Recipe courtesy of The Italian Home Cook by Silvia Colloca, Macmillan Publishers, RRP $39.99
Also known as Pesce All’acqua Pazza. The literal translation of this dish is ‘fish in mad water’, the madness being a delectable tomato, wine and olive oil broth that gently poaches white fish fillets. More than madness, this method of cooking fish seems to thoroughly embrace the spirit of Italian home cooking, where a few ingredients create a sensational meal that will make you love it ‘alla follia’ (like crazy).
SERVES 4
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 spring onions, pale green and white parts thinly sliced, plus extra to serve
- 2 garlic cloves, bashed with the back of a knife, skin on or off
- tip of a teaspoon of chilli flakes
- 150 g (1 cup) cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 150 ml dry white wine
- salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 × 200 g monkfish fillets (or any other white fish), skin removed and pin-boned, cut into large chunks
- finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, to serve
- crusty bread, to serve
Method
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add the spring onion, garlic and chilli flakes and cook for 1–2 minutes or until softened. Add the cherry tomatoes, stir well and cook for 1 minute, then pour in the wine and allow it to bubble away for 2–3 minutes to cook out the alcohol.
- Add 150 ml of water to the tomato mixture, season with salt and pepper and add the fish. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook gently for 3–4 minutes or until the fish is almost cooked through. Remove the pan from the heat and let the fish rest in its poaching liquid with the lid on for another 5 minutes to allow the residual heat to finish cooking it.
- Divide the fish and poaching liquid among serving bowls, scatter on the parsley and some extra spring onion, if desired, and serve with lots of bread for mopping up the delicious juices.
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