Lampuca alla matalotta
Lampuca â matalotta
by Toni Lydecker
from Seafood alla Siciliana
(Lake Isle Press, 2009)
Makes 4 servings

When I visited the southeastern tip of Sicily in October, everyone was feasting on lampuca alla matalotta, filled with cherry tomatoes and capers and made with a delicious kind of blue-fleshed fish that approaches the coast that time of year; fishermen still lure this shade-loving fish by extending palm branches off the sides of their boats.

I learned later that this fish is also known as capone and that mahimahi is our closest equivalent. I especially like the version served by chef Lina Campisi of La Cialoma, on which this recipe is loosely based; she leaves out the green olives often included by other cooks.

convert Ingredients
4 fillets (about 1 1/2 pounds) cut from medium-firm fish such as mahimahi, bonito, grouper, sea bream, sea bass, cod, or snapper
Sea salt or kosher salt
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup halved or quartered cherry or grape tomatoes
1/3 cup Mediterranean olives, pitted or unpitted (optional)
Leaves from 1 or 2 flat-leaf parsley sprigs, chopped
1 heaping tablespoon salt-preserved capers, soaked in water for several minutes and drained
Hot red-pepper flakes

Method
1. Sprinkle the mahimahi fillets lightly with salt.

2. Combine the onion, olive oil, and 1/4 cup water in a skillet large enough to hold the miahimahi in a single layer. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer briskly but not furiously until the onion is tender. Add the tomatoes, olives (if using), parsley, capers, red pepper flakes to taste, and another 1/4 cup water.

3. Once the cooking liquid returns to a simmer, lay the mahimahi fillets on top, skin side down. Cover and simmer until the fish is cooked through, about 10 minutes. At this point, the tomatoes will have released their juices and there should be a small ladleful of brothy sauce for each serving; if not, remove the mahimahi to a platter, add a little more water and heat briefly. Taste and stir in a bit more salt and pepper flakes if needed.

4. Ladle the sauce into shallow soup bowls; place a mahimahi fillet in each one.

Recipe © 2009 Toni Lydecker. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.

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