Acqua Pazza (Fish Simmered in Tomato-Garlic Broth)
Acqua Pazza (Fish Simmered in Tomato-Garlic Broth) is rated
out of
5 by
3.
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
25 minutes
Servings:
6
Acqua pazza literally means "crazy water." Traditionally, it is an Italian dish in which fish is cooked in water flavored with tomatoes and garlic. The liquid becomes a delicious broth that is spooned over the fish.
%20Recipe%20on%20williams-sonoma.com%2F){kind=link}
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup plus 2/3 cup olive oil
- 6 large garlic cloves
- Pinch of red chili flakes
- 3 cups white wine
- 1 Tbs. capers
- 4 cups water
- 6 red snapper or striped bass fillets, each about
6 oz., skin on - Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 12 ripe plum tomatoes, oven-dried*
- 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, stemmed and halved
- 30 pitted Kalamata olives
- 3 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 1/2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
- Olivier Toasted Garlic Oil, to taste
Directions:
Preheat an oven to 400°F.
In a Dutch oven or deep ovenproof sauté pan over medium heat, warm the 1/4 cup olive oil, add the garlic and sauté, stirring often, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chili flakes, wine, capers and water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer while the fish is cooking.
Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and lightly dust both sides of the fillets with the flour.
In a large sauté pan over high heat, warm the 2/3 cup olive oil until nearly smoking. Arrange the fish, skin side down, in the pan and fry until golden underneath, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spatula, transfer the fish to the simmering liquid. Add the oven-dried and cherry tomatoes and the olives. Return to a simmer, transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Return the pan to the stovetop and set over medium heat.
Transfer the fish to warmed individual bowls. Simmer the liquid, stirring occasionally, until it reduces to 6 cups, 4 to 5 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the parsley and basil over the fish and spoon the sauce over the fish. Drizzle with garlic oil and serve immediately. Serves 6.
* To make oven-dried tomatoes, choose the ripest plum tomatoes available. Preheat an oven to 300°F. Cut each tomato lengthwise into quarters and arrange, sliced side up, on a wire rack set on a baking sheet. Coat the tomatoes lightly with olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake the tomatoes until they have lost much of their liquid and have shrunk considerably, about 2 hours.
In a Dutch oven or deep ovenproof sauté pan over medium heat, warm the 1/4 cup olive oil, add the garlic and sauté, stirring often, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chili flakes, wine, capers and water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer while the fish is cooking.
Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and lightly dust both sides of the fillets with the flour.
In a large sauté pan over high heat, warm the 2/3 cup olive oil until nearly smoking. Arrange the fish, skin side down, in the pan and fry until golden underneath, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spatula, transfer the fish to the simmering liquid. Add the oven-dried and cherry tomatoes and the olives. Return to a simmer, transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Return the pan to the stovetop and set over medium heat.
Transfer the fish to warmed individual bowls. Simmer the liquid, stirring occasionally, until it reduces to 6 cups, 4 to 5 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the parsley and basil over the fish and spoon the sauce over the fish. Drizzle with garlic oil and serve immediately. Serves 6.
* To make oven-dried tomatoes, choose the ripest plum tomatoes available. Preheat an oven to 300°F. Cut each tomato lengthwise into quarters and arrange, sliced side up, on a wire rack set on a baking sheet. Coat the tomatoes lightly with olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake the tomatoes until they have lost much of their liquid and have shrunk considerably, about 2 hours.
Adapted from Terra: Cooking from the Heart of Napa Valley,
by Hiro Sone and Lissa Doumani
(Ten Speed Press, 2000).
Recommended Products:
-
$49.95
-
$14.95
Rated 5 out of
5
by
pradagirl from
One of my favorite ways to cook fish!
I have been making this recipe for nearly twenty years and it has become one of my family's favorite. I make it will all type of fish, from sole to even salmon. I skip the sautéing the fish and just cook it in the oven skin side down in bake and after it it done, I add the broth and vegetables and finish it under the broiler before adding the herbs which makes it less of a cleaning mess. If I buy skinless fish, I still cook it the same way. I serve it over a bed of fettuccini pasta. Delicious and uncomplicated.
Date published: 2020-09-08
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Talulabelle from
Excellent Version of Acqua Pazza
This is such an exceptionally flavorful dish and brightly colored. I think making your own oven dried tomatoes is a must. I usually do that the day before. The only things I’ve changed is adding chicken stock or clam Juice in place of water and greatly reducing the amount of oil. The stock makes it even more flavorful and therefore less oil is needed. I also serve it over a small amount of linguine in the bottom of the bowl. It’s a favorite of my husband’s as well as our friends. in fact I was just confirming the recipe as I’m making it tomorrow night.
Date published: 2019-05-31
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Toyotamom from
Great Fish Dish
I love this recipe, however have adapted it to make it easier and healthier. I omit the oil in the prep of the fish fillets and simply slide them into the broth for a few minutes and then continue with the directions. I also used sun-dried tomatoes instead of making my own to save time. This is a yummy way to prepare fish.
Date published: 2012-12-28