Viva Italia

I decided to use two recipes from the December issue of Saveur magazine for our meal last night. I stayed true to the recipes with the exception of adjusting them to serve 2 people.

It is pretty common to find whole roasted or fried fishes in west indian culture so I was really excited to come across this recipe for a branzino stuffed with fennel, onions, thyme and rosemary. I chose the recipe for braised artichokes to go along with it and I rounded out the meal with pan fried potatoes and greens beans tossed with shallots and a little butter.

Image by Todd Coleman, for Saveur Magazine

Whole Roasted Branzino with Fennel and Onions, serves 8–10

½ cup plus 2 tbsp. olive oil
3 lb. yellow onions, sliced
3 lb. fennel, sliced, fronds reserved
¼ cup white wine
3 tbsp. finely chopped thyme
Zest and juice of 1 orange
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 2-lb. whole branzino, cleaned


INSTRUCTIONS
Heat oven to 350°. Heat ½ cup oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and fennel; cook until soft, 8–10 minutes. Add fronds, wine, thyme, and zest and juice; cook for 5 minutes. Season fish with salt and pepper; stuff cavity with ¼ cup fennel mixture; tie fish closed with kitchen twine. Put remaining fennel mixture in a roasting pan; top with fish. Drizzle with remaining oil; bake until cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Image by Todd Coleman, for Saveur Magazine

Braised Artichokes, serves 6–12

½ cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic

½ cup white wine

4 large artichokes, outer leaves trimmed, and halved lengthwise

3 lemons, halved and juiced

Kosher salt, to taste

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in an 8-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add wine, artichokes, lemon juice and spent halves of the lemons, salt, and 10 cups water; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until artichokes are very tender, about 30 minutes. Transfer artichokes to a serving platter and keep warm. Discard all but 2 cups cooking liquid; return pan with liquid to medium-high heat. Add butter; cook until sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; spoon sauce over artichokes to serve.

Pan fried Potatoes

4-5 medium yukon gold potatoes washed, dried and cubed

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add potato; sprinkle the thyme, salt and pepper over them and cook until golden brown.

Green Beans with Shallots

1 lb. green beans washed and trimmed

1 small shallot minced 

½ tsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. butter

salt to taste 

INSTRUCTIONS

Steam the green beans until bright green in color, I prefer mine to still have a bit of a crunch. Remove from the heat and drain. Return the pot to the stove top and melt the butter on medium, once the butter has melted add the shallots and cook until soft. Return the shallots to the pot, add the lemon juice and toss to coat well. Season with salt if needed.