Pesce all’acqua pazza might be one of the best Italian dish names. It translates literally to “fish in crazy water,” and usually consists of fish poached in a simple broth of white wine and olive oil flavored with garlic, tomatoes, and parsley. Not only does it have a name that I adore, but it’s also totally delicious and a foolproof method for cooking fish.
Like many traditional Italian dishes, its history is somewhat cloudy and contested. I’d always imagined it was called crazy water because when you add wine and water to a pan of hot oil and garlic, the water…goes all crazy? Apparently I am the only one who thought that.
Supposedly this dish was first made by fishermen in the Tyrrhenian sea, hailing from Naples, Capri, or Ponza or Ventotene (small islands off the coast of Lazio), who cooked their fresh catch in pots of water from the sea (!) seasoned with garlic, tomatoes, and parsley. I read that the use of seawater for seasoning food actually became popularized in Naples in the latter half of the 19th century because there was a state monopoly on salt and it was taxed aggressively. Regardless, if people on the mainland emulated the fishermen’s cooking method, they were most likely left with an overly salty broth. And in that case, we might owe the name of this dish to a Neopolitan expression that too much salt “te fa ascì pazz”, or “makes you crazy.” Even if absolutely none of this is true, I love the lore, and this plate has become a staple of coastal Italian dining.
A great thing about cooking fish this way is that you really can’t dry it out. It’s a forgiving, low stress method, because even if you overcook it, it will be juicy and tender, swimming in a luscious, saucy broth. It’s also one of the only ways that I like to cook fish in a small New York apartment, because it cooks very quickly and makes the place smell more like garlic and wine than fishy fish.
A quick note about cooking with wine: I believe that when you’re buying wine to cook with, you have 2 options. (1) You buy a bottle of white wine that you intend to open and drink that night, and use ½ cup of it in this recipe. (2) If you don’t feel like drinking wine, you buy a bottle of wine just for cooking. It should be a very dry white, like pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, or vinho verde. It should have a screw top and should definitely be under $15. Closed tightly and stored in the fridge, it will last for cooking purposes for up to 2 months. Now you have cooking wine!
I’m using sungold cherry tomatoes here because this time of year I can’t get enough of their sweeter, less acidic flavor and gorgeous yellow color, but you can use regular cherry tomatoes too. I’ve made this with parsley and basil, with crushed red pepper flakes and fresh Fresno chile—it’s delicious however you spin it. You can also add other aromatics like onion, shallots, and fennel, or briny bits like capers and olives if you have them, but I’m opting to keep things simple. I’m calling for white fish filets, but if you’re feeling bold, this method also works great for a whole fish, like branzino, orata, or red snapper (just increase the cook time). You can even toss some mussels or clams into the broth to steam open in the last 2 minutes of cooking—how fun.
It’s ideal to serve this fish in shallow bowls, with crusty bread alongside for sopping up that delicious broth. (For my gluten avoidant friends, rice or potatoes would be great for soaking up broth too). Maybe you add some green beans or a leafy salad alongside to round out your dreamy summer meal. Pour a crisp glass of wine, put on some Gino Paoli, squint really hard, and it’ll almost feel like you’re having dinner on the Amalfi coast.
Sungold Acqua Pazza
Serves 3 to 4
Ingredients:
1½ pounds firm white fish, like hake, cod, sea bass, snapper, or halibut, cut into portions
Kosher salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste, or 1 small fresh Fresno chile, thinly sliced
1 pint sungold or cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves or a handful of torn basil leaves
½ cup dry white wine
¼ cup water, plus more as needed
Season the fish with salt on both sides and have it ready by the stove with all the other ingredients.
Set a skillet with a lid (that is big enough to fit your fish portions) over medium heat and add the olive oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the garlic and chile and cook until the garlic begins to turn lightly golden at the edges, 1 to 2 minutes. Add about half of the parsley or basil and stir to combine (the oil may pop and sputter a little). Carefully add the tomatoes, stir, cover the pan and cook until they begin to soften and collapse, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and water, season the liquid with a generous pinch of salt, and gently slide in the fish. The filets should be at least halfway submerged—if they’re not, add additional water. Raise the heat to high, bring to a boil, then lower to medium, cover the pan, and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes.
Thinner filets may already be cooked through at this point—they should feel firm to the touch and flake easily. For thicker filets, make sure the liquid is still bubbling actively, spoon some broth over the surface of the fish, cover the pan, and cook for 3 to 5 more minutes.
To serve, transfer the fish filets to shallow bowls and spoon the tomatoes and brothy goodness over top. (If you would like the broth to be a bit thicker and saucier, once you remove the fish from the skillet, you can raise the heat to high and reduce the liquid for a minute or 2 before spooning it over your bowls.) Top with the remaining parsley or basil and serve immediately.
Note: You can easily scale the amount of fish in this recipe down or up and keep the other ingredient amounts the same. If cooking for more people, you may want to opt for thicker fish filets, so that the fish will all fit in your skillet in a single layer. You can also use more or fewer tomatoes, depending on what you have.
I am lucky to have tasted Megan's Sungold Acqua Pazza...and it is delightfully scrumptious!!