Wild-caught striped bass are the best for this recipe, but you can use fillets from any firm-fleshed ocean fish. Whatever fish you choose, the shape and thickness of the fillets is important. Each fillet should be about 1 1/2 inches thick and narrow enough so you can fit all six fillets in the pan with the sauce. If your pan isn’t large enough to hold all the fillets, cook the sauce first, then divide between two skillets of fillets. As with any dish, you can take this recipe in a lot of different directions. I sometimes prepare it using scallions in place of the onions, or black olives and capers in place of the green olives. Rather than add the olives and capers to the tomatoes, I like to cook them along with the onions for a minute or two to bring out their flavor. This “layering”of flavors is one of the little tricks we professional chefs use to get the most out of our ingredients.

　　

Ingredients

makes 6 servings

　　6 sea-bass or striped-bass fillets, each about 8 ounces and at least 1 inch thick

　　Salt

　　Freshly ground black pepper

　　3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling into the finished sauce

　　6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin

　　2 small yellow onions, diced fine

　　1 cup Cerignola or other large, firm green olives, pitted and halved

　　1/4 cup tiny capers, drained

　　3 cups canned Italian tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) with their liquid, seeded and crushed

　　1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper

　　Vegetable oil

　　All-purpose flour, optional

　　1/2 cup (or as needed) Vegetable Stock (page 76) or water

　　

Step 1

Pat the bass fillets dry and season them with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Scatter the sliced garlic over the oil and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the onions and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Stir in the olives and capers and cook until they are sizzling and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes, season them with crushed red pepper, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat so the sauce is simmering and cook until lightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Pour enough vegetable oil into a separate large, heavy skillet to fill about 1/2 inch. Heat over medium-high heat until rippling. If the type of bass you’re using is flaky, or if you like a delicate crust and a slightly thicker sauce, dredge the fillets in flour to coat them lightly. Add the bass fillets skin side up and cook until well browned. Turn the fillets and cook until the skin side is lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Spoon off excess oil from the skillet and add the livornese sauce to the skillet. Bring to a boil, adjust the heat to simmering, and cook until the fish is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness and shape of the fish. Add vegetable stock or water, a small amount at a time, to keep the consistency of the sauce more or less the same. A minute or two before the fish is done, drizzle in some olive oil. Serve the fillets on warmed plates, spooning some of the sauce over each.

　　From Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright © 2001 by A La Carte Communications and Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.Buy the full book from Amazon.