It began as a way to use up leftovers, but some high-end restaurants turned it into a top-dollar stew rich ... cooker and add the seafood shortly before dinnertime so that it stays flaky and tender.

Some of these trabocchi now hold restaurants serving brodetto di pesce, a piquant tomato-based seafood stew that is actually a meal in two parts: Devour the fish, then cook pasta in the remaining ...