38. Anzio Fishermen's Soup
History
The 'Minestra dei pescatori anziati' (soup of the fishermen of Anzio) is a popular dish closely linked to the territory of Anzio, the birthplace of Emperor Nero and a popular tourist destination for Romans. It seems that the origins of this soup are very ancient, dating back some two centuries. The recipe calls for the preparation of a broth of 'mazzama', i.e. of all those types of poor fish such as sgavaioni (Lepidotrigla cavillone), manfroni (Pagellus acarne), zerri (Centracanthus zirrus), tracine (Trachinus araneus) and other types, but still present in the local fish market. In the past, the fishermen of Anzio had to catch fish off the coast in small family boats. On their return they would arrange the fish in spasini, small wicker baskets, taking care to separate the valuable pieces from the poor ones. The more commercial fish was loaded onto horse-drawn wagons and taken to the markets in Rome, the rest was sold to the local population, or salted or dried for later sale. The mazzama fish, on the other hand, since there was no refrigeration, was entrusted to the skilful hands of the women of anziata to make a tasty broth with the help of a few simple ingredients such as oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, parsley and salted anchovies. In the broth, spaghetti were then cooked, preferably spaghetti recovered from the foil, already broken. Despite the low quality fish, therefore, the result, today as then, is a delicious soup which, once served, must be seasoned according to the maritime tradition, with chilli pepper and pecorino cheese or, alternatively, with wine or two drops of lemon.
The product
Minestra dei pescatori anziati has a uniform orange colour. The high olfactory intensity is characterised by strong notes of fish broth, tomato vegetables and spicy notes of chilli, garlic and herbs (parsley). The taste is harmoniously salty and savoury with a slight spicy note. Good aromatic persistence.
ERMELINDA GARZIA AND HER RESTAURANT AL TURCOTTO
The Al Turcotto Restaurant in Anzio has an ancient culinary tradition of over two hundred years. It was founded as Osteria del Porto in 1816 by Gaetano Garzia and since then the management has always remained in the family, handed down from father to son. "We represent the gastronomic history of Anzio!" says Ermelinda proudly, "and we feel we are the custodians of the dishes of the Portodanzese tradition. The soup of Anzio's fishermen is precisely one of these dishes, whose recipe proposed by Ermelinda's restaurant cannot disregard the availability and seasonality of the catch: 'In our restaurant, the soup is not made with mazzama, but only and exclusively with sgavaioni, neither skinned nor gutted, so as not to detract from the dish's colour and flavour. Together with garlic, oil, anchovies, parsley, tomatoes and chilli pepper, the fish are boiled for about two and a half hours; then everything is strained through a Chinese strainer. The broken spaghetti is then cooked in the broth'. Mrs Ermelinda continues: 'the noodle is broken into spoon-sized pieces, so that it can be eaten better. As a child, I remember, our grandmothers would put us all around the table and giving us a spoon as a measuring stick, they would ask us to break the spaghetti'. The dish is served at the Al Turcotto restaurant in a large terracotta container, which, once the lid is removed, releases all the heady perfume of anziate fish in front of the customer
