fettuccine alla renaiola
fettuccine with friarielli and smoked mackeral
This is a variation of a recipe that isn’t often found outside the city of Pisa in Tuscany - there it’s cooked with cima di rapa instead of friarielli and smoked herring instead of smoked mackeral, but the differences are negligible, especially if you live somewhere like London and the only thing close to cima di rapa are friarielli in a jar. The good news is that friarelli, even in a jar, are very close to cima di rapa, though the taste is a little bit ‘preserved’ and hardly the same as eating freshly cooked greens!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)
drain and chop the friarielli
make pangrattato
flake the mackerel
sauté the friarielli
boil and cook the pasta
combine sauce and pasta
METHOD
Again, with no smoked herring at hand, I used supermarket-bought smoked mackerel fillets - about 3/4 of a fillet per person is a nice ratio of fish to veg, but err on the mean side and you can be sure of not going too salty. Flake the fillets to make sure you get most of any residual bones out, but don’t mash the flesh into pulp.
Decide whether you'd like to serve this dish with pangrattato, and if so, now is the time to make some. Follo the recipe in the techique section here.
Using jar friarielli, chop them finely and as you put the water for the pasta on to boil, throw the friarielli into some EVO in your Tossing Pan, together with half a crush clove of garlic.
The friarielli I used were already part-cooked in garlic and chilli, and came out of the jar with a very noticable kick to them - but of course if you like even more heat you could add extra garlic, a splash of white wine and more fresh chillis, to taste, at this point.
Let the friarelli sauté in the wine oil and garlic for a couple of minutes, then add about a third to a half of the total mackerel, toss, take it off the heat and taste. If you think it needs a bit more fish, add up to half but keep some back to add later. Boil the pasta and when it’s reached ‘al dente’, fish it out and add it to the Sauce Wok with the friarielli and mackerel mixture. Combine the ingredients with the pasta and finish cooking the pasta with the mackerel, friarielli and some cooking water from the pasta. Sprinkle on more mackerel if you think it needs it, then serve immediately with extra black pepper.
NUTRITION per serving
KCAL: 308
Fat (g): 19.8
Sat Fat (g): 5.7
Carb (g): 10.6
Sug (g): 1.2
Fibre(g): 3
Prot (g): 20.4
Salt (g): 1.7
Nutritional information is provided as an indication only of approximate values for the recipe on this page. You should make your own calculations if you have specific dietry requirements or are required to follow a strict calorie-controlled diet.
