Mackerel alla Sanvitese with Agrumato® Blood Orange

The cuisine of Abruzzo, where AGRUMATO® citrus oil originates from, is filled with excellent fresh fish caught in the Adriatic Sea. Mackerel alla Sanvitese is a typical recipe from Abruzzo's Trabocchi Coast, named so for the ancient fishing platforms (trabocchi) that dot the coastline.

Recipe courtesy of Lucrezia and Sante Ricci of AGRUMATO®

Difficulty

Very Easy

Serves

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Ingredients

4 whole mackerel
Agrumato® Blood Orange
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped and divided
20 piccadilly (small plum) tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves red garlic, peeled and halved
1 dried Cruschi Pepper, broken into small pieces
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1 blood orange
1/2 cup white wine
q.b. sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
q.b. basil leaves

Method

First, clean and fillet the fish. Season the fillets with Agrumato® and parsley, and let rest for about 30 minutes.
Wash the fishbones in cold water and clean the fish head, removing the eyes and gills. Cut the fish head in half.
Take half of the tomatoes, and cut a small "x" on the bottom of each tomato. Blanch them in boiling water for a few seconds, then remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer to bowl of ice water. Peel and de-seed the tomatoes. Set aside for the fish sauce.
To make the soffritto for the fish sauce, add olive oil, halved clove of garlic, Cruschi pepper, parsley, and spring onions to a pan. Once the vegetables are soft, add the fish head and fish bones. Let the bones brown a bit and then add a squeeze of blood orange, the white wine, and the blanched tomatoes. Once the wine has evaporated, add cold salted water to cover. Season with a touch of black pepper and simmer the sauce until reduced by half.
Strain the sauce over a small pot, and then return the strained sauce to the heat reduce by another half.
While the sauce is reducing, chop the rest of the tomatoes and season them with salt, halved garlic, torn basil, and, of course, extra virgin olive oil. Set aside.
To cook the fillets: Warm olive oil and a halved clove of garlic in a pan. Score the skin of the fillets so that they can keep their shape. When the oil is hot, place the fillets skin side down. Let the skin brown for two minutes, then turn off the heat, put a lid on the pan, and let them finish cooking with the residual heat for about 10 minutes.
Serve the fillets on a plate skin side up and cover them with the chopped seasoned tomatoes. Spoon over the fish sauce. Finish with a sprinkle of parsley and a final drizzle of Agrumato. Enjoy!