Hey everyone. Yes, Pesce Marinato – this is a dish that is definitely going to keep your friends around, and it is a dish we’ve been wanting to show for a long time. We finally shot the video for it, and doesn’t it look delicious? Pesce marinato is something that I make very often for my clients. Believe me, it’s always a hit.
Pesce marinato means “marinated fish” and that’s exactly what it is. Believe it or not, that is really the only process used to “cook” this dish. That’s right. You don’t even need a stove to make this. We use the acidity of vinegar (the marinade) instead of fire to cook. It’s exactly like the way ceviche is cooked, if you are familiar with that, except that ceviche uses lime juice as the acid. It’s very healthy, and it’s a great way to cook fish because the fish retains its moistness and flavor, where as if you use fire, sometimes you overdo it just a bit… and forget it. Fish kaput. The other advantage to this method is that it is also a kind of “pickling” process. This preserves the fish and gives the dish a long shelf life. In fact, that is probably how this dish originated, along the seaside towns where fish was the main diet, but they needed a simple way to prepare a lot of fish and not let it go to waste afterward. The dish is finished by covering in olive oil, and as long as you keep the fish submerged under the oil, it should keep very well.
So, here are the steps for making this great, easy dish.
1. Your ingredients – make sure you get the freshest fish you can find. You can use virtually any fish as long as it is fresh. Back in my hometown of Sorrento, Italy, pesce marinato is a traditional dish. Traditionally, only fish is used, but my own version is a little different because I may use scallops, or shrimp, or other items. I like to use whatever looks good at the market that day (If you know me, I am always experimenting) Here, in the case of our video, we used salmon, swordfish, octopus, shrimp, and tuna, but I often also use monkfish, snapper, or even bluefish, if I can get it very fresh. Scallops work wonderfully, by the way.
2. Slice everything as thin as you can with a very sharp knife.
3. spread out evenly and flat in a large terrine or pan (don’t use a plastic container – not good with acids), in one even layer. If you want to make a lot, you need a large container because you can’t just dump everything in one heaping pile. We need to give surface area, so that the ingredients can have good contact with the vinegar to cook well. It’s similar to trying to cook a large turkey and the part in the middle would not get enough exposure to the cooking process and so would take a long time – even longer, or never, in this case because the vinegar would not soak in far enough to cook. So, very important in this case to have even surface exposure for your fish slices by placing in one flat layer.
4. Now, pour in enough white vinegar to cover it all. Don’t use balsamic, or red wine vinegar. You need a very mutable vinegar, so stick with plain white vinegar.
5. Let stand for 2 or 3 hours in a nice cool place.
6. After that time, the vinegar has done its job of cooking. You will see that the fish looks different now. Gently remove the fish using a slotted spatula, or 2 forks would do the trick, and arrange on paper towels, keeping the slices separated. Then pat dry with another layer of paper towels on top. The vinegar flavor is desirable, but you don’t want to leave too much vinegar because you are going to dress it with a lot of other more delicate flavors and we want those other flavors to come through.
7. In a new clean terrine (if you do not have another, wipe dry original one) and layer the fish again… time for condiments… sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs like parsley, mint, oregano, fennel fronds, etc. I used what I have in my garden. If you want, you could add thyme, or others, as long as they do not overpower the other aromas. Add finely sliced garlic and for a kick, some hot pepper flakes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add fresh lemon juice (from real lemons and not from those little plastic grenade looking bottles) with a little bit of lemon zest as well, and cover all with a good extra virgin olive oil. Really make sure to be generous and really cover that fish. The olive oil is there to keep the fish pickled and preserved, just like you have your jar of anchovies or sardines covered in oil. So really cover it, especially if you plan to keep the fish around for a while. After you finish eating, if you have extra oil, it will not go to waste. It can be used to make other dishes such as Spaghetti aglio e olio, or to dip your bread into. Delicious. BUT, if you plan to dip into the oil, first spoon some oil out into a different container to use as a dipping container. You don’t want to contaminate the original oil with bread crumbs and other things, if you plan to keep the fish well preserved for later.
8. You could start eating now, if it’s driving you crazy and you just can’t wait. But for the best result, let the dish stand for additional 1 to 2 hours to get all the flavors cozy and intimate.
9. Time to serve. How to serve it? Use your imagination. Serve pieces on an arugula salad, or another way I like, is to serve with some good bread or crostini… and ENJOY!
Chef Tony Scarpati
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