Italy has thousands of miles of bays, inlets, reefs, and beaches with all kinds of fish to choose from. Some of my favorite recipes:
The first time I had fish roasted in salt I was definitely wary, expecting it to taste, well, salty. Nothing could be further from the truth! It was extraordinarily tender, and extremely delicate. It's hard to think of a better way to prepare a freshly caught fish...
... Except, perhaps, grilling it over the coals. While whitefish are superb cooked this way, the technique is especially indicated with rich, somewhat more oily fish along the lines of salmon or tuna, and is the perfect way to prepare swordfish steaks.
Fried fish is one of the great standbys in Italy, and summer wouldn't seem quite right without platters of small fry, known as
paranza, and
calamari, baby squid, cut into rings, both served with abundant lemon wedges. Don't let the season stay your hand, however; fried fish is wonderful at any time, and almost any kind will work.
Cuttlefish, or squid, or octopus, chopped and simmered in greens that have a spicy kick, is one of the most classic Tuscan fish dishes. Even those who claim they hate fish (like my Father-in-law) line up for seconds of this.
Cacciucco is a fish stew made with whatever the fisherman had left after the market closed, and as such is a close cousin of
ciuppin and
buridda, or, going further afield,
bouillabaisse. What distinguishes it from its cousins is a healthy jolt of red pepper that makes it extremely invigorating, and (at least for me) addictive. The pot will go very fast.
Boiled fish is, at least for me, a winter dish, to be carefully simmered and then elegantly presented with lots of mayonnaise and boiled baby vegetables. It takes some time to put together, but is as tasty as it is pretty, and therefore perfect for company.
In Livorno they bread baccalà, fry it, and then simmer it briefly in a spicy tomato sauce. And it's very good. However, in Vicenza they simmer their baccalà in milk until it becomes an extraordinarily tasty paté, and I find it to be sublime. Perfection with polenta.
This is actually stewed clams in tomato sauce (I don't care as much for mussels, though one can use them too), and is one of the finest uses for live clams there is: they open in the pot, and then you pick them out, one at a time, sucking the shells clean. Takes a while, but is a great delight.
Orata is sea bass, and the cartoccio technique has you seal your fish up in a packet with herbs, spices, and whatever else you prefer (shrimp, tomatoes...), and bake it in the oven. You open it at table, and the odors that emerge from the packet are a wonderful beginning to the meal.
These come last, because I don't dare eat them any more -- had a bad allergic reaction to shrimp once, and once is enough. But the recipes are good, as I recall.
