Oh how I love my beautiful Sicily! It’s a unique island for me, where you can find the sun and the scent of salt all year round, essential elements for those who live there and without which one couldn’t even conceive of living! It’s an incredibly rich place in resources, undoubtedly from our beloved land, but also those the sea offers us! Here, wherever you go, there is always the opportunity to enjoy fresh fish at affordable prices, like the ribbonfish, also known as “saber fish,” part of that category of “poor fish,” but not so much! In fact, it’s a ribbon-shaped fish with a not very reassuring appearance but, believe me, great versatility and enormous potential. Today I propose a recipe that’s easy, almost trivial in its simplicity, but thanks to a marinade first and a breading rich in flavors and spices afterward, offers a really appetizing and pleasantly spicy taste, without spending too much time at the stove. Busy with a thousand commitments, we are all looking for quick and simple solutions, but that can guarantee us at the table the maximum performance in terms of taste. Here, in this dish you will find the simplicity of execution, all the flavor of the sea, and the genuineness that only “blue fish” can guarantee! Thanks to its white and firm flesh, the ribbonfish is very lean, and therefore particularly digestible, with a good content of omega-3 fatty acids, which is a bonus!
If like me you love seafood dishes, try these recipes too:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4-6
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients:
- 2.2 lbs Ribbonfish (650 gr. net fillets)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 4 tablespoons Parmesan Reggiano DOP (grated)
- 1 lemon juice
- 1 bunch parsley (+ as needed)
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- as needed chives
- as needed juniper berries
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder (optional)
- as needed extra virgin olive oil
- as needed salt
- as needed chili pepper
Preparation
Fillet the fish, divide it into pieces, and rinse them under running water.
Drain them well in a colander and remove the bones at the ends of the fillets with kitchen tweezers.
Place them in a baking dish and spray with 2-3 turns of olive oil and the lemon juice, letting them marinate for 1 hour but preferably overnight.
Meanwhile, prepare the breading with breadcrumbs, Parmesan, aromatic herbs, spices, a pinch of salt, and a grind of pepper. Coat the marinated slices with this breading.
Transfer them to a baking dish lined with parchment paper and drizzle with the remaining marinade and some juniper berries.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 25′ and serve hot!
And voilà… the baked marinated ribbonfish fillets are ready to be enjoyed!
Bon Appétit from La Cucina di FeFè!
Storage
👉 You can store the cooked ribbonfish fillets in the refrigerator in suitable refrigeration containers, preferably glass, for 1-2 days. Raw and in their marinade for up to 24 hours.
Tips and Suggestions
🟣For convenience, I recommend having your trusted fishmonger clean and slice the ribbonfish for you, as it’s a very difficult fish to fillet and it might not turn out well. Have the head, the tail end, and the central bones removed, which you could also use for a nice fish stock as I did.
🟣You can enrich the marinade by adding more thyme, rosemary, chopped parsley, and marjoram, a handful of juniper berries and coriander. The addition of untreated lime zest is also excellent.
