Fivecenturies on,MariaechoesScappi’s words.
“If fishisn’tfresh,aliveeven, I senditback to
the harbour. I wouldn’t even give it to the cat.”H
ousedonthegroundfloorofananonymous
buildinginananonymoussuburbofthe
fishingportofFanoinItaly’sMarcheregion,
MariaTena’sbrilliantseafoodrestaurant,
unimaginativelynamedDaMaria,doesn’tlook
likea restaurantat all.Outside,theonlycluetoitsidentityis
a nondescriptsignoverthedoorsaying“BarTrattoria– Pesce
Fresco.”If it weren’tclutteredwiththeesotericwood,glassand
metalsculpturesofMaria’sdaughter,Domenica,theinterior- a singleroomwithpink-and-white-tiledwalls,a fewtables
anda barcounter– wouldbeno less modest. The place seems
anunlikelysanctuaryfora
piscinepilgrimagebutI, like
otherdevotees,makea point
ofeatingtherewhenever
I’mpassingthrough.
It’sDomenicawho
answersthephonewhenone
callstobook.Hertoneis alwaysapologeticandshespeaksas
if she’sreadingfroma script.“Weonlyservefishbuttoday’s
catchwasnothingspecialandwehaven’tmuchtooffer.Mase
vi accontentate...”Looselytranslated,thatmeans,“Comeif
you’repreparedtomakedowithwhatwe’vegot.”Sherepeats
thesamelitanyeverytimebutI knowfromexperiencethat
Maria,a tinywomanina tinykitchen– threegasrings,a few
earthenwarepots,a grillanda graniteworktop– is sureto
rustleupsomethingspecial.Thatsomethingis oftenbrodetto,
thefishstewoftheAdriatic.
Brodetto(variouslyknown,dependingondialect,asbrodeto,
boreto,broeto,brudèt,vredòtte,vrudàtteorbredette)originated
among fishermen who would cook their meals at sea with part of
theircatch– smallfishofnocommercialvalueordamaged
bythenets– andthefewcondimentsavailableonboard.
CloserelativesofthefishstewsoftheTyrrheniantothewest- Provençalbouillabaisse,Ligurianburidda,Tuscancacciucco
- fromwhichtheydifferfortheirthickertexture,multifarious
takesonbrodettodotItaly’seasternAdriaticcoast,from
TriesteinFriuli-VeneziaGiuliatoVastoinAbruzzo.
Asearlyasthe16thcentury,theproto-celebritychef
BartolomeoScappideclaredhimselfa fan.“Fishermenfrom
ChioggiaandVenicemakebetterstewsthaninanyother
coastalarea,”hewroteinhisOpera, oneofthefirstItalian
recipecollections.“I believefishermenareablerwithfishthan
cooks,”headded,“becausetheycookit assoonastheycatchit.”
Fivecenturieson,MariaechoesScappi’swords.“Iffish
isn’tfresh,aliveeven,I sendit backtotheharbour.I wouldn’t
evengiveit tothecat.”Nowapproaching90,Mariahasbeen
cookingfishforoverhalfa century,eversinceshecamedown
fromhervillageinthehillsnearUrbinotomarrya Fano
fisherman.Forher,freshnessisn’tjusta tritecliché,it’spart
ofherculinarytechnique.
ThebrodettiofthenorthernAdriatictendtofeaturesingle
speciesoffish,notonlyfromtheseabutalsofromthearea’s
lagoonsandrivers.InOpera, Scappiprovidesa recipeforrombo
inpottaggio,turbotstew,thatlivesontodayintheformof
boretoa la graisana,a specialityofGrado;eastofVenice,
brodetodegôis madeonlywithgobies;thechiefingredientin
thebrodetopolesanoofthePodeltais eel;andinRavenna’s
brodettoallaravennate,mantisshrimpsandcuttlefishprevail.
It’sinMaria’sMarchethatthemostcolourful,variegated
brodettiaretobefound,andinFanoitselfthere’sanAccademia
delBrodetto,foundedbya groupofrestaurateursandacademics
tocodifythedifferentrecipes.FromGabicceinthenorthofthe
regiontoSanBenedettodelTrontointhesouth,fishingvillages
andportsrunintooneanotherandit’sdifficulttotellwhere
oneendsandthenextbegins.Buteachhasitsownversion
of brodetto and locals swear that theirs is the real McCoy in
90 GOURMET TRAVELLER
PREVIOUSPAGES
Left:Fishingrodson
thepierinFano,Italy.BrodettoPietra
Chalontilefrom
SurfaceGallery(used
throughout).Allother
props stylist’s own.