Tag Archives: seafood

"Sea Bass" in wine with saffron
food history, italian cuisine

Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 56 (Pgs. 178 – 180): “Sea Bass” Menu Near Ancona

Italian Marches fish dinner

Region: Umbria/Marches

Menu: Poached “Sea Bass” with Wine and Saffron, Bruschetta, Broccoli Cooked in Garlic-Flavored Oil, Ricotta with Honey and Thyme

Recommended Wine: Orvieto (a dry or slightly sweet white)

            In the 8th Century BC, rising population in their homeland led many Greeks to set out and establish colonies. They settled along the coasts of southern Italy, Sicily, Turkey, and the Black Sea, in some cases going as far as southern France, the Spanish coast, and north Africa. Over time, these colonies began setting up their own colonies. For some reason, the process slowed to a trickle by 500 BC. Had the Greeks run out of favorable locations? Did grain imports from Egypt and the Black Sea reduce population pressure in their city-states? Were local populations getting better at resisting the colonists? Or were the colonies, now grown into city-states in their own right, too busy fighting each other to keep expanding?

            Whatever the reason, most colonization was finished when the Golden Age of Athens began in the 470s BC. There were a few exceptions. One of these was the city of Ancona, on Italy’s central Adriatic coast. It was founded by colonists from Syracuse in the 4th Century BC, several decades after the Syracusans crushed the Athenian invasion of Sicily. Ancona prospered but was never a great power, and was absorbed into the expanding Roman Republic in the 3rd Century BC.

            Along Italy’s Adriatic (eastern) coast, various cities and regions feature seafood stews in their cuisine. Supposedly this is a remnant of Greek influence. Regardless, they are an interesting change of pace from grilled, fried, and baked fish, and cook much faster than meat or bean-based stews. It’s typical to serve these fish stews and chowders with bruschetta, to soak up the broth.

Fish chowder from the Italian Marche region

            Since I couldn’t find sea bass, I used tilapia (I think). With the strong flavors of wine, tomatoes, garlic, and saffron, any affordable white fish would probably work. As promised in the introduction, this is one of the easiest main dishes in the book. Prep is just chopping a few vegetables, and cooking time is under 30 minutes. Personally, saffron is not my favorite flavoring, but the other ingredients balanced its somewhat medicinal flavor. Broccoli, lightly precooked and sauteed in garlic-infused oil, was a pleasant accompaniment, and the green was a pretty contrast with the red tomatoes and yellow saffron.

            Dessert was rather interesting, fresh ricotta drizzled with honey and sprinkled with thyme. I have no problem with supermarket ricotta in lasagna, stuffed pasta, cheesecake, or cannoli filling, but don’t necessarily want to eat straight spoonfuls of it. Since fresh Italian-style ricotta was unavailable, I made my own. To serve, I had a trio of Italian honeys from World Market, chestnut, acacia, and millefiori (wildflower).

Fresh ricotta with honey and thyme
Notice the three different colors of honey

            The acacia and millefiori honeys both paired well with the cheese (honestly, I couldn’t tell much difference). The chestnut took some getting used to. It’s dark in color, almost like maple syrup, and has a distinctly bitter edge. Like the saffron, it wasn’t my favorite, but overall, this was a tasty and balanced dinner.

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Cook’s Tour of Italy Menu 43 (Pgs. 137 – 138): Shrimp and “Bass” Risotto with Saffron

            With its abundance of seafood and rice, it is no surprise that Venetian cuisine would feature a number of seafood risottos. Here things are kept simple with shrimp and pieces of bass or other white fish, enhanced with zucchini, shallots and parmesan cheese, but in Venice the options are nearly limitless. One especially interesting example, called risotto nero, is colored black with squid or cuttlefish ink. For this recipe, the color is a surprisingly bright yellow, courtesy of saffron.

            Saffron has a fascinating history. Grown around the Mediterranean since ancient times, its prestige was nonetheless on the level of “exotic” spices from Asia. There were two reasons for this. First, it is really labor-intensive, with each saffron crocus yielding a few strands of the spice. It’s true allure, however, is its color. When added to a bit of liquid, it produces a brilliant golden hue. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was often used to create “gilded” dishes for banquets. While stirring the threads and their steeping liquid into the dish, the color showed itself by degrees, starting with a pale, creamy yellow, gradually deepening into the color shown in the picture.

            Historically, saffron was considered to have medicinal qualities. Unfortunately, in this recipe it gave a distinct medicinal edge to the flavor. In addition, the fish broth used in the recipe is enhanced by simmering with shrimp shells. I’m not sure if it was the brand of broth I used (since I opted not to make my own) or the shrimp shells, but it gave off a powerful fishy aroma while simmering that lingered in the kitchen. Before adding it to the risotto I diluted it to compensate for what boiled off and reduce the strength, but the taste was still strongly fishy and medicinal.

            You might be thinking that fish is supposed to taste fishy, but many white fish like what I used (I think it was haddock, but I can’t remember for sure. It was on sale in the freezer section) have a fairly mild taste. I personally prefer it on the relatively rare occasions that I eat seafood, but that is a matter of personal taste. Unlike many Italian cooks, who view it as culinary heresy, Mr. Famularo has no issue with combining seafood and dairy. The addition of parmesan cheese and butter really helped balance things out. The shrimp weren’t overcooked, the fish cooked up nice and flaky, and the finished dish was actually quite enjoyable once I got used to the strong flavors. That said, if I made this again I’d reduce the amount of saffron. And probably skip the fish broth altogether.

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