Elaine Cooks

Pesce all’acqua Pazza (Southern Italian-Style Poached Fish) is a simple poached fish that can be made easily for any weeknight meal in 30 minutes or less. Acqua pazza, which means “crazy water” in Italian, is derived from how Southern Italian fishermen enjoyed their hearty meals after any day’s catch. My recipe calls for poaching a day’s “catch” (or otherwise fish purchased at my local market…) over water, seasoned with dry white wine, together with aromatics added from parsley, salt and pepper, bay leaf, and a touch of crushed red pepper for a bit of heat. This delicious Italian meal is easy to prepare with pantry staples on hand (tip: check out my post listing gluten free pantry staples to regularly have on hand) and just a few additional ingredients from your nearby market. I also want to mention, this is my first post of this blog.

Mangia!

Ingredients

• 2 lbs cod fish fillets (or other firm white fish, such as haddock, sole, branzino, sea bass, red snapper, whiting or even maybe tilapia)
• 1-2 shallots or small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 3 c. grape or if not available, cherry, tomatoes, halved
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbsp capers, rinsed
• 1 tsp hot pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2/3 c. water
• 1/4 c. dry white wine
• small bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped (retain the stems to flavor the broth)
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Steps

Add olive oil to large sauté pan on medium heat. Once hot, add in the shallot (or onion, depending upon choice and what is available) and garlic and sauté for another 2-3 minutes until translucent.

Add the tomatoes, and simmer for 4-5 minutes, together with the wine, parsley stems and bay leaf. Let the tomatoes soften (note: grape tomatoes have thinner skins and soften more quickly than cherry tomatoes).

Add water, capers and peperocino. Pour in the water, season with salt and pepper, and mix in the capers and hot pepper flakes (also known as peperocino). Lower the heat to medium and simmer for approximately 3-4 minutes.

Add the fish into the pan, spooning over it with the sauce. Top the fish also with some of the chopped parsley. Reduce the heat to low and cover with lid.

Cook for approximately 10 minutes or more. Cooking time will depend upon the thickness of the fish, until opaque and it flakes easily with a fork. It should be plump and fleshy without any cracks on the surface.

Remove the pan with the fish from the heat. Allow fish to sit off-heat in the pan for approximately 5 minutes (note: this allows the fish to continue to cook while remaining moist).

Assembly. Then plate, preferably in shallow bowls, topping each piece of fish with some of the tomatoes and broth.

Buon Appetito!