Acqua pazza, or ‘crazy water’ is the humorous term for a really easy but very tasty Neapolitan method for poaching fish. Make a garlic and oil base, throw in a few cherry tomatoes and other flavorings if you like, lay down your fish fillets, simmer for a few minutes and you’re done.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
- 6 or more fillets of white-fleshed fish (see Notes)
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled and slightly crushed
- 500g (1 lb) cherry or grape tomatoes
- Olive Oil
- A few sprigs of parsley, finely chopped
- Salt
Optional:
- 1-2 dried chili peppers or red pepper flakes
- A handful of olives
- Capers
- A few anchovy fillets
Directions
You start by sautéing a few cloves of garlic in olive oil, along with the chili pepper if you want some heat, as if you were making an ajo e ojo, in a pan wide enough to fit your fish filets in a single layer.
Then, letting the oil cool a bit, add cherry or grape tomatoes, which you can split in two, and a splash of white wine, along with any of the other optional ingredients you might be in the mood for. Let the tomatoes simmer for a minute or two, to soften.
Place filets of a white-fleshed fish into this ‘bath’ and add enough water (or fish broth) to come about halfway up the fish. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with some chopped parsley. Cover partially and allow the fish to simmer gently until it is cooked through, about 5-10 minutes, depending on the type and thickness of the fish.
Serve immediately, with a bit more parsley if you like for color.
Notes
There are more ‘refined’ versions of acqua pazza that start with a soffrito of onion instead of garlic. Other versions start with onion, carrot and celery. Some recipes also call for the addition of bay leaf and other herbs to the poaching liquid.
The type of fish is yours to choose, but firm, white-fleshed fish work best. Orata (sea bream) is probably the most typical fish used for acqua pazza, but merluzzo (fresh cod), scorfano (red fish), rombo (turbot) and spigola (bass) are also favorites—I’ve even seen recipes calling for sgombro (mackerel) although personally I’m a bit doubtful about this last option.
You can also make whole fish all’acqua pazza if you like—in fact, this was the original way to make it. If you opt for using a whole fish, you will have to turn the fish over gingerly during cooking to make sure it cooks fully on both sides. With filets, assuming that they are not too thick, this should not be necessary.
Pesce all’acqua pazza (Fish Poached in “Crazy Water”)
Ingredients
- 6 or more fillets of white-fleshed fish see Notes
- 3-4 cloves of garlic peeled and slightly crushed
- 500 g 1 lb cherry or grape tomatoes
- Olive Oil
- A few sprigs of parsley finely chopped
- Salt
Optional:
- 1-2 dried chili peppers or red pepper flakes
- A handful of olives
- Capers
- A few anchovy fillets
Instructions
- You start by sautéing a few cloves of garlic in olive oil, along with the chili pepper if you want some heat, as if you were making an ajo e ojo, in a pan wide enough to fit your fish filets in a single layer.
- Then, letting the oil cool a bit, add cherry or grape tomatoes, which you can split in two, and a splash of white wine, along with any of the other optional ingredients you might be in the mood for. Let the tomatoes simmer for a minute or two, to soften.
- Place filets of a white-fleshed fish into this 'bath' and add enough water (or fish broth) to come about halfway up the fish. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with some chopped parsley. Cover partially and allow the fish to simmer gently until it is cooked through, about 5-10 minutes, depending on the type and thickness of the fish.
- Serve your immediately, with a bit more parsley if you like for color.
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27 Comments on “Pesce all’acqua pazza (Fish Poached in “Crazy Water”)”
I like to saute some fennel with the garlic and finish with some fennel fronds along with the parsley.
Sounds like a nice touch, Stephen. May try that next time.
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Great recipe Frank. I used cod and included onions and it was easy and delicious. Thanks!
Glad you like it, Denio! And thanks for the reminder. I’m thinking I’m in the mood for some acqua pazza myself…
I had a half bottle of falanghina sitting in my fridge so I searched through the fish recipes on your blog to find a good recipe and decided on this one. I made it with monchong (aka sickle pomfret), a Hawaiian deep sea fish that’s moderately oily but mild and flakey. I didn’t want to waste the bella acqua and needed something to go with it so I made some Israeli couscous and finished it in the acqua pazza after removing the fish and served the fish over the couscous. This was one of the best fish preparations I’ve had in years. Great recipe as always!
That idea of using couscous to go with the water is brilliant, Jesse. I’ll have to try that next time!
I just made this with cod. It was amazing! I took the fish out and reduced the poaching liquid into a little thicker of a sauce and ended up with buttery fish and a delicious spicy jus.
Sounds nice, Morgan! Thanks for sharing and delighted to hear you enjoyed the recipe.
I would like to have a go at this beautiful recipe but I have been eating a lot of fish lately.. Would it be sacrilegious to use this method with chicken instead? Thank you and sorry in advance
Not at all, Catarina. Why not experiment? My only caution would be to use the breasts, perhaps pounded to thin them out a bit, as the other parts of the bird are likely to take too long to cook. Unlike the fish, I’d recommend you brown the breasts a bit in the garlic and oil base before adding the tomatoes, and the proceed from there. You might also want to use chicken broth rather than water, since the breasts don’t have too much flavor. Or, if using water, be very generous with the seasonings.
If you give it a go, do let us know how it turns out.
Thank you, will do!
I ADORE this recipe. I serve it with parmesan potato rounds, cavolo nero cabbage and green and yellow beans sauteed in white wine and garlic oil.
Just gorgeous, thank you!
Thank you for your comment, Kelly!
Made this for my husband and I with all the “optional” ingredients. We loved it!
Fantastic, Amy! Glad you liked it…
I did this with a whole sea bream and served it with some griddle toasted farmhouse bread. Was so simple and yet every flavour comes through! I will for sure make this again!
Awesome that it worked so well for you, Thom. Thanks so much for your feedback!
Just tried to make this for dinner. Easy and so so so… delicious. Thank you very much 🙂
And thank you for your comment, Aka!
One of the things I like about Italian cuisine is the fantasy applied to names which turns a simple dish into an attractive one. I mean, who wouldn’t want to taste some “acqua pazza”? Lovely dish, as always happens in your kitchen, Frank.
So easy and so delicious. I just got back from Abruzzo, where I was lucky enough to enjoy some wonderful Adriatic fish and seafood. It’s so hard to find excellent, freshly harvested fish around these parts, though every so often I get down to the Maine Avenue market. Thanks for sharing a classic, Frank!
I do wish the Maine Avenue market weren’t so out of the way…. Thanks for stopping by, Domenica!
Frank – I’ve eaten this dish in restaurants and I have to say yours looks better than what I’ve ordered. I’m not in favor of mackerel for this dish either.
So nice of you to say, Linda… 🙂
Beautiful! You do such a wonderful job with these classics, Frank. Bravo!
P.S. I’m with you on the doubts about the mackerel.
Thanks so much, Adri! Kind of you to say. 🙂