Kakavia is also known as “Psarosoupa” or a fish soup. Kakavia also gets it’s name from the pot in which it’s cooked in, the “kakavi”. By all accounts, Kakavia is the pre-cursor to the modern-day bouillabaisse. It made its way from Greece to Marseilles (Massalia) around 600 B.C.
The Greeks cooked this in the “kakavi”, the French in the “bouillet”. Which pot do think came first? Good.
There are many renditions of Kakavia, this one having some tomatoes, others made in a Avgolemono Sauce and both are absolutely delicious. The two versions (any many in between) are made with a combination of fish and shellfish, filled with vegetables and herbs and it makes for an excellent pairing with some crusty bread and a dry glass of white wine. 
Some of the older recipes for Kakavia even call for the use of sea water in the soup but we’ll steer away from that. Kakavia is traditionally made from the day’s catch to feed the crew so, don’t fret if you don’t have the same array of seafood I’ve used. The best fish and seafood is the freshest fish and seafood.
There are three components to a Kakavia, the first being the base of vegetables and herbs. The second component is the whole fish that’s gives the soup mid-range seafood flavours. Without the whole fish, this would just be a vegetable soup with some shellfish thrown in the end. The third and final component is the actual fish and seafood that get added just near the end of the cooking process. The meat of the dish, if you will. 
Preparation or “mise en place” is always important when cooking but I’d recommend you get organized when making Kakavia. It’s not a difficult soup to make, there are just some steps one has to be organized about when tackling this dish.
Bouquet garnis are required for the whole fish that get poached in the soup and, for the bundle of herbs and spices that will add depth of falvour. Leeks are best for soups but onions work fine too. A rough dice of all the vegetables is all that is required. The goal is to have chunks that fit well on the soup spoon. A gulp of potato, a slurp of carrot and clam, a bite if shrimp and celery.
Kakavia is also a liberal recipe in that there’s no set rules as to what fish and seafood one should use. My only caution to you is to avoid adding salmon here…the salmon will dominate the entire flavour of the soup. 
So, pay a visit to your fishmonger, ask him (or her) to find you a good whole fish for stock, say a red snapper or 2-3 red mullets. In Greece, the Scorpion fish does the fish stock duties but I’ve yet to see such species on this side of the Atlantic. A medley of shellfish are the jewels of the soup. Grab some clams, mussels, the shrimp and some fillets of white fish (like bass, cod, whiting or grouper).
An important procedure with Kakavia is to wrap the whole fish well in a cheesecloth. The wholefish will be poached in the broth and the body can come apart rather easily. The cheesecloth does a very good job of preventing pin bones from remaining in your soup.
Finally, do accompany this soup with some good crusty bread. On this occasion, I toasted some homemade Artisan bread, wizzed up some roasted garlic with olive oil and scallions and smeared the spread over the crusty warm bread. The combination of dipping this old-school garlic bread into this chunky fish soup will remain a memory for awhile.
Kakavia (Κακαβια) 
(serves 6)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large leeks, rinsed well & rough dice
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped
3 large potatoes, diced
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
3 bay leaves
4-5 allspice berries
6-7 peppercorns
1 bunch of fresh thyme
pinch of saffron threads
1 heaping Tbsp. tomato paste 
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 cup dry white wine
2 red mullets (or 1 whole red snapper or Scorpion fish)
1 lb. clams
1lb. mussels
1 lb. shrimp, peeled & deveined
(shells reserved)
1 lb. white fish fillets (bass, haddock, halibut, whiting),
cut into bite-sized pieces
8-9 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste
some cheesecloth
crusty garlic bread
chopped fresh parsley
wedges of lemon
- Have your “mise en place” in order. Clean, peel & chop up your vegetables, wash, scrub, peel, clean, trim your fish and seafood and keep in the fridge until ready to cook. Have some cheesecloth handy to make a bouquet garni of your herbs and spices and to wrap your whole fish.
- Place a large pot on your stovetop over medium-high heat and add your leeks, carrots and celery and saute. You may also add the bouquet garni of bay, thyme, allspice, peppercorns along with the saffron threads and another bouquet garni of reserved shrimp shells (lots of flavour in those). Lower to medium and cover and allow to sweat and soften for about 10 minutes.
- Add your potatoes, tomato paste and tomato puree and stir in for a minute or two. Now add the wine and water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to medium and simmer for another 30 minutes. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
- Add your whole fish (wrapped & tied in cheesecloth) and simmer for another 15 minutes. Carefully remove the fish, continue simmering the soup. Carefully remove the meat of the fish and reserve. You may discard the fish bones.
- Clams take longer than all the remaining seafood to cook. Drop the clams into the pot and bring back to a boil. As soon as your soup is boiling, turn the heat off and add the mussels, shrimp and pieces of white fish and cooked red mullet meat. Cover and allow the residual heat of the soup to cook the seafood for about 10 minutes. Remove both bouquet garnis and discard.
- Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Divide the soup in large bowls and serve with some crusty garlic bread, sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley and serve with a wedge of lemon.
- I recommend drinking a Pavlou Xinomavro-Riesling. It’s a “blanc de noir”, meaning it’s a made primarly of crushed red grapes and the skins are removed to preserve it’s “white wine” appearence. The Xinomavro-Riesling is an 80/20 mix and it has intense acidity (that’s good), berry tones with a lemon finish.
41 Responses
What a beautiful looking feast of a soup, Peter.
this soup reminds me of holidays… Really beautiful and appetizing!
Cheers,
Rosa
this soup reminds me of holidays… Really beautiful and appetizing!
Cheers,
Rosa
simply beautiful, and thanks for all the advice
Beautiful and aromatic (I know…the fragrance is reaching down to FL), Sheer perfection for me.
ΩΠ!!!! I could not find it the other day. It looks absolutely irresistible.
Peter, there are no words … okay, maybe a few: that looks absoltutely amazing!
It’s really funny, cause I just started to look into the Kalymnian version of Kakavia that my aunt and I were talking about last week and I was fishing (no pun intended) through my Giagia’s recipe journals to find if she’d actually written her own version down.
Your dish is very inspiring … and would make for a great Valentine’s Day meal :)
That’s a soup that will definitely get people talking and reminiscing!Looks gorgeous!
Oooh yum!
Now, that soup really does look delish…..and even after stuffing my face today at lunch time (coz it’s my birthday on Monday)!…..
I could still eat your fish soup – it looks soooo good!
Ps: I am going to be 47 years young lol
Peter, this is the most delicious fish soup I can imagine! My family will love this!
Cheers,
Elra
Is scorpion fish rofos in greek? If so, my local fishmonger here in Mtl carries it from time to time, so it should be available in To. Your soup looks so comforting!
Still practicing my avgolemono making skills. Looks like this is the next level (or 3 or 4).
Oh this one is a masterpiece Peter, so fresh and vibrant! I learned something new with this fish in cheesecloth.
LL
Dont tell ze French, but I think this sounds way more tastier than Bouillabase.
yummy,yummy,yummy!!! xxGloria
You are fast becoming my favorite food blog!
I've been browsing your archives for poultry recipes & can't decide which to try 1st. Anxious to browse through the other food sections. ;o}
Thank you for sharing your recipes. They all sound & look so tempting!!!!!
Have a great day!
Everytime I see a seafood dish you cook, I want some! This dish sounds just about perfect and I’m even willing to get “organized” for the cooking of it.
This is so lovely! I bet it’s very filling, too, with all those veggies and seafood. The bread is a great compliment, too. YUM!
That must be so fragrant and good. With all these ingredients the broth must be so good.
I’ve never met a seafood soup I didn’t love, and your version of Kakavia sounds truly delicious. Also, nice wine recommendation!
Looks and sounds wonderful! I love bouillabaisse and this sounds way better!
I have yet to cook kakavia Peter! Your recipe looks amazing. I think I will give it a try soon. BTW Gastronomos is out today. Getting slimmer every time…
Hi Peter !
Your kakavia is absolutely wonderfull !
I would like to have a plate of it just now !
Should I write my comments in greek or not ?
This looks absolutely gorgeous and like something that would be a dream dish for me. I love anything that’s fish/seafood based, especially if you throw in things like saffron.
Brilliant!
This looks scrumptious!!!!! I have to make this soon : )
i can certainly appreciate the beauty of this dish, peter–it’s classy and gorgeous.
Looks absolutely beautiful Peter! What a treat for the senses.
the second i saw the pic i thought bouillabaisse, but how interesting that this came first. looks great. i would have thought it needed to cook longer than you have put to get the punchy flavor of the fish, but this looks like a super quick and delicious meal.
i meant to say “tasty” meal.
A feast for the senses Peter:D
so colorful and aromatic! though i don’t eat shellfish, i would tear this apart if i did. doesn’t mean i can’t try it for my parents and clients that will kill for a bowl like this. And kudos to you for making your own bread. Ur such a renaissance man! :)
Peter you reminded me the Clams and mussels in white wine sauce I had last night but yours is even better, your blog teaches me a lot of Greek cooking, thanks!
Looks absolutely delicious .. love the photos too .. Laila .. http://limeandlemon.wordpress.com/
Elegant & elaborate. I got scared seeing the eyes of those fishes:-(
Whole is the only way to buy fish:-) I can almost picture myself eating this in a port town somewhere on the Mediterranean.
Everything about this looks phenomenal!!!
That looks like an amazing dish! I also like the photo of “after” :)
What an interesting (And spectacular-looking) variation on cioppino. Man, I bet a bowl of this would really set you straight.
I am just getting to know your blog and it is wonderful! Mouthwatering photos and food that I want to eat right now! You are so talented! I love it!
that look very nice!!