Buongiorno, amici.
Today, my friend Giorgio came by. He’s the one with the big house and the lemon trees in the backyard. His wife is visiting their daughter in Bologna, so he was alone, rattling around in those empty rooms. ‘Salvatore,’ he said on the phone, ‘my garden is full of herbs and I have a fish from the market that looks at me with sad eyes. Help me.’ How could I say no?
We decided to keep it simple. A grilled whole fish – a beautiful orata (sea bream). This is not a recipe for rushing. First, you make sure the fish is very dry, inside and out. Pat it with paper. Giorgio was nervous, wiping it again and again. ‘It’s dry, Giorgio!’ I told him. ‘If you fuss, you’ll tear the skin.’ Then, you make three slashes on each side. Rub it all over with good olive oil – the one you save for special days. Salt. Pepper. Inside the cavity, a few slices of lemon and a big bunch of the herbs from his garden: rosemary, thyme, and wild fennel.
Giorgio has a big charcoal grill. We let the coals get hot, then die down to a steady, medium heat. The secret? You oil the grill grate well. And you do not move the fish for at least 5-6 minutes. Let it get a crust. Giorgio wanted to peek. ‘No!’ I said. ‘You look with your nose, not with your eyes. When it smells like the sea meeting fire, then it’s time.’ We cooked it about 8 minutes per side. The skin was crisp, the flesh pure white and flaky.
While it cooked, Giorgio made a salsa verde. He may be a retired accountant, but his mother taught him well. Parsley, capers, garlic, anchovy, lemon zest, and olive oil. All chopped by hand. ‘The food processor makes it bitter,’ he said, and he is right. It was bright and sharp, the perfect thing for the rich fish.
We ate at his big outdoor table, with a salad of tomatoes and red onion. He told me a story. Last year, he tried to grill a fish for his wife’s birthday. He was so proud. But he used too much lighter fluid on the coals. The fish tasted like petrol! She ate it all, smiling, and only told him the next day. ‘She said, ‘My love for you is stronger than the taste of gasoline.’ We laughed until we cried. That’s friendship. That’s marriage.
Now, the drinks. For a grilled fish like this? A white wine with some acidity. A Greco di Tufo from Campania. It’s clean, like a sea breeze, and it washes the fat from the fish away beautifully. Or, if you don’t drink alcohol, make acqua di cetriolo – cucumber water. Slice a cucumber and a lemon, put them in a big jug of water overnight in the fridge. It’s refreshing, and it does the same job as the wine.
At the end, with our fingers still smelling of herbs and smoke, we made a little video. Me, holding the plate with the last piece of grilled fish, right there in Giorgio’s backyard with the lemon trees behind me. To show you the simple, beautiful result of a few good ingredients and an afternoon with a friend.
So, this weekend, find your Giorgio. Or be the Giorgio for someone else. Light the grill. Don’t use too much lighter fluid! Be patient. The fish will tell you when it’s ready. And the company will make it taste like a feast.
State bene. Mangiate con amore.
- Nonno Sal
