Time for kakavia!

Last week I made a pot of Greek-style fish soup to celebrate the arrival of fall. That briny smell takes me right back to the Aegean.

In Greece, the dish is called “κακαβιά” and I’ve never seen it served in a restaurant. It’s the meal fishermen make when they’re camped on the beach at night. According to this recollection by the son of a fisherman, the seafarers always bring along essential cooking ingredients, such as a deep pot, eating utensils, olive oil, lemons, onions, tomatoes, bread and olives.

According to Greek food writer Diane Kochilas, fresh-caught fish are always used, but only small or unattractive ones that are unlikely to sell in the marketplace. The fisherman’s son says the best fish for kakavia are comber, painted comber, blotched picarel, parrotfish and ornate wrasse (all indigenous to the Mediterranean). He goes on to explain how the dish is made: The fishermen dig a hole in the pebble beach, build a fire with driftwood and place the pot over the fire. Then they throw in some olive oil, an onion, a few tomatoes, water, salt and pepper. After the veggies are cooked, they add some red vinegar, the fish and just enough water to cover. The last touch: a splash of lemon juice. Sounds crude, but it’s delicious.

Kochilas suggests the following for kakavia: scorpionfish, perch, grouper, bream or bogue. But I make it with shrimp and flounder, fresh caught from Whole Foods. If only I had a thimble of Aegean seawater to top it off.