Red mullet alla livornese with tomato and capers
Ingredients:
- Whole red mullet (1 kg)
- Peeled tomatoes (500 g)
- Capers (30 g)
- Garlic (2 cloves)
- Olive oil (3 tbsp)
- Parsley (2 tbsp)
- Salt
- Black pepper
Method:
Delicate red mullet in a generous tomato sauce
Red mullet brings a wonderful sea flavour to a simple tomato sauce. Here the Livorno-style preparation includes capers, as a lively, salty accent to the sweet tomatoes. Allow about 35 minutes for four people, using roughly eight small fish. Ask the fishmonger to scale, gut and clean them, leaving them whole. Good bread belongs on the table: this sauce is very much part of dinner.
Start with the sauce
Rinse capers kept in brine; soak salted capers for 10 minutes, changing the water, then rinse and drain. Pat the cleaned fish dry, checking that the belly cavities are clean. Crush the tomatoes in a bowl with their juice. Peel and lightly crush the garlic, and chop the parsley.
Warm the oil and garlic in a broad sauté pan over low heat for two minutes, without browning the garlic. Add the tomatoes and capers and simmer uncovered for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should become fragrant and slightly thicker, but remain loose enough to surround the fish. Add a few tablespoons of water if necessary. Remove the garlic and taste before adding salt and pepper.
Cook the mullet gently
Lay the fish in the sauce in one layer. If your pan is too small, divide the sauce between two pans instead of stacking the fish. Spoon a little tomato over each one, cover and simmer very gently for 8–12 minutes, depending on size. Shake the pan gently once or twice; avoid stirring or repeatedly turning the delicate fish.
Check the thickest fish near the backbone. Its flesh should be opaque, separate readily from the bone and reach 63°C in the thickest part. Give larger fish a little longer, adding a splash of water if the sauce is catching. The tomatoes should bubble lazily, never boil violently around the mullet.
Bring it to the table
Scatter over the parsley and lift the fish onto warm plates with a broad spatula. Spoon the tomato and caper sauce around them. At the table, remove the backbone and check carefully for the smaller bones; red mullet needs a little patient eating. Serve with bread and a simple green salad, letting the sweet fish and sharp little capers do the talking.