Giovanna (Lasia) Corda, Ozieri, Sassari
As a kid growing up in Sardinia we ate fish regularly and one recipe I liked was fish soup. Unfortunately one day I got a bone stuck in my throat and I refused to touch fish soup with a ten-foot pole. So my mother reinvented it, using only crustaceans and molluscs, telling me “Eat son, there are no bones in the soup.” Hence the name. —Paul
(Yield: 4 servings)
¼ pound squid
¼ pound octopus
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions (sliced thin)
¼ pound lobster (meat)
¼ pound crab (meat)
3 anchovies
½ teaspoon chili flakes
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon finely chopped basil
salt and freshly ground pepper
10 cups tomato sauce
¼ pound cuttlefish
¼ pound shrimp
1. In pot of boiling water cook squid and octopus for approx. 15 minutes. Drain and chop into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.
2.Warm oil in large saucepan over medium heat; cook onions until caramelized (approx. 10 minutes). Add lobster, crab, anchovies, chili flakes, parsley and basil. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
3.Add reserved octopus, squid and tomato sauce. Bring to simmer.
4.Add cuttlefish and shrimp. Stir and continue cooking covered for 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve while hot with crusty Italian bread.
Sardinian lobsters are smaller than the eastern Canadian type, have small claws and were left whole when cooked. Seafood proportions can vary to your taste.