This is my version of a puttanesca sauce with fish.
Some days we feel we need to eat some fish. I confess I rarely feel this way, except when I'm in Naples, where fish is especially tasty. In my hometown pasta is often made with seafood, like clams (vongole, the small Neapolitan clams, so tender and flavorful, you can taste the sea). Sometimes however, pasta sauces are made with filet of fish and cherry tomatoes. Since in Naples both tomatoes and fish are so flavorful, you don't need to add much to it. When I make it here however, I add a few ingredients to give it a bit of pep. One ingredient works especially well: anchovy fillets, dissolved in olive oil. You can add these to a lot of recipes, to add depth of flavor.
This is an easy sauce. It'll take you no more than 20 minutes to make the whole dish.
Ingredients, for 2 people:
- Half a pound of fish filets (I used tilapia, which is easy to find and inexpensive. For a more expensive alternative you can use any white fish, like cod or even sea bass, but you would need to adjust the cooking time)
- About 10 to 15 cherry tomatoes, cut in half.
- 3 filets of anchovies in olive oil.
- A tablespoon of capers (briefly rinsed under the tap)
- A tablespoon of pitted kalamata olives, some sliced and some whole.
- 3 full tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, whole, peeled.
- 250 Grams (half a pack) of Spaghetti.
- Chopped (Italian) fresh parsley.
- Kosher salt.
Let's make it:
First, boil some water for the pasta.
My darling aunt, Zia Anna, one day decided to stop softening the garlic in the olive oil before the other ingredients, as most people do when making tomato sauces. "No more burnt garlic smell," she said. She also likes to leave it whole, so that it doesn't overpower the flavor of the dish. So, we can follow her example: put the oil, the tomatoes and the garlic in the pot at the same time (use a large pot, you'll need to put the pasta in it later. My green cast iron is perfect) and turn the heat to medium. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the anchovies.
With a wooden spoon (or silicone, these days that's what people use), break up the anchovies, making sure they dissolve in the pot. Then add the capers and the olives. After a minute, add the chopped parsley and a little bit of salt.
As you can see in the pictures, the garlic shouldn't brown. This way it flavors the dish, without overpowering it. Zia Anna made the right call...
Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, avoiding stirring too harshly. Let's respect the integrity of the cherry tomatoes. We don't want them to look all beaten up.
Add the fish, cut into large chunks (see picture). Add a little more salt to the fish. Turn down the heat to medium/low.
Cook with the pot uncovered for 2 minutes, turning the fish over gently (GENTLY!), then cover the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes on low/medium heat. Covering the pot will create steam which will make for more moisture and more sauce. Make sure you don't cook the fish for too long, just until it's done. Maybe, try breaking up one chunk. If it's nice and white inside, the fish it done. When you gently (gently!) turn the fish in the pot, make sure that the sauce coats it well.
Once the sauce it done, take it off the heat. Then put the pasta in the boiling water (I know the pot I used is too small, but I liked how the pasta looked in the pot).
While the pasta cooks, make a basil gin gimlet. Here's how I make it: In a shaker put .75 oz of lemon juice, .75 oz of simple sirup, 2 oz of gin and a few leaves of basil. Add lots of ice. Shake well, but not too long (if you shake too long, the basil will release too much of its oils and give an herbal taste you won't like). Double strain in a glass with a large ice cube, add a slice of lemon as garnish. Pictures below.
The gimlet will help you finish the dish. The pasta needs to cook a full 3 minutes less than what the instructions on the package call for. Before you drain the pasta, reserve half a cup of water. Drain the pasta and put it in the sauce, on high heat, with some of that pasta water (less that what you reserved...) Go ahead and sauté the mixture, stirring gently (remember, gently please), so that the water evaporates, coating the pasta well. Try to not break up the fish too much.
Serve and enjoy.
Wine: a good white wine, like Vermentino or Frascati. I would not use Sauvignon Blanc, its herbal nature would not pair well with the dish. You can also stick with the gimlet.
Buon appetito and stay safe!
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