RecipeStripper

Clean recipe · cooking.nytimes.com

Sicilian-Style Pasta With Fish Ragù

A saucy fish ragù is a perfect pasta sauce: Essentially, roasted fish pieces tossed with a sauce of sweet peppers, a splash of white wine and a bit of tomato, it’s reminiscent of a meaty Bolognese, but lighter and fresher. Look for striped bass, halibut, cod or corvina, all good choices for this dish.

Original recipe: cooking.nytimes.com

Yield:
6 servings
Prep:
0 hr 20 min
Cook:
0 hr 35 min
Total:
0 hr 55 min
Open cooking tools

Adjust servings, check off ingredients, and save a copy in the recipe reader.

Ingredients

  1. 1 ½ pounds skinless sea bass, cod, halibut or other white-fleshed fish
  2. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
  3. Salt and black pepper
  4. 1 white or yellow onion, chopped
  5. Pinch of saffron (optional), soaked in ½ cup warm water
  6. 2 carrots, chopped
  7. 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  8. 3 garlic cloves, grated
  9. Pinch of crushed red pepper
  10. 2 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and crushed, or use 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomato
  11. ½ cup dry white wine
  12. 1 pound rigatoni or paccheri
  13. Basil leaves

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut fish into ¾-inch chunks and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and spread out in a single layer on the sheet. Bake until just done, 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside at room temperature while you make the sauce.
  2. Set a Dutch oven or high-sided heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When wavy, add onions. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes, then, if using, add saffron and saffron water. Add the carrot, bell pepper, garlic and crushed red pepper. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add tomatoes and their juices and the wine. Adjust heat to a brisk simmer and cook until thickened, another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning — it should be very flavorful. Add reserved cooked fish, stirring gently and allowing it to flake a bit, and turn off heat. Keep warm.
  4. Meanwhile, set a pot of heavily salted water over high heat. Cook the pasta until al dente, reserving a cupful of pasta water.
  5. Pour fish and sauce into a wide, low pasta bowl. Add drained pasta and toss carefully with wooden spoons. There should be enough sauce to coat the pasta. (If not, add a little pasta water.)
  6. To serve, drizzle each portion with a little good olive oil and a tiny pinch of salt. Garnish with basil leaves.