Fish Loaf, or Pan Pesce: When Lino Bottoni, Mayor of the Ligurian city of San Remo, was asked about the conspicuous consumption that's all the rage among vacationers visiting his city, he said it was time people rediscovered pan pesce (fish bread), one of the standard frugal Ligurian dishes of Yore. And gave the recipe:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- A nice gilt head bream
- Crumbled bread
- Milk
- Minced Garlic
- Parsley
- Salt
- Olive oil
Preparation:
Take a nice gilt head bream (in the past people used fish scraps, he noted) caught in the sea rather than raised, boil it until done, and then pick over it by hand to remove all the flesh, leaving bones, skin, fins and whatnot behind. Set the flesh to soak with crumbled bread and milk (you'll want the same volume of bread and fish, I'd think, and enough milk to moisten the mixture well). Add to the mixture a hint of minced garlic, a small bunch of minced parsley, salt, Ligurian olive oil (since he's from the Riviera di Ponente, he'll be using Taggiasca oil, which is quite delicate), and two egg yolks. Whip the whites to fairly firm peaks, fold them into the mixture, and pour the mixture into a greased oven dish. Bake the pan pesce in an oven preheated to 360 F (180 C) for about a half hour. It will be good hot or cold, and will keep for a couple of days.
The wine? A Vermentino di Ponente.
The wine? A Vermentino di Ponente.
