Sea bass with tomatoes and mussels (pesce affogato)
Gennaro Contaldo’s pesce affogato can be enjoyed with the pasta as a starter followed by the sea bass as a main course, or you could serve both at the same time.
Ingredients
- 160²µ/5¾´Ç³ú linguine
- â…” tbsp extra virgin olive oil and extra for drizzling
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp large capers
- ½ red chilli, left as it is
- 12 black or green olives
- 2 sea bass fillets
- 30 ripe baby plum tomatoes, halved
- 2 small bunches fresh parsley
- 6 tbsp white wine
- 10 mussels, cleaned and beards removed
- 10 clams, cleaned
- 2 slices sourdough bread, toasted
Method
Cook the linguine in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente.
In the meantime, heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the garlic, capers, chilli and olives and fry about 30–60 seconds. Add the tomatoes and season with salt.
Place the sea bass fillets in the pan over the tomatoes and place a bunch of parsley over each fillet. Pour in the wine and 6 tablespoons of water. Cover with a lid and cook for about 6 minutes.
Tap any mussels or clams that are partly open and discard those that do not close tightly.
Add the mussels and clams to the pan and continue to cook for a couple of minutes or so until the shells open up. Discard any mussels or clams that have not fully opened.
Carefully remove the sea bass fillets and arrange each on a plate on top of a slice of toasted sourdough. Drizzle a little of the sauce and some olive oil over the top.
Add the cooked linguine into the tomato sauce with the mussels and clams, mix well over the hob and serve immediately with a drizzle of olive oil.
Enjoy the pasta as a starter followed by the sea bass as a main course or both at the same time.