Tell me what fish you catch, I’ll tell you how to cook it – First installment

In two episodes, we will show you some of the most common fish in our seas and recipes for cooking them devised by the best Italian restaurants according to Slow Food. This summer on the boat, stop cooking the usual pasta or the sad tuna salad and offer your crew these delicious seafood dishes. These are not difficult recipes, and you will see that the crew will applaud you. We have chosen fish that, of course, you can fish for yourself by trolling or boating….

AGUGLIA
Very common in Italian seas, it can also be found inshore, is famous for jumping out of the water, and is trolled or fished in midwater. The meat is tasty, firm and firm. Lung. max 100 cm. Scientific name: Belone belone

Garfish with salmoriglio
Clean the garfish, wash and dry them. Roast them over embers until golden brown and place them on a serving plate. Pour the oil into a saucepan and, whisking with a whisk, add half a cup of hot water, the juice of the lemons, chopped parsley and oregano, crushed garlic clove, salt and pepper. When the mixture has reached a certain homogeneity, heat it in a bain-marie for a few minutes. Pour it into a sauce pan and bring to the table with the garfish dish. Always Sicilian variations: one replaces lemon juice with red wine, another does not contemplate the use of parsley.

For 6 people: 4 garfish weighing about 2 ounces each, one clove of garlic, a small tuft of parsley, a sprig of fresh oregano, 2 lemons, a glass of oil, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper. Preparation and cooking time: half an hour.

The restaurant: Romano Zappulla, Floridia (Syracuse)

BASS (OR SEA BASS)
Found along the coasts, even in a few inches of water, the taste of its flesh makes it the queen of fish in our seas. Fishing is done with lines, jigs and a rifle. Length. max over one meter. Scientific name: Dicentrarchus labrax

Sea bass all’acquapazza
Preferably obtain sea bass born and raised in the sea. Gut and wash it. Fry the whole garlic clove in extra virgin olive oil. When it is well browned remove it and add the cherry tomatoes, crushed and seedless, a little water and the wine. Bring to a boil and add the fish. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Cook covered pan for about 15 minutes. Serve immediately. As in many Campanian recipes, not only of fish, instead of the inflated pachino (or pseudo-pachino) tomatoes are used here of the piénnolo, hung in clusters in the sun on the walls of the houses.

For 4 people: a sea bass weighing about a pound, a clove of garlic, a sprig of parsley, 3 ounces of cherry tomatoes from the piénnolo, half a glass of dry white wine, 40 g of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper. Preparation and cooking time: half an hour.

The restaurant: Ristorante Casa Rossa 1888 al Vesuvio, Ercolano (Naples)

CERNIA BRUNA
The most coveted prey of diver hunters, it lives in rocky bottoms from a few meters to high depths. You also catch it on the line, but it is difficult to pull it up. Excellent meats. Lung. max 150 cm. Scientific name: Epinephelus marginatus

Matalotta-style grouper
Fry the onion in extra virgin olive oil. Add the grouper, douse with wine and let it fade. Cover half with water, add salt, saffron, parsley and chili, simmering for about 20 minutes. Lay it on a serving plate and serve hot. The recipe, which is also suitable for other firm-fleshed fish, is said to have originated in the Egadi Islands, and a version is prepared without saffron but with ground almonds. Palermo’s Piccolo Napoli trattoria also offers, under the title of cernia alla marinara, a stew with garlic sautéed in oil, peeled tomatoes, olives, capers and chili peppers. You cook the fish, half covered with water, in this gravy over low heat, adding a glass of dry white wine and a sprig of chopped parsley at the end of cooking.

For 4 persons: a cleaned and scaled grouper weighing about 1 pound 2 ounces, 2 onions, a tuft of parsley, 2 sachets of saffron, half a glass of dry white wine, extra virgin olive oil, salt, chili powder Preparation and cooking time: half an hour.

The restaurant: Trattoria Piccolo Napoli, Palermo

TEETH
An aggressive predator, it lives in rocky bottoms, and shallow waters. It is also fished by trolling, which is difficult for divers to catch. The meat is lean and valuable. Lung. max 100 cm. Scientific name: Dentex dentex

Roasted snapper Ligurian style
Clean and scale the snapper. Soak the mushrooms in warm water, squeeze and chop them together with the garlic and parsley. Season with salt and place the fish in a pan greased with oil. Insert some of the mince into the belly cavity, adding salt, pepper and a tablespoon of oil. Grease the surface with two more tablespoons of oil, then scatter the rest of the mince over the top. Salt again, cover (if the pan is uncovered, wrap the fish in aluminum foil) and bake for 10 minutes at 200 °C. Then lower the temperature to 170 °C and continue cooking for 20 minutes. At this point, uncover and wet the fish well with the cooking juices. In case the snapper is dry, add a few tablespoons of water. Finish baking with the pan uncovered after an additional 10 minutes at 200 °C. To shorten cooking time slightly, you can make a few cross cuts in the side of the fish.

For 6 people: one 8-ounce snapper, a handful of dried mushrooms, 2 cloves of garlic, a sprig of parsley, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper. Preparation and cooking time: one hour.

The restaurant: Gina Semeria, Imperia

BREAM
The princess of Mediterranean fish, she is beautiful and has delicate, firm flesh with few bones. Is hermaphroditic (first male, then female). It lives in shallow rocky and algal bottoms. Lung. max 70 cm. Scientific name: Sparus aurata

Campidanese-style sea bream
For this recipe you can proceed in two ways. Gilthead seabream can be cleaned to obtain fillets free of bones and skin. The fillets should be pan-fried over high heat with extra virgin olive oil until a golden crust forms on both sides. At this point add the Vernaccia and olives, adjust the salt and pepper, and cook until the wine has completely evaporated. If you feel it is necessary, you can wet it down with a little water or, better yet, with a splash of fish stock. Otherwise, the sea bream can be cooked in the oven. In that case it should be scaled and gutted, placed in a baking dish with olives and extra virgin olive oil and baked for about 20 minutes at a temperature of 180 °C. Halfway through cooking, drizzle the preparation with wine and, if you notice that it tends to dry out, wet it with water or fish stock.

For 4 people: a gilthead seabream weighing about 1 pound 2 ounces, 2 ounces of black olives in brine, a glass of Vernaccia wine, extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper. Preparation and cooking time: 25 minutes.

The restaurant: Trattoria Il Rifugio, Nuoro

RICCIOLA
A fish of our seas that in summer is also found very close to the coast, at sheer walls and on shoals. It is also fished by trolling. Excellent meats, even raw. Lung. max 200 cm. Scientific name: Seriola dumerili

Slices of grilled amberjack
Lightly grease the amberjack slices and place them on the coals. Turn them every three minutes until they are evenly cooked on both sides, and adjust the salt. Separately, prepare the sauce by emulsifying the extra virgin olive oil and the juice of one lemon and adding the chopped garlic and mint. Arrange the slices on the tray and turn them over in the sauce. If you do not have embers, you can bake the amberjack slices in the oven. If so, arrange them in a lightly greased pan into which, with chopped garlic and parsley, you will have poured some water. Adjust of salt and, when cooked, season with lemon juice.

For 4 people: 4 slices of yellowtail: weighing 3 ounces each, 3-4 cloves of garlic, a sprig of mint, the juice of a large lemon, a glass of extra virgin olive oil, salt. Preparation and cooking time: 20 minutes.

The restaurant: Ristorante Margherita, Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi, Massa Lubrense (Naples)

FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO BECOME AN EXPERIENCED BOAT CHEF
Find more great recipes in our volume “The 350 Best Recipes for Cooking on a Boat,” which was created specifically to guarantee you great results in cooking on a boat, making your job easier. Davide Deponti, a well-known tourism-gastronomy journalist, created this handbook from a practical problem: the galley.

David explains the secrets of choosing, storing and cramming food, types of cooking, what utensils to use, how to clean fish, what to eat with seasickness. Plus, a riot of recipes, chosen from those that can be carried out smoothly on board, with helpful hints such as whether cooked dishes can be stored, preparation time, and degree of difficulty. To top it off, lots of cocktails and strong drink recipes from real sailors. YOU CAN PURCHASE IT HERE

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