A tradition that comes from very distant times, that of fish cooking in Anzio, and which still lives today with delicacies. Like the recipe that chef Maria Elena Reganti gives us
Undisputed capital of the best fish in Central Italy, Anzio it is Blue Flag (for the fifteenth consecutive time) and Green Flag for its child-friendly beaches. Here the fish tradition it has its roots in ancient Rome when Pliny the Elder, a great observer of nature, wrote that the fish of this area of the Tyrrhenian Sea was unmatched. As well as its port, wanted by Nero, which was born in Anzio: protected behind the rocky hill it was practically unassailable. Its brick remains still brave the waves.
The "modern" port called Innocenziano arrived in the seventeenth century with Pope Innocenzo XII. The first dedicated to sustainable fishing that set limits on the quantities of fish. Mackerel, anchovies, red mullet, moorhen or crock, strawberry, octopus represent the engine of the city economy and rarely, those who embark for the island of Ponza, give up a stop at the restaurant. «Every morning, at 7.30, I go to get supplies of raw materials as my grandfather Alceste did, a real precursor of raw fish, says Giuseppe Papa, who with his mother Maria Elena, his uncle Igino and his cousin Alceste carries on the family tradition in the historic local Alceste al Buon Gusto. "Among the historic fishing boats of Anzio there is that of the Spina family, now in its fifth generation, which has specialized in shellfish fishing".
To the readers of La Cucina Italiana, the chef Maria Elena Reganti suggests one summer recipe in the sign of tradition: Portodanzese mackerel in butter and anchovy sauce, to be enjoyed also under the umbrellas of the Spiaggia Regina bathhouse, managed by her husband Vincenzo and daughter Carlotta.
Ingredients for 4 people
1 kg of clean mackerel, 1 l of linseed oil, 300 g of butter, 200 g of Anzio anchovies in oil, 200 g of 00 flour, 4 eggs, salt to taste
Method
Fillet the mackerel and cut it into large cubes. Put it on two sheets of parchment paper and crush it. Bread the fish in flour and then in the egg, fry it in boiling oil for 5 minutes. Drain it and dry it well. In a separate saucepan, melt the butter with the anchovies in oil. Serve the mackerel and sprinkle it with the butter and anchovy sauce.
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