Seafood Soup Recipe with Fregula

Learn how to make your own fregula in Roberto Petza's seafood soup recipe, packed with glorious Mediterranean red mullet, scorpion fish, clams, mussels and prawns. The seafood broth takes a little while to prepare but will be unparalleled in flavour.

Ingredients

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Fregula

300g of semolina flour
100g of water
salt

Seafood soup

600g of rock fish, a mixture such as red mullet and scorpion fish, gutted
4 red prawns
16 mussels
16 clams
4 squid, or cuttlefish
1 bunch of basil
1/4 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp of chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 lemon, zested
1 orange, zested
1 lime, zested
extra virgin olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Confit tomatoes

20 cherry tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil

Fish broth

1 onion, diced
1/2 carrot, diced
1/2 stick of celery, diced
1/2 leek, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
150ml of dry white wine
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 bunch of mixed herbs, such as bay, basil, thyme and wild fennel
2kg ice cubes
extra virgin olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

To serve

crusty bread, such as ciabatta or a baguette, thinly sliced
extra virgin olive oil

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Preheat the oven to 100°C/gas mark ¼

Start with the confit tomatoes. Arrange the cherry tomatoes across a deep baking dish in a single layer and pour over just enough olive oil to cover. Transfer to the oven and slowly roast for 3 hours until tender. Set aside until needed

20 cherry tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil

While the tomatoes are roasting, prepare the fish and seafood. Clean the whole fish in cold water then carefully remove the heads and bones, reserving these for the fish broth. Dice the flesh and set aside in the fridge

600g of rock fish, a mixture such as red mullet and scorpion fish, gutted

Remove the shells from the bodies of the prawns, leaving the heads intact for decoration. Remove the mussels and clams from their shells and combine all of the shells with the reserved bones for the fish broth

Clean the squid (or cuttlefish) and discard the innards and heads. Peel the skin from the main body, rinse well in water and finely slice the clean white flesh. Reserve all of the seafood in the fridge, placing the clams and mussels in a small bowl of cold water to help keep them fresh

4 squid, or cuttlefish

Once the confit tomatoes are ready, increase the oven temperature to 160°C/gas mark 3

To make the fregula, place the semolina flour in a large bowl and add a little of the water. Start mixing the water into the flour by hand, adding just enough to create sandy grains

300g of semolina flour
100g of water

Push the dough through a sieve on to a tray so that the grains are of a fairly even size. Transfer the tray to the oven and bake for 20–30 minutes, stirring the contents of the tray occasionally to ensure the grains cook evenly. When light golden remove from the oven

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the dried fregula. Cook for 5 minutes then drain and reserve

salt

Meanwhile, start the fish broth. Add a drizzle of oil to a large pan and place over a low heat. Add the diced onion, gently sauté for 15 minutes then add the diced carrot, celery and leek. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes

extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 carrot, diced
1/2 stick of celery, diced
1/2 leek, diced

Add the chopped garlic and parsley to the pan and cook for another minute. Season with salt and pepper and add the reserved fish bones, heads and shells. Mash these into the vegetables with a wooden spoon to help release as much as flavour as possible

3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Stir in the wine and allow to simmer for a few minutes until most of the liquid has reduced. Stir in the tomato paste and mixed fresh herbs then cover the mixture with ice. Turn off the heat and allow to infuse for 30 minutes

150ml of dry white wine
1 tbsp of tomato paste
1 bunch of mixed herbs, such as bay, basil, thyme and wild fennel
2kg ice cubes

After this time, place back on a medium heat and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down low and simmer for 10 minutes to reduce

Meanwhile, season the reserved diced fish with salt, pepper, a few basil leaves and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. In a separate bowl, season the prawns and squid and drizzle with a little more oil

salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 bunch of basil
extra virgin olive oil

To bring the soup together, heat a large saucepan over a medium heat and add a few tablespoons of oil. Add the garlic and parsley and sauté for a few minutes to soften

1/4 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp of chopped flat-leaf parsley
extra virgin olive oil

Add a few pieces of the marinated fish to the pan and allow to colour a little to add flavour to the pan

Strain the reduced fish broth through a sieve – there should be about 600ml of broth. Add this to the fish pan, followed by the confit tomatoes, and bring everything to the boil

Add the cooked fregula to the pan and continue to simmer for a few minutes over a low heat. Check the flavour and add a little of the water from the clams and mussels if a stronger flavour is needed

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the remaining diced fish, the sliced squid, prawns, and drained mussels and clams. Stir in a few more basil leaves, a little olive oil and the citrus zests

1/4 bunch of basil
extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zested
1 orange, zested
1 lime, zested

Preheat a grill to high. Drizzle the bread slices with a little oil and briefly grill until just crisp. Divide the soup between bowls (making sure the prawns and seafood are evenly distributed) and add a slice of the toasted bread. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh basil to serve

crusty bread, such as ciabatta or a baguette, thinly sliced
extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bunch of basil

First published in 2016

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Roberto Petza

From carpentry to cooking, Roberto Petza's culinary prowess has finally found a home in a remote village on the island of Sardinia.

Seafood soup with fregula, basil and citrus

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