Seafood

On the east coast of Sicily, the daily Catania seafood market is so clamorous, so vigorous, so replete with fishy delights, that it should go to the top of every gastronome’s bucket list. Sicilians really know seafood and how to experience it, from the simplicity of raw sea urchins, cracked open and eaten with a shot of lemon juice, to the complexity of multi-layered seafood stews garnishing cuscussu, the Sicilian version of North African couscous. It’s no wonder I turn to Sicily for the most appropriate way to mix fish with olive oil, especially the green, fruity oils of the hills overlooking the coast. There I find the simplest, most delicious garnish in a sauce called salmoriglio. All it calls for is the finest kind of olive oil, the freshest lemon juice, the most pungent wild oregano, and Sicilian sea salt. Here’s a recipe for 1 cup of sauce, 6 to 8 servings:

  • ¾ cup olive oil, preferably Sicilian
  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • Sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon crumbled dried oregano
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 or 2 garlic cloves, finely minced (optional)
  • Crushed red chile pepper to taste (optional)

Combine all the ingredients, including the optional ones if desired, and beat vigorously with a wire whisk or a fork to amalgamate. Serve immediately, spooning over prepared fish steaks, fish fillets, or whole fish cooked on the grill or roasted in the oven. Pass extra sauce to be added at the table.

Salmoriglio complements almost any kind of grilled, broiled, or poached fish—a whole sea bass is ideal, big tiger shrimps are quite wonderful, but one of the finest uses for salmoriglio, curiously enough, is as a dipping sauce to accompany a whole steamed Maine lobster. It’s a long way from the Mediterranean, but the two are almost perfect together.

In general with seafood, I prefer to use a light, fruity, sweet, not overly pungent or bitter oil to go with white-fleshed fish, shrimps, and lobster and clams. A Tunisian oil, like that from Maisons Mahjoub in the Mejerda Valley of northern Tunisia, is perfect, and so is an Arbequina from Catalonia or some of the better-made Provençal oils, such as Castelas from the Vallée des Baux appellation. For what Italians call pesce azzurro, or blue fish—meaning the range of oily fish, from sardines to mackerel to true bluefish to salmon and swordfish—you want an oil with more character, more pungency, and for that I would go with a Koroneiki oil from the island of Crete—Biolea is an optimal selection—or a Coratina from Italy’s Puglia region. Squid and octopus are strong enough in flavor to balance against that kind of oil, but, much as I love Tuscan oils, I don’t think their robust character goes well with any fish except possibly yellowfin or albacore tuna. (Bluefin tuna is on my don’t-buy list and it should be on yours because it is one of the most endangered creatures in the ocean, at serious risk for extinction.)

As with vegetables, there are a number of techniques that can be applied to different types of fish and seafood, most but not all from the Mediterranean.

Fried Shrimp, Calamari, and Chunks of Fish

For frying fish, Italian cooks favor a basic coating of plain flour, seasoned simply with salt and pepper, or with fresh or dried herbs. In Andalusia, the champion region for frying in Spain, cooks use a special harina para freir, flour for frying, a mix of all-purpose flour and semolina, sometimes with a little cornstarch added for crispness.

But the Brits—and we don’t usually think of British cooks when we think of frying—are world leaders in the simple but seductive delights of fish and chips, batter-fried fish with fried potatoes (french fries), and for that you must have a proper batter. This easy batter originated in an Elizabeth David cookbook.

Makes enough batter to coat 2 to 3 pounds of seafood (8 servings)

  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 10 ounces (1¼ cups) tepid fizzy water or beer
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 to 3 pounds seafood (see recipe)
  • Olive oil, for frying
  • Lemon wedges, for garnish

In a bowl, mix together the flour, oil, salt, and fizzy water, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand for about 2 hours. After that time, beat the egg white in a separate bowl until it is quite stiff, then fold it into the batter.Use this to batter a variety of seafood—small, fresh shrimps; calamari rings or whole baby calamari, cleaned; scallops, cut in half if they’re very large; clams or mussels; chunks or cubes of firm-textured fish (such as swordfish, halibut, shark)—all are ideal.

When ready to cook, heat olive oil in a pan deep enough for frying until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 360° to 365°F. It’s important that the oil be hot enough in the first place, and that it doesn’t overheat during the course of frying. Have ready a wire rack covered with paper towels to drain the fish. Set the oven on 200°F to keep early batches warm while you finish frying.

When the oil is hot enough, drop whatever you’re frying into the batter, let excess batter drip back into the bowl, then drop into the hot oil. Let the pieces bubble in the oil, turning them evenly on all sides so they turn beautifully golden and crisp. Keep testing the oil with your thermometer, and if it drops too low (say, below 350°F), stop frying and wait for the oil to heat up again. Be careful, too, not to let the oil get so hot that it burns the fish before cooking it through. Remove the pieces when done with a slotted spoon and set to drain on the rack, then transfer to the warm oven until you’ve finished.

Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately, with lemon wedges.

An Olive Oil Version of Jasper White’s Clam Fritters

Jasper White is the king of New England seafood—or of New England seafood cooks. This batter comes from Jasper White’s Cooking from New England. It makes enough for 5 pounds of clams, steamed open in a pot with ½ cup dry white wine. Shuck and coarsely chop the clams and reserve a cup of their broth to use in the batter. These are clam fritters, not fried clams—an important distinction. Note that the batter must be refrigerated before cooking.

Instead of clams, try fritters with oysters, chopped-up scallops, or other seafood.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup broth from the steamed clams
  • ¼ cup olive oil, plus 1 to 2 cups for frying
  • Chopped meat from 5 pounds steamed littleneck clams
  • ½ cup chopped scallions, white and green parts
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the flour, cornmeal, and baking powder, tossing with a fork to mix well. Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl with a fork, and stir in the dry ingredients. Then stir in the milk, clam broth, and the ¼ cup oil. Fold in the chopped clams and scallions and add salt and pepper. Refrigerate the mix for 1 hour before cooking.

When ready to cook, prepare a wire rack lined with paper towels for draining the fritters. Set the oven on 200°F to keep early batches warm while you finish the frying. Heat the 1 to 2 cups oil in a pan deep enough for frying until a deep-fry thermometer reaches 360° to 365°F. It’s important that the oil be hot enough in the first place, and that it doesn’t overheat during the course of frying.

Drop spoonfuls of clam fritter batter into the hot oil and let them bubble in the oil, turning them to brown evenly on all sides. Remove one fritter and cut it open to be sure they are cooked all the way through—sometimes you can have a beautifully browned exterior and a still gummy interior. That’s an indication either that your oil is too hot or that your fritters are too large. One to 2 tablespoons batter should produce the right size fritter.

Transfer the fritters to the rack as they finish cooking. Keep warm in the oven until you are done, then serve immediately. May be served with a dipping sauce—a spicy aioli (see recipe) is good, but so is a tart-sweet tomato sauce. Or just serve the fritters plain—they will disappear very quickly, in any case.

Oven Baking Whole Fish, Fillets, or Steaks

Whole fish are ideal for roasting in the oven, but in my experience it is not easy to find a whole fish, even in seaside communities. Fish purveyors have become convinced that North American consumers like their fish cut up, just like their meat. To our loss on both counts.

So, even though whole fish are preferable for oven roasting, I give directions for fillets or steaks. If you do come across a whole fish, you can follow the same principles, adjusting cooking times to reflect the thickness of the fish.

Most thick fillets or fish steaks (think halibut, salmon, swordfish, or sea bass) benefit from oven baking, which is so quick and easy that you should be able to have dinner on the table in 30 minutes. A further plus: The vegetables and potatoes get cooked right along with the fish so there’s much less cleanup. You start by arranging the fish in an oven dish that has been liberally spread with a film of olive oil. Next, sauté very gently a few sliced onions and/or leeks and/or garlic in olive oil, then, when soft, pile them on the fish, sprinkle with some fresh herbs (flat-leaf parsley, basil, fennel tops, chives) and some grated lemon zest, squeeze a few drops of lemon juice over the top, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a pinch of chile pepper if you wish, add a little more olive oil and some bread crumbs, and transfer the whole thing to a preheated 400°F oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 10 to 25 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Add other vegetables to the roasting pan if you wish, depending on the season—thickly sliced potatoes or carrots, button mushrooms, chunks of zucchini or summer squash, florets of broccoli or cauliflower, little plum tomatoes—or add a handful of pitted black olives and a scattering of capers, rinsed first to remove the salt.

Sometimes a fish for roasting will benefit from marinating in savory, spicy, or herbal mixtures. A marinade that I like to use for swordfish steaks (although it works just as well with other dense-fleshed white fish such as hake, haddock, or sea bass) calls for wild fennel pollen, which you can find at some fancy food shops. Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor stocks it. Or use ½ cup or so fresh greens from the tops of bulb fennel in the supermarket produce section. Finely chop the greens and sprinkle them liberally, along with salt and pepper, over the swordfish steaks. Then whisk together ¾ cup olive oil with 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice and 2 minced garlic cloves, and pour that over the fish. Cover it and let it marinate for 3 to 4 hours before roasting as above.

Becchina’s Oven-Roasted Fish (Pesce Arrosto)

Becchina’s Oven-Roasted Fish (Pesce Arrosto)

Becchina’s Oven-Roasted Fish Pesce Arrosto

This is a Sicilian recipe from Gianfranco Becchina, producer of fine Olio Verde oil, who is also a superb home cook. In his Castelvetrano kitchen, he roasts a whole cernia, or grouper, including the head and tail, but I’ve adapted his recipe to halibut or similar steaks.

For 6 to 8 servings, 2 pounds of boneless fish should be adequate; with the bone in, count on another half pound—2½ pounds in all.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

  • 2 pounds potatoes, preferably yellow Finns or Yukon gold, peeled
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, preferably Sicilian
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 plump garlic clove, chopped
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 2 or 3 plum tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or use whole canned plum tomatoes, to make about ⅔ cup chopped
  • Crushed red chile pepper (optional)
  • ¼ cup salted capers, well rinsed
  • 4 halibut or other similar fish steaks, cut ¾ to 1 inch thick
  • 2 pounds small, slender zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
  • ½ cup pitted black olives, preferably salt-cured
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley

Cut the potatoes into chunks, about 1½ inches to a side, and drop into a pan of rapidly boiling water. Return to a boil and cook for 5 minutes; drain and set aside.

Add the ¼ cup oil to a sauté pan along with the onion and garlic and set over medium-low heat. Cook gently just until the vegetables soften, stirring occasionally. Raise the heat slightly, and add the wine and chopped tomatoes, along with a good pinch of crushed chile pepper, if you wish. Cook rapidly, stirring, until the wine has reduced by about one-third and the tomatoes are melting in the liquid. Remove from the heat and stir in the capers.

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Use some of the remaining olive oil to coat the bottom and sides of a roasting pan large enough to hold all the fish in one layer. Set the fish in the pan and arrange the blanched potatoes and zucchini pieces around the sides. Scatter the olives among the potatoes and zucchini. Spoon the prepared onion-wine sauce over the fish and vegetables, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add the remaining oil in a thin thread over the top.

Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes; using tongs, turn the potatoes and zucchini and return to the oven for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender, by which time the fish should be cooked through. Test with a fork to make sure it flakes tenderly.

Transfer the fish to a heated serving platter, arranging the vegetables and olives around it. Stir the lemon juice and minced parsley into the pan juices and spoon over the fish. Serve immediately.

Poaching Fish in Olive Oil

The technique is a little tricky, but once you gain confidence in your ability to maintain the oil at a constant low temperature, you will turn to it for delicious results. I learned about poaching with olive oil back in the long-ago 1990s, from a wonderful Maine chef named Tom Gutow, who had a restaurant in Castine on Penobscot Bay. He poached a center cut of native-raised salmon, and what arrived at the table was so fresh-tasting, so silken in texture, so utterly delicious, that it seemed quite miraculous. Chef Tom poached his fish on top of the stove and so did I at first, despite the fact that stovetop poaching requires constant vigilance to be sure the temperature never goes over about 150°F. Then I learned about oven poaching and changed my approach.

A center cut of salmon is ideal for this (the cut the French call darne de saumon), but a thick halibut steak will also do well. In Sicily I’ve had an oil-poached round of swordfish, cut from the tail end in one thick 3-inch piece. I imagine a center cut of yellowfin or albacore tuna, if you could find it, would be similarly fulfilling. But failing a center cut, thick fillets of fish will also work, though they will take less time to cook all the way through—which could be a plus.

A frying or candy thermometer, one that can go right down into the oil, is useful.

Having selected your fish, preheat the oven to 200°F—very low but that’s the whole point. Take a pan that can go in the oven or a baking dish that can sit on top of a stove burner (because you’ll need to use both cooking areas), and add your fish to the pan. It’s best if the fish just fits in the pan, without too much empty space—you’ll use less oil that way. In Sicily, cooks sprinkle the fish with dried oregano, grated lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Elsewhere, a cook might add a couple of garlic cloves, peeled but left whole, a couple of branches of fresh thyme, and perhaps a few small chile peppers. Next, add olive oil to come just to the top of the fish and cover it with a thin film of oil.

Set the pan on a stovetop burner over minimal heat—the smallest flame on a gas burner, the lowest setting on electric. Use a thermometer to be exact and, when the oil in the pan has reached 200°F, carefully transfer the pan to the oven.

(Some cooks like to craft a sort of bain-marie by setting the pan with the fish and oil into a larger roasting pan, then adding boiling water to the roasting pan to come about 2 inches up the sides. I don’t see the necessity of this, but it seems worth noting.)

Let the fish cook for 1 hour, then test for doneness. It is difficult to give times since so much depends on the thickness of the fish, but in any case it is almost impossible to overcook unless you forget the fish and leave it in all day. If you’re planning for a dinner party, put the fish in the oven at least 2 hours before you’re expecting to serve it. Keep in mind that some fish (salmon and tuna among them) are preferred on the rare side, while others (swordfish, halibut, and the like) are better cooked through.

If the fish is not quite done to your taste, return it to the oven, turn the heat off but leave the oven door closed, and the fish will continue to cook in the residual heat of the oven and the oil. If the fish is much more underdone than you prefer, simply continue cooking it for another 30 minutes or so.

When the fish is done to your taste, remove the pan from the oven. Use a slotted spatula or fish turner to transfer the fish to a warm serving platter, leaving behind the oil and the white “patina”—actually the juice of the fish that has solidified during cooking. Use the savory oil from the pan to make a sauce for the fish—perhaps the salmoriglio above.

Note: Another beauty of this preparation is that because the oil is treated in such a gentle manner, it can be used two or three more times, first filtering it through a fine-mesh sieve. It will, however, be redolent of fish, so use it advisedly.

Ceviche Marinated Raw Fish Fillets

All fish, obviously, should be as fresh as you can find it, but it’s even more important with ceviche, which is a way of “cooking” fish simply by marinating it in citrus juice. This is an old Mediterranean way of preserving fish for a short period of time; the technique arrived in Latin America with the Spanish incursions and was transformed, deliciously, by the addition of chopped fresh cilantro, tomatoes, and green chile peppers.

Note that this is also a splendid way to treat very fresh wild shrimp or scallops. Just be absolutely certain that the scallops have not been treated with phosphates to plump them and, not incidentally, increase their weight. It will leak into any preparation to which they are added. Always ask for “dry,” meaning untreated, scallops.

Serve this as a first course with a small green salad or with avocado slices dressed with oil and lemon. Made the day before, it also makes a great Saturday lunch, perhaps after a morning at the beach or on a hiking trail.

Makes 8 servings as a first course

  • 1½ pounds fresh fish fillets
  • 1 cup combined citrus juices—lemon and lime; lemon, lime, and grapefruit; lime and orange; or lime and bitter (sour) orange
  • ¾ cup fruity, not bitter, olive oil
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped cilantro
  • 1 small red onion, minced
  • 1 ripe red tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped
  • 2 small fresh jalapeño or serrano chile peppers, seeded and minced
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Cover the fish fillets with the citrus juice in a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

Drain the fish and arrange on a serving platter. Mix together the oil, cilantro, onion, tomato, and chiles and spoon over the fish. Cover once more and set aside until ready to serve. (If it’s very warm weather, refrigerate the fish; otherwise, cool room temperature is fine for an hour or so.) Before serving, taste a small piece of fish. You probably will not need to add more acid since the citrus flavors will have penetrated the fish, but serve it with lemon wedges (or limes) in case someone wants to add more.

Note: No salt is added to prevent too much liquid from leaching out of the fish.

Ceviche (Marinated Raw Fish Fillets)

Ceviche (Marinated Raw Fish Fillets)

North African Seafood Tagine

North African Seafood Tagine

North African Seafood Tagine

A proper Moroccan tagine, with its high-peaked lid, is not required to make this dish. While I highly recommend that remarkable method of stovetop cooking, any covered casserole, especially if made of terra-cotta, will work instead.

When I had this in Morocco, down on the Atlantic coast below Essaouira, it was made with the big succulent red shrimps that are harvested just offshore. That kind of shrimp is hard to find, and the quality of most frozen imported shrimp is questionable. So at various times I’ve substituted big chunks of swordfish or halibut—big enough so that three pieces make a serving. It’s also an excellent treatment for plump sea scallops. Just be sure you buy “dry scallops,” meaning they haven’t been treated with phosphates, which, while apparently harmless, leak out during cooking to make an unsightly mess. Quick clue: Phosphate-treated scallops are pure snow-white, without the pale cream color of non-treated fish.

If you use a ceramic (earthenware) tagine or casserole, follow the manufacturer’s directions for stovetop cooking. Some are perfectly safe to use with a direct flame, while others require a heat diffuser.

The recipe calls for sweet Spanish paprika (pimentón dulce): Note that this is not pimentón de la Vera, with its smoky flavor. There are a great many different Spanish pimentones (paprikas), including the prized ones from Murcia in the southeast of Spain, which are sun-dried and consequently have a fresher flavor. (Of course, if you want a smoky flavor in the dish, by all means, use pimentón de la Vera.)

Toast saffron to crisp the stamens and make them easier to crumble. To do that, fold them into a small sheet of regular white paper, set the folded paper in a skillet, and toast over medium heat until the paper starts to change color. Salt-preserved lemons are easy to purchase online, but they’re so useful in the kitchen that I recommend making your own from organic lemons bought during the peak of the season (plenty of directions, also online).

If you wish, serve the tagine with couscous or rice to absorb the delicious sauce.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
  • ⅓ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • ½ cup olive oil, plus more for the tagine
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3 teaspoons sweet mild Spanish pimentón or other fragrant paprika
  • 1 teaspoon saffron threads, toasted
  • Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
  • 24 large shrimps, shelled and deveined; or 2 pounds swordfish or halibut, cut into large chunks (2 or 3 to a serving); or 2 pounds dry sea scallops
  • 8 medium ripe red tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (or the equivalent in whole canned tomatoes)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 medium red potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 red sweet peppers, seeded and slivered
  • ½ salt-preserved lemon, slivered (optional)
  • ½ cup small green Mediterranean olives, pitted

Mix the chopped cilantro and parsley with ⅓ cup of the oil in a large bowl. Add the ginger, pimentón, saffron, and lemon juice and mix with a fork to blend well. Add the seafood and turn to coat thoroughly in the marinade. Cover the bowl and set in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

In a medium saucepan, combine the tomatoes with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil, plus the garlic, cumin, and coriander. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and the excess juices boil away. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Oil the bottom of a large heavy casserole. Arrange the onion and potato slices over the bottom and season with salt and pepper. Layer the pepper slivers on top. Spoon the thick tomato mixture over the vegetables, cover the pan, and set over medium-low heat. Cook, covered, until the potatoes are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. If necessary, add a very little boiling water to the pan to keep the vegetables from burning. If there’s too much liquid, uncover the pan, raise the heat slightly, and boil rapidly to evaporate.

When the vegetables are tender, layer the seafood on top, adding the preserved lemon slices, if using, and the olives. Scrape the rest of the marinade over the top of the seafood, cover with a lid (or the top of the tagine) and cook on the stovetop over medium-low heat just until the shrimp are cooked through.

Remove and serve immediately.

Note: If the sauce seems too liquid at the end, remove the seafood and raise the heat, boiling the sauce, uncovered, to reduce. Then add the seafood back to the sauce to serve.

Hake Fillets with Garlic and Caper Sauce

I make this with a lightly flavorful oil from Chile, which makes an elegant sauce without competing with the strong flavors of garlic and capers.

Don’t feel limited to hake—the recipe works just as well with haddock, halibut, swordfish, monkfish, or indeed any firm-textured, white-meat fish.

To toast blanched almonds, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spread the almonds in one layer on a baking sheet and set in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the almonds are golden. Do not overcook: Keep in mind that they will continue to darken for a minute or so longer once removed from the oven.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

  • 1 head garlic
  • 4 boneless hake fillets (6 to 8 ounces each)
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • ¾ cup dry white wine
  • ½ cup toasted almonds (see headnote), chopped
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • ¼ cup salt-packed capers, well rinsed and dried

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Separate the individual cloves of garlic but do not peel them. Set the cloves on a baking sheet and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until soft.

Sprinkle the fish fillets on both sides with salt and pepper.

Use a little of the oil to grease an ovenproof baking dish just large enough to hold the fillets without much overlap. Arrange the fillets side by side in the dish. Combine the wine and the remaining oil in a small saucepan and heat just until it is very hot. Pour the wine and olive oil over the fish, cover the dish (use aluminum foil if the dish has no lid), and transfer to the oven to bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the garlic and chop the cloves. Combine the garlic with the almonds and onion in the bowl of a food processor. Add 3 tablespoons of the capers and pulse briefly, just to crush the ingredients and mix well, but do not make a paste.

When the fish is done, remove the fish from the baking dish and keep warm on a platter. Bring the broth left in the baking dish to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Stir in the almond mixture and simmer until the sauce is thick. Top the fish with the sauce and garnish with the remaining 1 tablespoon capers.

Halibut with a Saffron-Almond Sauce

In Spain, this is called en pepitoria. Think of it as a master recipe that can be used for many different kinds of seafood (scallops, swordfish, monkfish, and so forth). It’s also a delicious treatment for chicken, cut into parts, with the timing adjusted accordingly.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

  • Pinch of saffron threads
  • ½ cup slivered almonds
  • About ¾ cup olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly slivered
  • 1 or 2 slices stale bread, crusts removed, cubed (1½ cups bread cubes)
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 cup finely chopped leeks
  • Unbleached all-purpose flour, for dredging
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2½ pounds halibut, swordfish, or other seafood, cut into 8 serving pieces
  • 1 cup white wine
  • ⅓ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • ⅓ cup chopped cilantro

Several hours before you’re ready to cook (or in the morning, before you go to work), set the saffron to steep in about 1 cup of very hot water.

Set a skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the almond slivers and half the oil. Sauté gently just until the almonds are golden, then remove and transfer to a blender or food processor. Add the slivered garlic to the oil and toast until golden but not dark brown. Remove the garlic and add to the almonds. Add a little more oil to the pan if necessary, and toast the bread cubes in the oil until golden. Remove and add the bread cubes to the almonds.

If necessary, add a little more oil to the pan, along with the chopped onion and leeks. Lower the heat and cook gently until the vegetables are soft. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Toss about ½ cup flour with salt and plenty of pepper, then spread the flour on a plate. Dredge the fish pieces lightly in the flour.

Add all the remaining oil to the pan and raise the heat again. Brown the floured fish pieces on both sides in the hot oil, then transfer the fish to an ovenproof dish and spoon the onion-leek mixture over the top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the fish is almost done. Keep warm but don’t finish cooking it just yet.

While the fish is baking, add the wine to the skillet in which you sautéed everything and set the skillet over medium heat. Bring the wine to a boil and boil for 5 minutes to reduce.

Grind or process the almonds, garlic, and bread, adding the saffron water with the saffron threads. With the motor running, add the parsley and cilantro and as much or as little of the boiled-down liquid in the frying pan as is necessary to make a creamy mixture. Remove the fish from the oven and spoon the sauce all over, mixing it with any juices in the oven dish. Return the dish to the oven, uncovered, for another 10 minutes. Then serve immediately.

Zuppa di Aragosta della Cantina Siciliana

Zuppa di Aragosta della Cantina Siciliana

Zuppa di Aragosta della Cantina Siciliana

This is a sumptuous soup made by Chef Pino Maggiore at his tiny restaurant, Cantina Siciliana, on a back street of the old port town of Trapani, in far western Sicily. It is served as a main course, which is why I’ve included it here instead of in the soups chapter.

To make the fish broth, Sicilians have access to a whole range of what we would call “trash fish”: tiny, bony, tasty specimens of the salty Mediterranean that lend incredible flavor to any soup they’re added to. If you want fish like that in North America, you almost have to go catch it yourself. Alas, that’s impossible for most of us. Instead, ask your fish purveyor to set aside some heads and racks (meaning the skeletons) of fish that he or she is filleting. It’s the kind of stuff that gets thrown out otherwise, a tremendous waste of the goodness of the sea. Add to the heads and racks a few pieces of the cheapest fish on offer, but do not use oily fish such as sardines, mackerel, or bluefish because they don’t work for a broth.

Almond flour may sound exotic, but I find it easily in health food stores and many supermarkets, where it may be sold as ground almonds. Just be sure it has not had any sugar added to it.

The lobsters Chef Pino uses are very small Mediterranean lobsters, weighing not more than ½ to ¾ of a pound each. We can’t legally buy lobsters that small in the United States, so I have adapted the recipe to 1-pound Maine lobsters, the smallest we can purchase.

Makes 6 servings

  • 6 pounds fish, for the broth (see headnote)
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed with the flat blade of a knife and chopped
  • 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup olive oil, preferably Sicilian, plus more for garnish
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste or concentrate
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Big pinch of crushed red chile pepper
  • 1 (2-inch) cinnamon stick
  • Small bunch flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
  • Small bunch basil
  • 3 lobsters, weighing 1 pound each, if available; otherwise use 2 larger lobsters, for a total weight of 3 to 4 pounds
  • ⅓ cup almond flour (very finely ground blanched almonds)
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon
  • About ⅓ pound spaghetti, broken into approximate 3-inch lengths

Rinse the fish and, if necessary, gut them. Cut the larger ones into smaller pieces—no bigger than the palm of your hand. Set aside.

Mix the garlic, onion, and oil in the bottom of a stockpot over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, until the onion is soft. Then add the tomato paste and a little water and stir to dissolve.

When the tomato is completely dissolved, add 3 quarts (12 cups) water to the stockpot. Add the prepared fish, the salt, plenty of black pepper, the chile pepper, cinnamon stick, and parsley. Separate the leaves from the stems of basil. Add the stems to the broth, setting the leaves aside to use for a garnish.

Bring the broth to a simmer over very low heat. Cover and simmer gently for 1 hour 15 minutes. When the broth is done, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve or through cheesecloth, pressing down on the fish to extract as much flavor as possible. Discard the fish and other solids.

The broth can be prepared well ahead of time up to this point and refrigerated or even frozen until ready to use.

When ready to cook the soup, bring the broth back to a simmer. Add the lobsters and cook until they are done, 6 to 7 minutes, or longer for larger lobsters. Remove the lobsters and set aside to cool, then crack the shells and remove all the meat inside. Set the whole claw meat aside to use as a garnish, if you wish. Otherwise, cut all the meat into bite-size portions.

Bring the broth back to a boil and add the almond flour and ground cinnamon. Stir to mix well and let simmer for 5 minutes or so to fix the flavors.

Just before you’re ready to serve, add the broken spaghetti to the broth and cook until the pasta is done—about 8 minutes, no more. Sliver the reserved basil leaves.

Serve the soup while it’s still very hot. Either add the lobster pieces to the broth and serve from a cauldron; or plate up individual servings, putting a quantity of lobster in the center of each plate, spooning the broth and pasta generously over the lobster, and garnishing each plate with a piece of the claw meat and a sprinkle of slivered basil. Finally, dribble a generous thread of olive oil on top.

Whole Small Fish or Fish Fillets in a Tuscan Tomato Sauce

Tuscany might not seem a go-to place for fish dishes, but the whole 150-mile-long coastline from Carrara south to Orbetello is a paradise for fish lovers. This traditional way of frying fish and finishing it in a rich tomato sauce comes from Livorno, aka Leghorn, midway on that long coastline. There it’s made with whole small red mullet, a Mediterranean species that is almost impossible to find in North America. But the sauce is delicious with fried fish fillets as well.

Makes 6 servings

  • 6 plump fillets white-meat fish (haddock, hake, or other)
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 celery rib, white part only, finely chopped
  • ½ medium fennel bulb, finely chopped
  • ½ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • About ¾ cup olive oil
  • 1 cup canned whole tomatoes, with their juices, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste or concentrate, dissolved in ¼ cup hot water
  • Unbleached all-purpose flour, for dredging
  • Minced fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
  • Lemon wedges, for garnish

Rinse the fish and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper on both sides and set aside.

In a saucepan or skillet large enough to hold all the fish, gently sauté the celery, fennel, parsley, and garlic in ¼ cup of the oil over medium-low heat until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the chopped tomatoes with their juices and the sugar, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the tomatoes have condensed to a thick sauce. Add the dissolved tomato paste and continue cooking until the sauce is thick and almost jammy. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside, keeping warm while you fry the fish.

Spread the flour on a plate and dredge each piece of fish to coat lightly. In another skillet or saucepan, heat the remaining ½ cup oil, and when it is hot—shimmering but not smoking—fry the fish until crisp and lightly golden on each side. Do this in batches if necessary. Remove the fillets when they’re done and set on a rack to drain.

When all the fish is done, heat the tomato sauce to simmering and add all the fish, nestling the fillets into the sauce. Cook for no more than 3 minutes, then serve immediately, sprinkled with the basil and with the lemon wedges on the side.

Shrimp and Sausage Gumbo

Just to prove that it doesn’t have to come from the Mediterranean for a recipe to feature fish and olive oil, here’s an olive oil treatment for that old and treasured southern Louisiana dish, gumbo. Try to find wild-caught shrimp for this, since most farmed shrimp, unless you can be certain of their origin, are raised in highly questionable circumstances. In any case, don’t feel constrained to use only shrimp in this recipe. Oysters are often added to gumbo, as is crabmeat, although already cooked crabmeat should be added at the very end.

Gumbo is usually served over steamed white rice, but I like it almost better over a creamy bed of polenta (see recipe).

You will first have to beef up your regular chicken stock, adding the shells from the shrimp you will use in the gumbo, and to make a very peppery spice mix to be used in the gumbo.

Makes 8 to 10 servings

  • For the beefed-up (shrimped-up) chicken stock:
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped yellow onion
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped celery
  • 2 quarts chicken stock
  • ¼ cup tomato paste or concentrate
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Shells and heads from 2 pounds shrimp
  • For the spice mix:
  • 1 tablespoon ground hot red chile pepper, such as cayenne
  • 1 tablespoon crushed white peppercorns
  • 1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon crumbled dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano, preferably Greek
  • 3 bay leaves, broken or crumbled into bits
  • ½ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
  • ¼ cup fine sea salt
  • For the gumbo:
  • 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
  • ¾ cup chopped sweet green peppers
  • ¾ cup chopped celery
  • 2 pounds andouille or other fresh spicy sausage, sliced
  • 1 cup diced chorizo or other dry spicy sausage
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 (1-pound) package frozen okra (or 1 pound fresh okra, if available, trimmed and sliced)
  • Sea salt (optional)
  • 1 pound oysters or scallops (optional)
  • 2 pounds peeled fresh shrimp
  • ½ pound cooked crabmeat
  • 1 cup sliced scallions, green and white parts

To make the chicken stock: In the bottom of a stockpot, combine the oil with the onion and celery and cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables are soft. Bring about ½ cup of the stock to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from the stove and stir in the tomato paste until it is thoroughly dissolved. Add to the vegetables in the stockpot, along with the bay leaves, the rest of the chicken stock, and the heads and shells from the shrimp. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer gently for at least 30 minutes, or let the stock keep simmering while you prepare the rest of the gumbo.

To make the spice mix: Combine all of the ingredients in a spice grinder or coffee mill and grind to a soft powder. You will only need 2 tablespoons for the gumbo; the rest can be kept sealed in a tin or jar for another time.

To make the gumbo: Heat the oil in a heavy Dutch oven or similar pot over medium heat until it is very hot but not smoking. Whisk in the flour and continue whisking constantly, to make a smooth, dark roux. Watch carefully and do not stop whisking. In 8 to 10 minutes, the roux will turn dark brown.

Stir in the onion, garlic, peppers, and celery, and continue stirring, using a wooden spoon, until the vegetables start to soften. Add the 2 tablespoons spice mix and the fresh sausage and cook, stirring, until the sausage meat has changed color. Stir in the dried sausage and then ladle 6 cups of the stock into the pan using a strainer to hold back shrimp shells. When the stock begins to simmer, extract about ½ cup and use it to dissolve the tomato paste in a small bowl, then stir the paste mixture into the stock, along with the Worcestershire sauce.

Continue to simmer the gumbo for about 10 minutes, stirring to remove any lumps, then add the okra. If using fresh okra, cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the okra is tender. If using frozen, follow package directions; the cooking time will be much shorter.

When the gumbo is finished, it should be a velvety brown. Taste and add salt if necessary and/or more of the spice mixture, if you wish. Add the oysters, if using, and cook, simmering, for 3 to 5 minutes, then stir in the shrimp and turn off the heat. The shrimp will cook in the residual heat of the gumbo. Finally, stir in the crabmeat and serve immediately, garnished with the scallions.