Simply Divina- Fish

I am spending the winter finishing my Food and Wine in Chianti APP for Sutro Media, getting it ready for those coming to Tuscany this year. I know, it sounds tough, eating and drinking as work.
But really, can you immagine eating out Italian style more than once a day?
IMPOSSIBLE

So, it takes quite a long time to be able to put together a large enough list for an APP. But I am doing this do share my love for those with a passion for food.

father and son, sharing their passion

Yesterday we had lunch at a local favorite, the Trattoria del Pesce, in the tiny town of Bargino.

Actually I wouldn’t call Bargino a town, you may miss it if you blink. What looks like a tiny truckstop trattoria with a small hotel above and a tiny parking lot, is one of Chianti’s most famous restaurants for fish.

Most people associate the word trattoria with a sort of a diner experience instead of finer dining.
Learn to follow the locals!

the “plateau” of raw fish

Although Florence is not that far from the sea, a little over an hour with no traffic, eating seafood in town can be a very expensive meal.

Most Florentines I know, flock to Bargino to eat fish.

After the holidays, we are all going a little lighter, so we opted for the raw fish appetizer, which can be a meal on its own.

We then ordered a whole fish ro share. One of my favorite preparations is called Acqua Pazza, in crazy water, a recipe from Naples.

The whole dish, head and all, are cooked in the oven, then the fish is boned for you table-side and served to share.-

Pesce in Acqua Pazza

A whole fish, cleaned
oregano, rosemary
garlic
salt
Extra virgin olive oil
white wine
salt
cherry tomatoes

Clean a whole small fish (trout is good) and place some fresh oregano, rosemary, and a peeled garlic clove in the belly. 


Lightly sauté on both sides in a skillet and splash with white wine. 


Add crushed cherry tomatoes 


Let cook for another couple of minutes and then place in a baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes. Here is a guide to cooking times for fish.


Serve with all its cooking liquids. 


If you use a large fish, follow cooking times by weight.

I have also made this using large thick fish filets for those that don’t want to look at a whole fish or worry about bones.

Often, cleaned mussels are also added to the fish before roasting.

Remove the fish from the roasting pan. Use the pan sauce on linguine as a first course and serve the fish filets as main course.

ONE PAN- TWO COURSES

SEMPLICEMENTE DIVINA

Here is my friend Mimmo’s smaller fish version on my website. The day I went, he used tomato sauce instead of cherry tomatoes.

Trattoria del Pesce
Via Cassia,124
Bargino, Chianti

Located just off the highway, Florence -Siena