Crazy water fish fillets are an unusual dish. Tradition and good taste require that only whole fish be cooked in acqua pazza. In particular snapper, sea bream, sea bass (bass), bathtub ruby, St. Peter’s, sea bream and fragolino (bream). And therefore -aware of this- following our usual philosophy in favor of always possible and practical recipes here. Let’s talk about frozen steaks. For the triviality that they are the cheapest, most available and most comfortable to prepare: three winning properties in today’s world. However, know that many chefs would strongly criticize this choice. Some, in fact, have no qualms about saying that fishing in crazy waters either has to be done with the right fish or it really shouldn’t be done. And by right they mean whole and fresh from the sea, not from the fridge.
I am simply pointing out to these chefs that my wife is crazy about my crazy water frozen fish fillets. And with her all her large family of Sicilian origin. About thirty people born and raised in a place by the sea that you can’t get more than the sea, between Marzamemi and Porto Palo.
The ones in the photo are great cheap frozen ruby steaks. But equally excellent would be the frozen amberjack, San Pedro, sea bass, sea bass or sea bream fillets. All available at stores specializing in frozen foods. However, regular frozen cod fillets are fine too. And not only because many times they are the only ones that are really everywhere, but also and simply because they are very good.
There the recipe is typical of campania and it’s very simple Almost impossible to be wrong Careful with that fish in crazy water is not boiled fish. That is, it must be flavored in the cooking broth (wine and water), not boiled in it.
The recipe we recommend is the oldest.. The one that the fishermen cooked on board the trawlers using seawater. Own from this last habit derives the expression “acqua pazza”because it seems crazy to “ruin” wine with seawater .
The point is that more than a century ago, even on a fishing boat at sea, fish cooked in this way was necessarily excellent: also because the alternative was fasting! Today we must be attentive to the amount of water and wine to add in relation to the pan and especially the type and size of the fish, on which the cooking times depend. In any case, a maximum of half a glass of wine is fine, but for water it takes a little bit. The important thing is that in the few minutes that the fish cooks (10 max for fillets, 15-20 for medium whole fish) the sauce has time to thicken just right, without the fish falling apart!
For this purpose, the habit of season and thicken the cooking broth and only then cook the fish in it. Read in the gray box immediately after how to do it. Here I close with one last observation about aromas. and precisely in parsley, which is the traditional flavoring of this recipe. And, in our opinion, also the best. For the record, however, it must be said that the custom of using fresh basil instead of parsley has been spreading for some time, even in Naples and on the Amalfi coast.
We begin by sautéing the garlic cut into 4 parts in a pan over very low heat with half the parsley indicated in the recipe. Add the cherry tomatoes and leave to infuse for a few minutes. Then dilute with the wine and a little water (the fish will hunt on its own), season with salt and leave to thicken for a few minutes over moderate heat and without a lid. When the sauce is almost ready, place the fish in the pan. Then complete with a piece of chilli (a little: it should give the dish liveliness, without being too spicy) and let it cook over very low heat for the necessary minutes.
The stew cooking system that we have just described is undoubtedly the most widely used. However, many people cook fish in crazy water in this way, completing the cooking in the oven.
In this case, the sauce is flavored and reduced in the pan, as described, but then -added the fish- everything goes in the oven very hot (210°) for 10-15 minutes, turning the fish once.
[testi di Valter Cirillo]
- 600 g of fish fillets
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 16 cherry tomatoes
- dry white wine
- Chili (or pepper, optional)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- If necessary, clean fish by gutting, scaling and washing thoroughly before filleting. Arrange the latter in a font of adequate size to contain them without the need to overlap them. If you are using frozen fish fillets, there is no need to thaw them first, unless they are glazed.
- Drizzle fish with oil, then add halved garlic, wedged cherry tomatoes, and a tablespoon of chopped parsley. Moisten with wine (read above “Fishing in crazy waters in the best way”) and complete with a coffee cup filled with water. Turn on low heat and covered, bring to a slight boil
- Let it simmer for 2 minutes, then season with salt and flip the fillets. Now we add a small piece of chilli (or freshly ground pepper) and complete the cooking for another 7-8 minutes over low heat and half covered, so that the sauce thickens.
- Add the remaining parsley and turn off the heat. Let it rest for a few minutes before placing the fish fillets in crazy water on a serving plate. Finally, remove the garlic and chilli from the pan, take the cherry tomatoes and arrange them on the fish fillets along with a ladle of cooking sauce.
Brief tips from the sommelier Ilaria Lombardo (@ilarietta77) on how to drink in moderation but well, combining wines and regional dishes in the best possible way
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Dish from my beloved land, Campania! So what wine allows us to better enjoy this dish if not one? falanghina?
Cultivated mainly in the Naples and Caserta area, it was rediscovered in the 1990s. The vine has a white grape, straw-yellow in color with greenish reflections, and is usually used alone, that is, only with grapes from this vine.
Falanghina has one-of-a-kind scents. On the nose you will notice floral and fruity notes, such as apricot and honey, but also minerals, due to the volcanic soil on which it was born. On the palate it is smooth, fresh, with moderate acidity and a pleasant persistence. A wine to taste still, sparkling or even passito. For this dish I would accompany a brut Falanghina sparkling wine, which is served between 6° and 8°C.
