As part of the Covid-19 relief initiative 50 Best for Recovery, 50 Best published its first-ever e-cookbook, Home Comforts: simple lockdown recipes from the world’s best chefs and bartenders. Discover how Argentine chef Mauro Colagreco makes his Cioppino fish soup in this Home Comforts extract and make a donation to receive the e-book and access all 50 exclusive recipes and 25 unique cocktail pairings
Mauro Colagreco, the chef behind Mirazur, named The World’s Best Restaurant 2019, was born and grew up in Argentina in an immigrant Italian family. After training at the Gato Dumas Institute in Buenos Aires and working in some of the city’s most prestigious restaurants, Colagreco headed to France for further culinary training. While still a student, he would unknowingly pass by his future restaurant on the French Riviera, on a little road between the sea and the mountains that took him to Rome.
A few years later, after working with great French chefs such as Bernard Loiseau, Alain Passard, Alain Ducasse and Guy Martin, Colagreco decided to open his own place. In 2006, the chef discovered a 1930s villa serendipitously located 30 metres from the French-Italian border. Surrounded by orchards and gardens, with access to markets in France and Italy and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, Mirazur – home of Colagreco’s borderless cuisine – was born.
“For many years, we have been working with a local fisherman, Lionel, and his wife Manuela – they own the last fishing boat in Menton, called Le Prosper,” says Colagreco. “During the lockdown, they unfortunately could not sell their daily catch. As an act of generosity and friendship, they gave us quite a lot of fish and I decided to create a special dish.
“I revisited the traditional recipe of the bouillabaisse fish soup from Marseille, adding our personal touch. This new recipe directly inspired by the Mediterranean Sea has brought us comfort during these difficult times.”
CIOPPINO
SERVES: 4-6
PREP TIME: 40 mins
COOKING TIME: 30 mins
Ingredients
For the crab
1 rock crab, about 1.5 kg
Method
In a large saucepan, bring 5cm of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the crab, cover the pan and leave to simmer for 12 minutes. Allow to cool.
Over a bowl, collect all the liquid and viscera from the crab. Remove the legs, cut them off at the joints in the upper and lower sections and remove the meat from the shell with a pick.
For the fish soup
80ml lemon juice
1 large shallot
4 anchovies in salt
450g small or medium clams
450g mussels
230g monkfish tail without skin
2 green onions
2 lemons
3 garlic cloves
65g candied tomatoes
1 pinch of dried chilli
200 sea almonds (sometimes called tropical almonds)
6 prawns
120ml white wine
40g tomato sauce (passata or marinara)
1 thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
2 litres fish stock
Olive oil
Parsley
Method
Peel the shallot and cut it into rings. Rinse the anchovies and cut them in half lengthwise. Rinse the clams and mussels; debeard the mussels. Cut the monkfish into 2.5cm cubes. Chop the onions and cut the lemons into quarters.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shallot and chopped garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the anchovies and "break" them with a wooden spoon, then add the candied tomatoes and chilli pepper. Leave to cook for 2 minutes. Add the clams, mussels, sea almonds, prawns and monkfish tail.
Mix together. Moisten with white wine and tomato sauce. Add the thyme, the bay leaf and salt. Bring to the boil. Moisten generously with fish stock. Simmer and cook until the mussels and clams open (about 3 to 5 minutes). Add the crab meat. Take off the heat, add the parsley and green onions.
Season with salt and pepper. Add the lemon wedges, a drizzle of olive oil and serve hot.
In Home Comforts, Colagreco’s dish is paired with a cocktail created by the team at Dante, the aperitivo bar in New York that was voted No.1 in The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019. The cocktail, called Bianca Bicicletta, provides dry and crisp notes to complement the crab and white fish. Click here to buy a copy of the e-cookbook and learn how to make the perfect drink to accompany this delicious seafood dish.
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