Introduction
Pesce all’acqua pazza is white fish poached in a light broth of water, olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes and parsley. It cooks in one pan in about twenty minutes, and the broth that is left is mopped up with bread. It works with whatever white fish is cheapest, fillets or a small whole fish.
The name means “fish in crazy water”. It comes from Campania, around Naples, and food writer Arthur Schwartz thinks the name mocked fishermen who cooked their catch in sea water. The earliest versions probably had no tomato or chili, which only reached Italy in the 16th century. The dish became a favourite of tourists on Capri in the 1960s. Keep the broth at a bare simmer: if it boils, the fish breaks up.
Ingredients
- 4 white fish fillets with skin, about 150 g each (sea bream, sea bass, hake, cod or pollock)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 pinch of chili flakes
- 300 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 250 ml water
- a bunch of parsley, chopped
- salt and black pepper
- bread, to serve
Tools
- A large frying pan with a lid, about 28 cm wide
Preparation
- Warm the oil in the pan over a medium heat with the garlic and chili for 1 to 2 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant but not brown.
- Add the tomatoes and half the parsley and cook for 5 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and start to burst.
- Pour in the water, season with salt and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Season the fish and lay it in the pan, skin side down. Cover and cook on a low heat for 6 to 8 minutes, until the flesh is white all the way through and flakes when pressed.
- Scatter over the rest of the parsley and a little more olive oil. Serve in shallow bowls with the broth and plenty of bread.