Читать книгу Made in Italy: Food and Stories - Giorgio Locatelli - Страница 50

In England, people love big fish, like salmon or sea bass, with no bones left in to negotiate. But Italians have a bit of a love affair not only with octopus, squid and cuttlefish but also with little fish, cooked whole, head and bones included. I have always loved those cheap little fish like mackerel and sardines, which are so full of flavour yet so underrated because they don’t have any snob value. We always have one or two of these oily ‘blue fish’ on the menu, and they are a very healthy option. Sardines and mackerel contain the fatty acids called omega-3, which are thought to protect the heart, and help the working of our brains and immune systems. Again, we go back to the idea that good quality food doesn’t have to be expensive. I believe you are being more generous to someone if you give them cheap and healthy sardines than if you spend a lot of money on farmed salmon, which is so controversial in terms of the health of the fish and our environment.

At home in Italy we would prepare these fish really simply, perhaps whole under a marinade. In the restaurant, of course, it is crucial that we don’t serve things that are too fiddly to eat, or that will cause people to end up with food splashed down their clothes. So I’m afraid that some of these recipes require you to fillet the fish first – or, if you don’t want to do it yourself, ask your fishmonger to do it for you.