- 1/2 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes
- 4 cups of water
- 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced very thin
- 2 tablespoons very finely chopped parsley
- Chopped red chili pepper, 1/8 teaspoon or to taste
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- A 1-1/2- to 2-pound red snapper, filleted with its skin
left on
Optional: 4 slices of day-old or grilled sourdough bread
for 4 persons
One of the most frequently recurring conversational expressions
in the dialect of my native Romagna is anicreid, "I
don't believe it." That skepticism is a characteristic
I share with people of my region. When a dish has a fanciful
name, I resist trying it, feeling that it has been dressed
up to cover up a lack of substance. Had it been up to
me, I never would have sampled that Neapolitan creation,
fish in crazy water. "What's crazy water go to do
with cooking and anyway, who wants to eat fish in water?"
Such were my thoughts, until my friend from Amalfi, Pierino
Jovine, one day simply brought the dish to the table without
asking or telling. Now, I am the one who goes crazy over
it.
Water is what brings together all the seasoning ingredients,
the tomatoes, garlic, parsley, chili pepper, salt, and
olive oil. They simmer in it for a full 45 minutes, exchanging
and compounding their flavors, producing a substance that
is denser than a broth, looser, more vivacious, and fresher
in taste than any sauce, in which you then cook the fish.
1. Peel the tomatoes raw using a swiveling-blade vegetable
peeler, and chop them roughly with all their juice and seeds.
The yield should be about 2 cups.
2. Choose a saute‚ pan in which the fish fillets can
be subsequently fit flat without overlapping. Put in the
water, garlic, chopped tomatoes, parsley, chili pepper,
olive oil, and salt. Cover the pan, turn the heat to medium,
for 45 minutes.
3. Uncover the pan, turn up the heat, and boil the liquid
until it has been reduced to half its original volume.
4. Add the fish, skin facing up. Cook for 2 minutes, then
gently turn it over, using two spatulas. Add a little more
salt and cook for another 12 minutes or so.
5. Serve promptly over the optional bread slice.
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