Fish Soup (Kakavia)

Kakavia is the ancestor of bouillabaisse, dating back to ancient Greek fishermen who cooked the unsold catch right on the boat in a three-legged pot called a kakavi. The soul of the dish lives in the stock, which is why the recipe starts with fish heads and backbones simmering for two full hours. Skip that step and you have just another seafood stew, not kakavia.

The vegetable base is built French-style: onions, leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic sweated in olive oil before the strained stock and tomatoes go in. This layering is what gives the broth its gentle sweetness and depth before any seafood hits the pot.

Timing the seafood is the critical move. Fish pieces need only three minutes, then lobster and prawns get seven to ten more. Never let the pot hit a rolling boil once shellfish are in, the texture turns rubbery fast.

Chef Tips

• Ask your fishmonger for a free bag of heads and frames, they are often discarded and make the richest stock
• Snapper, mullet, john dory, bream, or whiting all work; mixing two or three gives the broth more complexity than a single variety
• Tie the herbs in a bouquet garni with kitchen twine so they are easy to fish out before serving
• Serve the broth first as a course, then the seafood and potatoes separately with lemon wedges and a drizzle of good olive oil, which is the traditional Greek way

Variations

• Add a pinch of saffron to the stock for a more Provençal profile
• Stir in a glass of dry white wine with the tomatoes for extra brightness
• Substitute mussels or clams for some of the shrimp; add them last and cover until the shells open