Served as an appetizer or main course, this soup made with rockfish and seafood—commonly known as “Aziminu” in Corsica—is very similar to the famous bouillabaisse of Marseille. This culinary journey takes us to Cap Corse, the fishing capital of the Isle of Beauty.
So this is a fairly expensive dish that’s more complicated to prepare than other recipes. But this “Corsican fisherman’s stew,” to use Nicolas Stromboni’s expression (who also shares his recipe in the book *Du Pain, du Vin, des Oursins*), was once made with “leftovers”— the unsellable fish—whether sea bream, mullet, scorpionfish, conger eel, moray eel, red mullet, turbot, or lobster… And sometimes even octopus.
But when you prepare an Aziminu, you’re sure to impress lovers of good food and Mediterranean flavors.
Ingredients:
- 2 kg of rockfish (for the fish stock)
- 2 kg of fish (scorpionfish, sea bream, mullet, turbot, sea bass, John Dory, etc.)
- 250 grams of mussels
- 250 grams of octopus
- Crab, shrimp, lobster… (optional)
- 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 chopped tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 potato
- Fennel
- Orange zest (half)
- Thyme
- Laurel
- Stale bread (slices)
Preparation:
Heat the olive oil in a skillet and sauté the onion and fennel until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
Add the tomatoes, rockfish, potatoes, and small squid or pieces of octopus.
Season with salt, pepper, and saffron, and cook for about 10 minutes.
Add ½ liter of water, the wine, the thyme, the bay leaves, and the orange peel.
Bring to a boil, then let it simmer for about 30 minutes.
For a smoother consistency, you can strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer. Add ½ liter of water and let it simmer and reduce for 15 minutes.
Add the fish, which has been washed, scaled, gutted, and cut into pieces. Start with the firm-fleshed fish, boil for 10 minutes, and then add the tender fish.
Let it simmer for 5 minutes, then add the mussels and other seafood, if using.
Once the mussels have opened, the aziminu is ready.
