Crazy title–simple and delicious recipe.
Just fresh fish–whole (preferably) or in fillet form–poached briefly in water flavoured with sweet cherry tomatoes, garlic, chili and parsley.
Fishermen on the Amalfi coast in Italy cook the non-saleable fish with these simple ingredients–usually to hand.
Why “crazy” though?
for 2
a whole sea bream/dorade or sea bass weighing about a 1lb/450gms–gutted and scaled
8oz/250gms cherry tomatoes–gashed to release their flesh but kept whole. I found some cherry tomatoes on the vine at the market this morning which were surprisingly sweet for the time of the year. Later in the year any ripe tomato would do, though the cherry variety look pretty.
4 tblsps olive oil
3 garlic cloves–chopped
1 tblsp parsley–chopped
2/3 small dried red chilis–sliced roughly
16fl oz boiling water
- Wash the fish, pat dry and season.
- Heat the oil in a pan large enough to hold the fish lying flat.
- Sauté the garlic and chili for a couple of minutes.
- Add the fish and sauté for half a minute each side,
- Add the hot water, the tomatoes and parsley.
- Squeeze the tomatoes against the sides of the pan to release some of their sweetness.
- Spoon some of the liquid over the fish, cover and cook on a low heat for about ten minutes–depending on the size of the fish.
- Carefully lift the fish out of the pan to a warm plate and separate the fillets–if it’s a whole fish.
- Serve with two or three spoonfuls of the tomatoey sauce.
- Meredith would have liked some basmati brown rice but the cupboard was bare!
- A green salad was a good stand-in.
Robin Ellis 