Kakavia (Cretan fisherman’s soup)
- Published: 7 Aug 17
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
You don’t have to eat the fish head in Marianna Leivaditaki’s traditional Cretan stew, but cooking it with potatoes, herbs and tomatoes adds fantastic flavour to the silky broth.
If you love seafood, then this Cioppino fish stew ticks all the boxes.
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Serves 6 -
Hands-on time 25 min, simmering time 30 min
Nutrition
- Calories
- 681kcals
- Fat
- 53.3g (7.6g saturated)
- Protein
- 32.5g
- Carbohydrates
- 15.6g (5.9g sugars)
- Fibre
- 4.8g
- Salt
- 0.5g
delicious. tips
If you can’t find cyprus potatoes go for a waxy variety such as charlotte or new potatoes. Large fish heads (often given away by fishmongers) have good quality meat on them. It’s worth picking out the cheek meat and other morsels before discarding.
“Making kakavia is easy as long as you use very fresh bony fish and excellent olive oil – there’s a lot of oil in the dish, which is as it should be. You also need a good hob – preferably gas, with a strong flame. Gurnard, hake or halibut all make great soup. It’s important to include the head of the fish even if you don’t fancy eating it, as the gelatine it releases mixes with the oil to make a silky broth.”
Barley rusks are a Cretan speciality – double baked until dry so they last better in the heat than fresh bread. Find them in Hellenic grocers or at amazon.co.uk.
A lemony Greek wine (they’re in supermarkets now) or crisp Provence rosé.