TABELIA

AUTHENTIC RECIPE

Spaghetti allo ScorfanoSpaghetti with Scorpionfish

Spaghetti with Scorpionfish
Difficulty★★★★☆ Prep25 min Cook45 min servings2

Southern Italian fish pasta made by drawing broth from a whole scorpionfish, then combining its flaked flesh with tomatoes.

Recipe developed and reviewed by the Tabelia Editorial TeamUpdated
100/ 100

AUTHENTICITY SCORE

Authenticity Score

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Ingredients (2 servings)

  • Whole scorpionfishRemove scales, gills and innards.600 g
  • Spaghetti180 g
  • Cherry tomatoesHalve.12 pieces
  • GarlicCrush.1 clove
  • Dry white wine80 ml
  • Extra virgin olive oil50 ml
  • Flat-leaf parsleyFinely chopped.5 sprigs
  • Salt8 g

Method

120 min

Prepare fish and aromatics

  • 1 Remove scales, gills and innards from 600 g scorpionfish.
  • 2 Halve 12 cherry tomatoes.
  • 3 Crush 1 garlic clove.
  • 4 Finely chop 5 parsley sprigs.

Ready when

Continue when the fish’s blood has been washed away.

228 min

Make the fish broth

  • 1 Put 25 ml extra virgin olive oil and the garlic in a saucepan and heat to release the aroma.
  • 2 Add the scorpionfish, pour in 80 ml white wine and add 500 ml water.
  • 3 MeanwhileWhile the fish simmers for 20 minutes, start boiling a large pot of water.
  • 4 Remove when the fish is cooked and its flesh comes away from the bones easily.
315 min

Flake the fish

  • 1 Remove flesh from the bones, return bones and head to the broth and simmer for 10 minutes.

Ready when

Strain the broth so no bones remain.

410 min

Make the sauce

  • 1 Put 25 ml extra virgin olive oil, cherry tomatoes and fish broth in a frying pan and simmer.
  • 2 MeanwhileWhile reducing the sauce, bring the large pot of water to a full boil.
  • 3 Reduce until the tomatoes break down and the sauce thickens slightly.
510 min

Finish the pasta

  • 1 Add 10 g salt per 1 L boiling water.
  • 2 Cook 180 g spaghetti and transfer to the sauce al dente.
  • 3 Add the flaked scorpionfish and parsley; ready when the pasta is coated in the fish flavor.
A view of Napoli, Campania
Napoli, CampaniaItaly Photo: Armando Mancini · CC BY-SA 2.0 (resized; display cropped)

About this dish

In Campania’s coastal towns, pasta made with local fish appearing at markets from summer into autumn reaches the table. Spaghetti allo scorfano is a fish primo close to the daily life of those fishing ports.

Around Naples, a culture of buying a whole fish makes use not only of flesh but also of the aromas in head and bones. This grew from coastal wisdom about eating the day’s available fish without waste, rather than adding luxurious seafood.

Coastal trattorias still make such pasta according to the fish delivered that day. Appearing at home lunches and on restaurant chalkboards alike, it conveys the nearness of the southern Italian sea.

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