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ITALIAN RECIPES

A Few Fish Recipes, Not Just For Lent

Potatoes and Baccalà

Ingredients:

4 medium-sized potatoes
1 1/3 pounds (600 g) baccalà
A peeled carrot, a stick of celery, and a small peeled onion
A small bunch of parsley, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Black olives (sweet)
Pine nuts
Diced fresh tomato
Strips of lemon zest, yellow part only, cut up
Salt & pepper
Olive oil

Preparation:

Put the carrot, celery and onion in a pot of water and bring it to a boil. When it begins to boil gently immerse the pieces of baccalà and cook them for 5-7 minutes. Drain them well, remove the skin, and remove the spines.
While the water is heating, preheat your oven to 380 F (190 C).
Peel the potatoes, dice them, and put them in an oven dish with the garlic; drizzle them with olive oil and roast them for about a half hour.

While the potatoes are cooking, combine the remaining ingredients (including some more olive oil) to make a sauce. Remove the potatoes from the oven, lay the skinned, boned baccalà over them, drizzle the sauce over the fish, check seasoning, and return the dish to the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
Serves 4.

Pandora Roasted in Aromatic Salt Recipe

Ingredients:

A pandora weighing about 2 3/4 pounds (1.2 k), cleaned but not scaled
2 1/2 pounds coarse grained salt (Kosher will be fine. Do not use iodized salt)
3 oranges and a lemon, all organically grown
2-3 tablespoons finely minced wild fennel fronds (you could also use another fresh herb of choice)
Olive oil
Fine grained salt
Peppercorns

Preparation:

Wash and dry the oranges and lemon. Remove the zest (just the colored part) using a potato peeler, and finely chop the strips.
Crush a teaspoon of peppercorns in a mortar if you have one, or put them in a sturdy glass and mash them with the handle of a knife, being careful not to break the glass.
Add the zest, peppercorns and chopped herbs to the salt and mix well.
Preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C).

Line a baking dish large enough for the fish to lie flat with a greased sheet of baking paper. Lay down a half-inch (1 cm) layer of salt.
Set the fish on it and cover with more salt, making another layer about a half-inch thick. Save the remaining flavored salt for use when grilling fish, or even meats.
Roast the fish for 30-35 minutes.

While it is cooking, squeeze the lemon and one of the oranges. Add 1/4 cup olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a grind of pepper, and whip briefly to emulsify the liquid.
When the fish is done, bring it to the table still covered by its salt crust. Break open the crust, putting the pieces on a plate, and serve the fish at table, with the sauce and a vegetable of choice. A wine? White, and I would think of a Greco di Tufo.

Cuttlefish with greens - Seppie in Inzimino

Ingredients:

1 1/2 - 2 pounds (700 g) fresh or frozen cuttlefish (the latter should be thawed)
2 pounds (1 k) fresh spinach or 2 packed cups thawed frozen spinach
1 small onion, minced
2 tablespoons minced parsley
A few leaves of minced basil, if you like it and it's in season
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 dried red peppers, seeded (optional)
1 cup (250 ml) canned tomato pulp or canned plum tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Clean the cuttlefish, wash them well, and chop them into bite-sized pieces. Wash and coarsely chop the spinach, if you're using fresh spinach. Mince the onion, set it aside, and mince the parsley and basil.
Set the oil to heat in a pot big enough to hold the spinach, and add the onion. When it's turned translucent, add the parsley and basil and continue to sauté the mixture for a minute longer. Add the spinach; if it's fresh, turn the heat to high till it cooks down, stirring every minute or so.

If using frozen spinach, heat it through. In either case, add the fish once it will fit in the pot, stir in the tomatoes and the red pepper, salt, and pepper to taste, going easy on them because the sauce will be reduced considerably.

Simmer, keeping the pot partially covered and stirring every now and then, till the fish is cooked and the sauce is thick. (Should you use frozen spinach, you may need to add hot water to keep everything from drying out).
This will take about 40 minutes. Check seasoning, cook five minutes more, and serve, with a side dish of salad, and bread.

This is substantial. If you forego the red pepper, it will go well with a rosato or a light red. If, on the other hand, you use red pepper, a Fiano from Campania might be nice.
Serves 6-8.

Boiled Fish

Ingredients:

1 or more non-oily fish weighing a total of between 2 and three pounds, scaled and cleaned.
Rubbing the fish's skin with a slice of lemon will help keep it intact.
A quarter to a half an onion (depending on the size of the fish), a carrot,
A stick of celery, a bunch of parsley, and half a lemon.
Water sufficient to cover the fish
A fish pan (if you have one)

Preparation:

Lightly salt the water and simmer the vegetables for 20 minutes to a half hour before adding the fish.
The fish will done when its eyes pop out, its skin parts when touched, and its flesh becomes tender; in turms of cooking time figure 10 minutes per inch of thickness of the fish, measured at its thickest point.

Turn it, carefully, when it's half done, and leave it in its broth until you're ready to serve it (the broth will be quite tasty, and if you strain it, will be perfect for making Lenten Cabbage Soup).
A good boiled fish will do very well served hot, garnished with fresh parsley and accompanied by freshly made mayonnaise or some other sauce (see recipes), and a vegetable.

If, however, you wish to make a more impressive presentation, you can surround the fish with Brussels sprouts, boiled if they're small or done in the oven if they're large, boiled potatoes, and, optionally, hard boiled eggs, all sliced.
Serves 4-6.

Buon appetito!

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