ALJOTTA

ABOUT THIS RECIPE

Aljotta is a Friday soup and a frugal one. The entire thing is built on garlic cooked slowly in olive oil until it is sweet, so the oil is not a background ingredient here — it carries the dish. Use whole small fish if you can get them; the bones and heads are what give the broth body.

INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

800 g whole small fish, gutted and scaled (vopi, pagella or any rock fish), or 2 fish heads plus 400 g firm white fish fillet 80 ml Secret Garden Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus more to finish 1 whole head of garlic, cloves peeled and sliced 1 large onion, finely chopped 500 g ripe tomatoes, grated, or 1 tin chopped tomatoes 1 tbsp kunserva 1.5 litres water 80 g short-grain rice 2 tbsp fresh marjoram leaves 2 tbsp chopped mint 2 tbsp chopped parsley Juice of 1 lemon Sea salt and black pepper

METHOD

  1. Sweat the aromatics. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over low heat. Add the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt and cook gently for 12–15 minutes until completely soft and sweet. Do not let the garlic colour — bitter garlic ruins the broth.
  2. Build the base. Stir in the kunserva and cook for 1 minute, then add the grated tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes until the mixture darkens and thickens.
  3. Add the fish and water. Pour in the water, add the whole fish or heads, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 20 minutes. Do not boil hard or the broth turns cloudy and muddy.
  4. Strain. Lift out the fish. Pass the broth through a sieve, pressing the solids firmly to extract everything, then return the liquid to the pot. If using whole fish, pick the flesh off the bones and set aside.
  5. Rice. Bring the broth back to a simmer, add the rice, and cook 15 minutes until tender and the soup has thickened slightly.
  6. Finish. Return the picked fish, or add the diced fillet and poach 4 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the marjoram, mint, parsley and lemon juice. Season well.
  7. Serve with a hard pour of raw olive oil over each bowl and crusty bread.

NOTES

Two pours of oil, two jobs. The first cooks the garlic and carries the flavour through the broth. The second, added raw at the table, sits on the surface and hits you on the first spoonful. Marjoram is not optional. It is the defining aroma of aljotta. Oregano is a distant second choice. The rice keeps swelling, so leftovers thicken into something closer to a stew. Loosen with water when reheating.