowly browning the garlic. Once the garlic is golden brown, remove the oil from the heat.
Pour the hot oil over the fresh chopped herbs and let the mixture cool. You can prepare the herb oil up to 5 days in advance.
Portion the soup into bowls and drizzle the garlic herb oil on top. Sprinkle grated parmesan to finish and serve the stew with crusty bread on the side.
This Sicilian-style fish stew was exactly what I was looking for. It has complex flavors thanks to the briny olives and capers, roasted garlic herb oil, cod, and white wine. Soak up all that goodness with crusty bread and get ready for seconds!
Make-ahead and storage
- Make-ahead: The soup can be prepared the night before, while the herb oil can be made up to 5 days in advance.
- Store: Keep both the soup and the herb oil in the refrigerator in airtight containers. The soup will hold for up to 2-3 days, while the herb oil will last for 1 week.
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Anthony says
I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty this soup was! There's a ton of flavor and that finishing oil was so good with the soup. Followed the recipe exactly and wouldn't change a thing.
Christine Ma says
I love the layers of flavors in this soup too! Thanks for giving my recipe a try!
Melissa says
Wow talk about flavor! This was exceptional.
Christine Ma says
I'm so glad you liked it!