Cod Fish Maw Rolls Messina Style, or “ventri di piscistoccu a ghiotta.”
An ancient Messina recipe, it involves the swim bladders of cod.
This recipe is particularly tied to the city of Messina since the time of the Normans, remaining in tradition and passed down from generation to generation, and in fact, I learned it from my grandmother Giovannina, who often prepared them.
We would lick our lips and even use the leftover sauce to dress the pasta…..
Today, tasting them brought me back in time to fifty years ago…
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Slow fire, Slow cooking
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Sicily
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
- Energy 1,216.69 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 113.39 (g) of which sugars 7.81 (g)
- Proteins 46.58 (g)
- Fat 54.03 (g) of which saturated 11.26 (g)of which unsaturated 10.47 (g)
- Fibers 13.18 (g)
- Sodium 2,562.08 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 650 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
Let’s go shopping
- 14 oz tripe (cod 4 pieces)
- 2 cups potatoes
- 3 tbsp onion
- 3 tbsp celery
- 2 tbsp capers
- 3 tbsp green olives in brine
- 2 cups tomato sauce (rustic)
- 14 oz water
- 2 leaves bay leaf
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp pine nuts
- 2 tbsp raisins
- 2 tbsp capers
- 2 tbsp green olives in brine
- Half clove garlic
- 1 bunch chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp Pecorino Romano
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1.8 oz water (about)
Tools
What we need to make the
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- 1 Bowl
- 3 Small Bowls
- Kitchen String
- 1 Pan
Preparation: Cod Fish Maw Rolls Messina Style
Let’s clean the maw
When we buy cod maw, we usually find it soaking in water, and it looks like this.
Take one and with a knife, you need to remove the outer parts where there are spines, and then gently scrape them to remove any residues.
When finished, it will look like this.
Desalt capers and olives, toast the pine nuts, and soak the raisins
In a bowl, put the breadcrumbs, finely chopped garlic and parsley, Pecorino cheese, and pepper. As you see, we will not add salt.
Add a mince of previously desalinated capers and olives.
Combine the mince with the pine nuts and raisins,
and then mix everything with the breadcrumbs, olive oil, and water.
Mix and ensure that the filling has the consistency of a meatball, so to achieve this, it might be necessary to increase or decrease the water.
Spread the maw on the work surface and put a heap of filling on each one, press well and ..
roll them up, then tie them with kitchen string or secure them with toothpicks.
Peel and then cut the potatoes into pieces about 0.8 inches each.
Do the same with the onion, but cut it into smaller pieces while leaving the garlic whole.
Pour in the olive oil and let it flavor for 2 minutes and..
add the chopped celery and previously desalted capers and olives.
Let it flavor for 2 minutes and then..
it’s time for the bay leaves.
At this point, add the tomato sauce,
and a little water mixed with the remaining tomato sauce.
You will also cook the potatoes in this sauce,
covering them with a splatter guard.
They should cook for 3/4 of their cooking time, so as soon as a fork can pierce them, stop the cooking, and meanwhile, let’s move forward.
In a non-stick pan, heat some olive oil, and brown the cod maw rolls for 1 minute per side, then set them aside.
When the potatoes are 3/4 cooked, add the rolls, mix gently and let cook for just 5 minutes.
At the end of cooking, remove the string and give a grind of pepper.
Serve piping hot, and with the remaining sauce, you can dress the pasta.
Here are Cod Fish Maw Rolls Messina Style, or “ventri di piscistoccu a ghiotta”
preservation
Cod Fish Maw Rolls Messina Style, or “ventri di piscistoccu a ghiotta”, can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Cod Fish Maw Rolls Messina Style
Can I make them without breadcrumbs?
Yes, you can only make the maw click here.
Yes, you can only make the maw click here.
