From the World’s Scrap Book: Acqua Pazza

Ladies, Gentlemen, friends, if there is one thing I have learned in my travels about the continent and the Orient, it is the value of simplicity.

Take, for example, the famed Zen gardens of Kyoto, a Jewel of the East. Here the elegant simplicity of raked gravel disguises an graceful, emergent complexity to please the eye and sooth the soul – of course, the same has been said about my own sense of style, although naturally it simply is not done to blow one’s own horn. And, of course, some mornings (particularly after a lengthy soirée with Miss Peas) I myself look like I could do with a good raking over.

But I digress, for the point of my writings is to describe a dish I have encountered several times upon my travels, Acqua Pazza.

Neapolitan by origin, in its simplest form this is a blessed combination of freshly caught fish, gently poached with salted water, extra virgin olive oil, and a touch of the new world in the form of tomatoes. The final resulting dish is an elegant confection of soft, melting white flesh, surrounded with a delicately flavoured fish broth shot through with a pink hue from the tomatoes. A perfectly summery dish, to be enjoyed in the sun with a chilled glass of something delicious.

Like many simple things, however, the joy here is not just in the basic dish, but the ability to accessorise and accentuate the flavours to your own choice, elevating the dish from the simple to the divine. My personal preference is not to overcomplicate it, but for more elaborate versions you could consider using a mix of fish or other seafood (I am told prawns work well for example), and any number of vegetable based additions.

I generally choose a sea bream for the fish, as the flavour is punchy enough to compete with the tomato, while still having sizeable enough fillets that a single fish will do for two. I also like the strictly non-canon additions of diced garlic, onion, black olives, perhaps some capers, and a little lemon juice to accentuate the flavour of the fish. Fresh parsley is also a must, either added to the fish while cooking, as a garnish, or, indeed, as both.

In the illustrations below I have also used some finely diced celery, left over from a previous culinary adventure, and looking a little sad and limp (a fate that has befallen all too many of us). While not known as a paragon of virtue, I am loathe to leave such waifs to the perils of the streets, and so it found a good home in the broth, giving an additional pleasant savoury note.

Ingredients

Base recipe

• 1 whole large white fish (sea bream, red mullet, or similar), circa 500g
• Ripe tomatoes, either 5-10 cherry or 2-3 larger, diced finely
• Olive oil – a good glug
• Water
• Salt

Optional ingredients

• Fresh parsley, chopped
• Dry white wine – around a cup
• An onion, finely sliced
• 10-20 Black olives
• Tablespoon of capers
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Bay leaf
• Finely diced celery, carrot, or other stock vegetables
• Black pepper

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and gentle sauté the onions till soft and lightly browned. I also added the celery at this point.

If using olives and capers, start soaking them in water at this point to remove some of the brine (unless you use olives stored in oil, of course).

Add the garlic, and the fish (which, I must point out, I have already cleaned by this point – you could ask your fishmonger to do this for you, but since I procured mine from the backstreets of Chinatown alas no such option was available).

Cook for five minutes more, turning the fish midway. Add water to cover the fish, and season to taste (you can also substitute some of the water for white wine). Add the remaining tomatoes, parsley and simmer on a low heat for half an hour.

Finally, drain the olives and add together with the remaining tomatoes, together with the olives and capers.  Cook for a further five minutes, then serve in bowls with plenty of the broth and a suitable accompaniment – I like good crusty bread, potatoes tossed with parsley and olive oil or, as seen here, both.

And now my dears, if you will excuse me I must bid you adieu and head out into sunny London - hopefully for some society parties followed by a damn good raking!