Filleti di Branzino in Acqua Pazza a Modo Mio / Sea Bass Fillets in Crazy Water – My Way
Serves two as a main course:
- 1 sea bass, about 900g – 1.1 kg in weight, filleted and skin taken off (ask your fishmonger to do it for you)
- half a red onion, thinly sliced in half moons
- 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly pressed with a knife or the back of your hand
- 8-10 small red tomatoes: Piccadilly or Cherry Tomato
- a teaspoon of capers, if in salt soak them in cold water for 30-40 minutes first
- a teaspoon of good olives (optional), I use Ligurian Olive Taggiasche
- half a glass of white wine
- small piece of chilli pepper
- fresh basil leaves, a handful
- a teaspoon of fresh parsley leaves, chopped
- salt
- pepper
- olive oil for frying
Rinse the fish fillets under cold running water. Pat dry and run your fingers along the flesh, checking for any bones left.
In a shallow pan (for which you have a lid) heat up 2-3 tablespoon of olive oil.
Add the onions, season them with some salt and soften for about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, give the onions a stir and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes, making sure not to colour the ingredients too much.
Cut the tomatoes in half and add them into the pan seasoning them with some salt. After about 5 minutes pour in the white wine and simmer the ingredients until the tomatoes turn soft (I like to squeeze some of them with a fork to release more juice) about 15 minutes. Cover with the lid if the liquid evaporates too quickly. Add a drop of water if needed.
Now neatly arrange the fish fillets in the pan (season them with a pinch of salt and a pinch of black pepper), add the drained capers, olives if using and half the quantity of the parsley. Cover the pan with the lid and cook gently until the fillets are tender but cooked through, turning them once halfway through the cooking time. The timing will depend on the weight and the thickness of the fish, so check on your filets after about 5 minutes to see if they are ready for turning over.
Taste the sauce and season if needed. Towards the last two minutes of the cooking stir in the torn in your hands fresh basil leaves.
Decorate with the remaining chopped parsley and serve immediately. To accompany the dish you could think of roast potatoes, plain boiled potatoes to absorb the juices, perhaps grilled aubergines or courgettes.
