Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [142]
IN SIRACUSA, Sicily, this flavorful preparation is applied principally to swordfish and occasionally to fresh tuna. When, many years ago, I began working with it, I looked for other fish, at that time more commonly available outside Sicily, that would respond to the savory stimpirata treatment. The most successful substitute was one most unlike the original Sicilian varieties, salmon. On reflection, one need not be surprised because no other fish has salmon’s ability to handle with aplomb such a diversity of flavors in its sauces, from the most shy to the most emphatic.
For this recipe, if you should decide to turn to salmon, you may use either thin steaks or fillets. Swordfish, tuna, or other fish such as shark, grouper, tilefish, or red snapper should be in steak form, sliced very thin.
For 4 to 6 servings
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup onion chopped very thin
6 tablespoons celery chopped very fine
2 tablespoons capers, soaked and rinsed as described if packed in salt, drained if in vinegar
Vegetable oil for sautéing the fish
2 pounds swordfish, salmon, or other fish steaks (see recommendations above), sliced ½ inch thick, OR salmon fillets
⅔ cup flour, spread on a plate
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
¼ cup good-quality wine vinegar, preferably white
1. Put the 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan, and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it becomes colored a pale gold, then add the chopped celery. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the celery is tender, 5 or more minutes. Add the capers and cook for about half a minute, stirring steadily. Turn off the heat.
2. Put enough vegetable oil in a frying pan to come ½ inch up the sides and turn on the heat to medium high. When the oil is hot, dredge the fish on both sides in the flour and slip it into the pan. Do not crowd the pan at one time with more fish than will fit comfortably without overlapping. Cook the fish briefly, about 1 minute per side or a little longer if thicker than ½ inch, then transfer it to a platter, using a slotted spoon or spatula. When all the fish is done, add salt and a few grindings of pepper.
3. Turn on the heat to medium under the pan with the celery and capers. When the contents of the pan begin to simmer, add the sautéed fish from the platter, turn it gently to coat it with sauce, then add the vinegar. Let the vinegar bubble for a minute or so, then transfer the entire contents of the pan to a warm platter and serve at once.
Sweet and Sour Tuna Steaks, Trapani Style
ANOTHER SAVORY item from Sicilian cooking’s remarkable seafood repertory, this sliced fresh tuna is simple to do and wonderfully appetizing, its sweet and sour flavor a luscious blend that is neither cloying nor bitingly tart.
For 6 servings
2½ pounds fresh tuna, cut into ½-inch-thick steaks
3 cups onion sliced very, very thin
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
1 cup flour, spread on a plate
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
¼ cup red wine vinegar
⅓ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1. Remove the skin circling the tuna steaks, wash them in cold water, and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels.
2. Choose a saute pan broad enough to accommodate later all the steaks in a single layer without overlapping. Put in the sliced onion, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 or 2 large pinches of salt, and turn on the heat to medium low. Cook until the onion has wilted completely, then turn up the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring from time to time, until the onion becomes colored a deep golden brown.
3. Using a slotted spoon or spatula, transfer the onion to a small bowl. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, turn the heat up to medium high, dredge the tuna steaks in flour on both sides, and slip them into the pan. Cook them for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on their thickness, then sprinkle with salt and pepper, add the sugar, vinegar, wine, and onions, turn the heat up to high, and cover the pan. Cook