Mescafrancesca potatoes and fish

To prepare the mescafrancesca potatoes and fish, start with the octopus: bring a pot of water to a boil to which you have added coarsely chopped carrot, celery, and onion, then submerge the octopus 1 and cook for 40 minutes. After this time, drain the octopus 2 and let it cool in a separate bowl 3. For further details, you can refer to the guide "How to Clean and Cook Octopus".

In the meantime, take care of the shellfish: clean the mussels and clams (for more information, you can refer to our guides "How to Clean and Open Mussels" and "How to clean clams"). In a large pan, flavor the oil with parsley stems and a clove of garlic 4, then add the mussels and clams 5. Pour in a little water 6 and cook on high heat, shaking the pan frequently.

As the shells open, remove the shellfish with tongs 7 and set them aside. Once they have all opened, strain the cooking liquid through a chinois 8. At this point, shell the mussels and clams and keep the mollusks in the strained cooking liquid 9.

Move on to cleaning the other fish: remove the skin from the sea bass fillet 10 and cut it first into strips 11 and then into cubes 12.

Clean the squid (for more information, you can refer to the guide "How to Clean Squid"). Cut the squid mantle lengthwise to open it 13, then scrape the inside with the back of a knife to clean it and remove the thin skin 14. Cut the squid into strips and then into regular pieces 15.

Clean the shrimp (for more information, you can refer to the guide "How to clean shrimp") and cut the flesh into pieces of the same size 16. Finally, cut 100 g of cooked octopus into pieces 17. Transfer the sea bass, squid, shrimp, and octopus to a bowl, then add the shelled mussels and clams with their liquid 18.

Finely chop the candied lemon 19 and add it to the bowl with the fish and shellfish 20, then also season with the fennel and basil cut into julienne strips 21. Finally, dress with lemon juice and a drizzle of oil, mix well, and set aside.

Now focus on the potatoes: peel them and cut them first into slices and then into sticks 22. Cut the central sticks into cubes of more regular shape 23, and mince the side parts instead 34.

Peel and dice the carrots 25, celery 26, and onion 27 into brunoise.

You can now proceed with cooking: heat the oil in a large saucepan, then add the vegetables for the sauté 28 and brown over low heat for about ten minutes. At this point, add the potatoes to the sauté 29 and salt 30.

Pour in the fish stock 31 and shellfish stock 32 and cook over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the mixed pasta for about 4 minutes 33.

Drain the pasta, transfer it to the saucepan 34, and cook for about another 5 minutes 35. When the pasta is al dente and the potatoes are soft and creamy, turn off the heat and wait for the boil to subside, then add all the fish 36.

Mix well 37, cover with the lid 38, and let it rest for a minute. Your mescafrancesca potatoes and fish is ready to be served 39!