So what if we’re rocking back and forth? The pot remains firmly in place on the top of the stove, as if on a gyroscopic burner. The A/K “Panagiotis” is dancing to the rhythm of the small waves on this May morning, somewhere off the coast of Naxos. The crew has earned a few hours’ break from casting nets, here on the eve of summer in the midst of the Aegean, and it’s time to get cooking.

© Nikos Kokkas

© Nikos Kokkas
Captain Panagiotis Sorokos selects the still-flopping fresh fish for the soup. “I imagine that you’ve never tried this type of kakavia [traditional fisherman’s soup)] before, in a floating restaurant like this one, with such a variety of fish taken directly from the sea?”, he asks, much like a chef speaking to a distinguished guest.
Today’s ingredients are three scorpionfish, three John Dorys, four weevers, one comber, one forkbeard (which goes perfectly with the scorpionfish), two mackerel, three small hakes and one monkfish – between three and four kilos in total, enough for about six servings.

© Nikos Kokkas

© Nikos Kokkas
With and ingredients sourced from the waters of the Aegean and the soil of Naxos, the captain plays the role of a passionate chef, working on a table that’s really an upside-down crate, but with fabulous sea views.
Into the steaming liter of water where the fish are cooking, he throws in 6 chopped potatoes, 3 roughly chopped, medium-sized onions, one glass of olive oil, and salt and pepper, and then lets things take their own course for 25 minutes. It’s 8 o’clock in the morning; and the soup will soon take the place of breakfast, a nutritious treat for my belly which is, surprisingly, unfazed by the relentless rocking.
 
Five minutes before removing the pot from the heat, he adds the vinegar; the fishermen are already gathering, ready to divvy up the soup.
This article was first published in Greece at gastronomos.gr.