Sicilian Fish Cooked In Tomato Sauce

This rich and aromatic Sicilian fish stew in tomato sauce is jam-packed with flavour and the perfect Mediterranean style comfort food.

Sicilian cooking

Way back in my misspent youth I was lucky enough to work for a year on the Italian island of Sicily. The Mama in the family was a great cook and taught me how to make my own pasta and how to use herbs, anchovies and capers to add flavour to dishes.

Sicily is famous for it’s use of capers in dishes and all Italians like to use anchovies to add depth to dishes.

Don’t be afraid of using these tiny fish, they don’t have a fishy taste when added to sauces etc. Instead they just melt down to nothing but pack a fabulous punch of flavour.

You can also use my homemade Gentleman’s Relish (an anchovy butter paste) in this recipe instead of jarred anchovies themselves. I always keep a jar of this in the fridge for cooking as well as spreading on toast.

Fish was very often served at lunchtime when we ate our main meal and this Sicilian Fish is my take on what she would make.

Don’t you just love the whole Mediterranean diet, the use of vegetables, fruits, pulses, legumes plus fish and to a lesser extent meat.

Fish is super healthy and we never seem to eat enough of it. I love this Sicilian Fish dish because it is super easy to make and packed with the flavours of summer sunshine.

Ingredients

I have use a piece of monk fish for this recipe but feel free to use any other firm white fish that you fancy.

The other ingredients are tomatoes, chilli, capers and olives, garlic and lemon.

Don’t forget the anchovy as mentioned above plus oregano and balsamic vinegar.

How to make Sicilian fish

Firstly you will be sear the fish for just a couple of minutes on each side then remove it from the pan and place in an oven-proof dish with the lemon juice and bake for 5 minutes in the oven.

Meanwhile, in the pan you’d used for the fish saute all the other ingredients for 5 minutes.

Add this lovely rich and aromatic tomato sauce to the fish and bake for a further 10 minutes.

So there you have it, Sicilian Fish, tasty and healthy and quick and easy to make. A taste of Mediterranean sunshine wherever you are.

Serving suggestions

I serve my Sicilian fish on a bed of mixed green salad leaves. You could serve it with some couscous or rice on the side.

You can use this tasty fish dish as a topping over linguine or any other pasta.

Looking for more super easy and tasty fish dishes to try? Then check these out before you go;

Fish a la Spetsiota (Greek-style fish in tomato sauce)

Classic moules frites

Italian baked cod gremolata

Quick and easy mixed fish tacos

Easy fish and chorizo risotto

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.