Some people are haunted by ghosts, others are haunted by a sense of meaninglessness in a vast, expanding universe; but me? I'm haunted by food.
Restaurant dishes, dishes I make I home: it doesn't matter. I crave them, I want them. Lately, I've been haunted by a dish I ate two weeks ago with my friend Lauren who kindly agreed to cat-sit for me when I was in Seattle. As a reward for her cat-sitting, I took her to The Union Square Cafe for lunch and it was there that I encountered the dish that'd haunt me for weeks to come: the cacciucco you see in the picture above.
Let's start with pronunciation: according to Wikipedia, Cacciucco is pronounced: "/katʃuk:o/" Wait, say WHAT Wikipedia? There's a "t" sound in a word with no "t"? You must jest. Italian readers, tell me Wikipedia is jesting.
The waitress clearly didn't think Wikipedia was jesting, she corrected me when I ordered it from the menu; I pronounced it "CATCHY UCCO." She instantly corrected me--she had a haughty Austrian accent and an off-putting aggressive personality--so I felt thoroughly chastised. I still can't remember, though, if she pronounced it with a "t."
Anyway, Cacciucco is a fish stew that comes from Livorno. It's cooked with wine, tomatoes and chiles and that alone should make you crave it. But what I loved about The Union Square Cafe's version was how artfully it was put together.
The menu describes it as: "Cacciucco of Branzino, Mussels, Octopus and Shrimp with Fregola, Gigante Beans and Cappezzana Olive Oil." (Did I ever tell you about the time I ate dinner with a daughter of the Cappezzana Olive Oil estate? I didn't? Maybe some other time!)
I imagined a robust stew with shells and eyes and fins and all the gunk you normally see in a fish stew (well it depends where you are). Here, everything was done for you: the mussels were out of their shell, the shrimp was out of its shell, the branzino was seared so the skin was crispy and laid on top.
More importantly, though--almost like a great pasta dish--all of these elements were unified by both the flavor (the wine, the tomatoes, the spice) and the other textures involved: the beans (which balanced the meatiness of the fish), the fregola (which gave more of a bite and absorbed the sauce) and some kind of greens that were also thrown in that gave the dish depth and color.
In many ways, and I think you might agree just looking at the picture, this dish is a mini-masterpiece. It's also one of the most expensive dishes on the lunch menu at $26; but if you're splurging anyway, and you're craving something hardy yet light enough that you won't feel weighed down the rest of the day: this is your dish.
Bravo to the Union Square Cafe for making a Cacciucco fan out of me: now if I could only say it, all would be well.
Comments (21)
If I'm remembering my Italian pronunciation correctly, there is a harsh c sound, which could sound like a t. The pronunciation of the c is determined by what consonants and vowels it is linked with. A c followed by an i will always be a 'chh' sound, but a c followed by a consonant will always be a harsh c, making the 'k' sound. Since you have a word with two cs followed by an i, the first c will make a 'k' sound, followed quickly by a 'chh' sound. Phonetically, I would describe it as ka/k/chu/cho, but I can see why you would use a t instead of a k, because it makes a similar sound.
Hmm. I hope that made sense. I'm not a linguistics expert by any means. Long story short, there is a t sound in there. Also, the soup looks nothing short of delicious. I lived in Tuscany for a while, and this brings back good memories of going to the beaches near Piza. A fabulous area of Italy.
Posted by Ivory | January 8, 2009 12:57 PM
I think wikipedia is trying to tell you to say cat-CHEW-ko. The double C in front of an I means a very hard "ch" sound, which I guess they are representing with a t... but basically you want to avoid cashew-co and you'll be fine!
PS, Happy Blog Birthday :)
Posted by Adrienne | January 8, 2009 1:57 PM
Similar to Chicken Cacciatore, also with no "t" but it sounds like a "t".
Posted by Suzanne | January 8, 2009 2:00 PM
What Wiki is trying to say by using /tʃ/ is that it's pronounced exactly like the first sound in "chocolate". /tʃ/ is a digraph used in phonetics to express just this sound, i.e. voiceless postalveolar affricate... ;)
Warm regards from snowy Poland!
Posted by Piotrek | January 8, 2009 2:17 PM
Bravo, Piotrek! Or like in "Kaczyński"!?
Posted by Josef | January 8, 2009 3:57 PM
However you say it, the dish looks great!
Posted by Sara | January 8, 2009 4:02 PM
However you say it, it does look good.
I too, share your tendency towards "culinary hauntings". I once had the perfect deviled egg at an upscale BBQ joint (kind of an oxymoron!) in Texas. I tried to recreate it for months!
Posted by Alison | January 8, 2009 5:07 PM
What is surprising to me is a waitress at Union Sq treating you haughtily. Danny Meyer's service is usually exemplary and he's famous for it.
Posted by Robert Yesselman | January 8, 2009 6:18 PM
What is surprising to me is a waitress at Union Sq treating you haughtily. Danny Meyer's service is usually exemplary and he's famous for it.
Posted by NYExile | January 8, 2009 6:22 PM
What is surprising to me is a waitress at Union Sq treating you haughtily. Danny Meyer's service is usually exemplary and he's famous for it.
Posted by NYExile | January 8, 2009 6:23 PM
Yes, basically it's pronounced "catCHOOko." We really don't pronounce the t in catch in English, anyway...at least I don't...
That hard ch sound is common in Italian words...caccio (cheese), caccia (hunt), braccio/a (arm(s)), faccia (face), minaccia (threat)....all pronounced similarly.
Posted by tom | January 8, 2009 6:26 PM
Exactly the way we pronounce the "cc" in the word cappuccino. I´m not sure it is pronounced the same way in America though.
Posted by Anonymous | January 8, 2009 8:37 PM
this is probably repeating what was said above, but it's cah-CHOO-koh (note the soft o to close). there's no t sound and you don't have to hold the double c for overlong. the double c is soft preceding an i, but hard when preceding an o. now you're an italian.
Posted by sandro | January 9, 2009 10:59 AM
this is probably repeating what was said above, but it's cah-CHOO-koh (note the soft o to close). there's no t sound and you don't have to hold the double c for overlong. the double c is soft preceding an i, but hard when preceding an o. now you're an italian.
Posted by sandro | January 9, 2009 10:59 AM
this is probably repeating what was said above, but it's cah-CHOO-koh (note the soft o to close). there's no t sound and you don't have to hold the double c for overlong. the double c is soft preceding an i, but hard when preceding an o. now you're an italian.
Posted by sandro | January 9, 2009 10:59 AM
this is probably repeating what was said above, but it's cah-CHOO-koh (note the soft o to close). there's no t sound and you don't have to hold the double c for overlong. the double c is soft preceding an i, but hard when preceding an o. now you're an italian.
Posted by sandro | January 9, 2009 11:00 AM
this is probably repeating what was said above, but it's cah-CHOO-koh (note the soft o to close). there's no t sound and you don't have to hold the double c for overlong. the double c is soft preceding an i, but hard when preceding an o. now you're an italian.
Posted by sandro | January 9, 2009 11:00 AM
like adrienne, suzanne and tom said...the 't' sound comes from the double 'c'--consider it like the 't' sound that comes from the double 'z' in "pizza."
additionally, whenever there's an 'i' or 'e' following a 'c' or 'z' in italian, it generally serves just to change the function of the preceding consonant. thus, you say not, "catchY..." but "cat-choo..."
boring? a little, but now you can squelch those cravings without the austrian glare ;)
Posted by m | January 9, 2009 2:51 PM
"Restaurant dishes, dishes I make I home." Adam, did you really mean to say this? I love the post, but didn't you really mean to say "at home" or something else?
Posted by Mary | January 10, 2009 9:14 AM
I totally know what you mean being haunted by dishes, I get that way with curries! That looks transcendent! I want to cat sit for you so that I can eat such lovely food:)
Hehe!
Posted by ulla | January 10, 2009 6:46 PM
Oooooh, Adam....my boyfriend makes the most AMAZING cacciuccio....he finishes it off with a big dollop of creme fraiche and serves it with lots of crusty white bread to soak up the juices. Utterly fabulous.
You have a standing invitation to come and try it when you're next in Australia.
Posted by Johanna | January 30, 2009 4:15 AM