Winnings
Casa Olivetta’s Crazy Water Fish
SERVES 6 | PREP 20 MINS | COOK 20 MINS
Ingredients:
¹⁄ ³ cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
6 unpeeled whole cloves garlic
2 cups (500ml) water
2 punnets (500g) cherry tomatoes
½ cup handpicked Italian parsley, roughly chopped
¼ tsp chilli flakes Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.2 kg firm fish fillets, such as flathead or ling Extra virgin olive oil, for serving
1. Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat; add oil and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes or until garlic is golden brown and oil is infused with flavour.
2. Add water, tomatoes, half the parsley, chilli and season to taste with salt and pepper; bring to the boil; turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring constantly and pressing down on the tomatoes to release the beautiful flavours and colours.
3. Add fish fillets and simmer while ladling the crazy water over the fish, just until cooked, about 5-6 minutes.
4. When serving, pour a generous amount of the crazy water over the fish. Garnish with the remaining parsley and drizzle with extra olive oil.
Recipe notes A lovely accompaniment would be roasted kipfler potatoes with rosemary and a crisp salad made from radicchio and wild rocket dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. You can add a variety of fish to the recipe to make a version of brodetto using shellfish, small whole fish and cuttlefish or squid. You can substitute fish stock for the water. Serve with crusty Italian bread.
“ This is a famous recipe we always cook at our villa in Puglia, Casa Olivetta, using local fish we buy at the weekend markets. It’s easy, flavour l and can be served with rosemary-and-salt-roasted potatoes, butter lettuce, avocado and dill salad with a mustard dressing.” – Collette Dinnigan
