Food & Drink

See More About:

Articles Index

The Rais's Boiled Tuna Recipe - Tunnu Squadatu d'u Capu Rais

Sicily was under Arab rule for centuries, and despite the centuries since then the heritage remains, as is obvious here. This recipe will serve six, and is a tasty, unusual way to prepare fresh tuna.

Tuna with Oregano - Tonnu Rigatanu

Another Sicilian grilled fresh tuna recipe. In the tradition of older Italian recipes it doesn't give quantities, but rather outlines a procedure. So it will serve as many as you buy fish for. Figure one fish steak per person.

Cacciucco alla Livornese - Livorno's Zesty Stewed Fish

Cacciucco is a fish stew made in the Tuscan port of Livorno, from whatever the fishmonger has that's fresh and inexpensive. It should have a healthy jolt of red pepper, and will sell you on fish if you don't like fish already.

Steamed Whitefish With a Tomatoey Olive-and-Caper Sauce

Steamed Whitefish With a Tomatoey Olive-and-Caper Sauce: A mild, tasty simple fish dish. Cod will be perfect here.

Warm Salmon and Potatoes Recipe - Bocconcini con Salmone e Patate

To be quite honest, this salmon doesn't look like much, and owes much of its visual appeal to the brilliant green of the parsley. However, it's very easy, quite quick, and an excellent way to get kids to eat fish: Our daughter demanded seconds and pouted when her seconds were gone!

Lemony Fried Eel Recipe - Capitone Fritto Col Limone

In many parts of Italy it is custom to eat fish on Christmas Eve, and though there is no set menu, Capitone, or eel, is extremely popular. This recipe for lemony fried eel is Neapolitan.

Sicilian Baked Tuna Recipe - Tunnacchiu 'Nfurnatu

Baked Tuna: Considering how important the tuna catch was in Sicily, it's no surprise that this baked fresh tuna recipe is Sicilian.

Tuna Matalotta Style, With Tomatoes Recipe - Tonnu a la Matalotta

Tuna Matalotta Style, or Tonnu a la Matalotta: This recipe for fresh tuna stewed with tomatoes is from the Favigiana area in Sicily, and should serve 6.

Sicilian Tuna with Onions Recipe - Tunnina Ca Cipuddata

Tuna with Onions, or Tunnina Ca Cipuddata: This fresh tuna recipe is from Eastern Sicily. It is good cold too, which means it's well suited to the summer months (and that it can be prepared ahead).

Reef Mullet with Prosciutto Recipe - Triglie al Prosciutto

Reef mullet are among the brightest colored and tastiest smaller fish you'll find in Italian markets. They do have a drawback, however -- they are quite bony, and in many recipes one has to work though the bones to enjoy them. Here, however, they are boned before they are cooked. This reef mullet with prosciutto recipe is from the Marche.

Reef Mullet Al Cartoccio Recipe - Triglie al Cartoccio

Reef Mullet Al Cartoccio, or Triglie al Cartoccio: Bright red reef mullet look so pretty at the table, and taste so good, that it's well worth picking through their many bones. This recipe is Versilian, from the coastal plain north of Pisa.

Roast Grouper Recipe - Cernia al Burro

Groupers can be rather large fish -- they range up to well over 20 pounds, and if you find one that large you will likely want to slice it into fish steaks and grill them. Quite tasty. However, if you have a smaller grouper, weighing 2 1/2 - 3 pounds (1.2 - 1.5 k) this baked grouper recipe is quite tasty, and you may find yourself making it often. It will also work well with other whole white-fleshed fish.

Swordfish Saltimbocca Recipe - Saltimbocca di Pesce Spada

Though I generally associate the word saltimbocca with the Roman veal dish, it is quite appropriate with swordfish too, because the results are so good that they will seem to fly off the plate, hopping into your mouth as fast as their Roman counterparts do.

Reef Mullet, Viareggio Style Recipe - Triglie alla Viareggina

Mullet are extremely tasty, so tasty that it's worth putting up with their many spines. This is a simple Tuscan recipe for them, Reef mullet stewed with tomatoes, from the town of Viareggio.

Stewed Angel Fish Recipe

Angel fish is everyday fare, but when stewed it makes for a very good family dish that's also cheap. Tasty stewed angel fish.

Trout Dogana Style Recipe - Trota alla Dogana

This sauteed trout is from lake Garda; the recipe was sent me by Alessandra Tiraboschi, who makes a fine white wine, Lugana, at Ca Lojera.

Buridda Recipe - Ligurian Fish Stew

Buridda is a traditional western Ligurian fish stew, made around the Cinque Terre, and will go nicely with Cinque Terre wine.

Steamed Salmon with Three Peppers Recipe - Salmone ai Tre Pepi

Steaming is a relatively new development in Italian cooking, and with the emphasis on healthy foods lighter cooking methods are attracting attention. Salmon is one of the fattier fish commonly sold, and steaming it will reduce its fat content considerably.

Salt-Roasted Salmon with Dill Recipe - Salmone all'Aneto

Salt-roasting is a perfect technique for cooking salmon, because the salt will draw some of the oil from the fish, leaving it lighter and easier to digest.

Mackerel with Wild Fennel Recipe - Sgombri al Finocchio Selvatico

The Marche is a coastal region and it should come as no surprise that fish plays an important part of the diet along the coast (since fresh fish doesn't travel well, inland people ate baccalà or snails on days when meats were prohibited). Much of what the fishermen ate were small fish, salted, because they sold the more prestigious elements of their daily catch. Someone who was a little better off might have enjoyed this mackerel, with wild fennel from the mountains inland. To serve 4:

Grilled Trout Recipe - Trota in Gradela

Grilled Trout, or Trota in Gradela: This recipe from the Vicentino calls for fario trout, a variety that lives close to the bottom, in running water. They rarely exceed 8 inches in length, reach maturity at 2-3 years of age, and have firm, delicately flavored flesh ideally suited to the grill. In short, ideal for home or campground.

A part of The New York Times Company.