TABELIAAUTHENTIC RECIPE
Merluzzo alla LivorneseLivorno-Style Cod
A Livorno-style fish dish of cod fillets briefly simmered with garlic, tomatoes, black olives and capers. Fresh cod, readily available in Japan, makes it accessible to prepare. The key is controlling the heat to cook the fish without breaking it and balancing the salty supporting ingredients within the sauce.
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Ingredients (4 servings)
- Fresh cod filletsCheck for bones and pat dry. Fillets 2–3cm thick are easy to handle.600 g (4 fillets)
- Canned whole tomatoesRoughly crush by hand.400 g
- Black olivesPit; halve large ones.80 g
- Salt-packed capersRinse and soak in water for 10 minutes to remove excess salt.25 g
- GarlicThinly sliced.2 cloves
- Flat-leaf parsleyFinely chopped.15 g
- Dry white wine80 ml
- Extra virgin olive oil50 ml
- Salt6 g
- Black pepper1 g
Method
Remove the cod bones and draw out moisture
- 1 Feel the 600g cod fillets for bones and remove them, then pat dry with paper towels.
- 2 Sprinkle both sides with 1/2 tsp salt, leave for 10 minutes and wipe away the moisture that appears.
Prepare the capers and olives
- 1 Rinse 25g capers and soak in water for 10 minutes to remove excess salt.
- 2 Drain.
- 3 Pit 80g black olives and halve any large ones.
Prepare the aromatics and tomatoes
- 1 Thinly slice 2 garlic cloves.
- 2 Finely chop 15g parsley.
- 3 Roughly crush 400g canned whole tomatoes by hand.
Simmer white wine in garlic oil
- 1 Put 50ml extra virgin olive oil and the garlic in a wide frying pan and warm over low heat for 2 minutes.
- 2 When the garlic is lightly colored and fragrant, add 80ml dry white wine and boil over medium heat for 1 minute.
Reduce the tomato sauce
- 1 Add the crushed tomatoes, black olives and capers and simmer over medium heat for 8 minutes.
- 2 Proceed when the sauce has reduced slightly and the saltiness of the olives and capers has blended into it.
Braise the cod in the sauce
- 1 Add the cod to the sauce, skin-side down if it has skin.
- 2 Reduce the heat to low, cover and braise for 6–8 minutes.
- 3 Turn off the heat when the center is white and the fish separates into large flakes when pressed with chopsticks.
Coat with sauce and serve
- 1 Tilt the pan to spoon sauce over the fish and let it settle for 1 minute without moving the fish with a spatula.
- 2 Grind over black pepper and scatter with parsley.
- 3 Slide onto plates with the sauce, taking care not to break the fish.
About this dish
Livorno is a Tuscan port city. While inland Florence excels in meat and beans, Livorno’s table features fish, tomatoes, garlic and olives. Merluzzo alla livornese brings those port-city flavors to a home cooking pot.
The fish is not vigorously boiled. The tomato sauce is prepared first; after adding the cod, cooking continues over low heat. Because the fish flakes readily, it is important only to shake the pan gently, never stir it with a wooden spatula.
Fresh cod, black olives, capers and canned tomatoes are readily available in Japan, making this a practical main course to recreate at home. Familiar ingredients still require a cook’s attention to fish doneness and salt balance.
Bring the full course home next weekend.
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