This is traditionally made with swordfish, but you can substitute tuna, bass, or other firm-fleshed fish in the recipe. You don’t need to buy expensive swordfish or tuna steaks—end pieces or chunks sold for skewered grilling are perfect for the sauce. Bavette is a long, flat dry pasta, like a narrow fettuccine. If you can’t find it, use good-quality dry fettuccine.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6 as a first course or 4 as a main course

　　1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt, or to taste, plus more for the pasta pot

　　1 1/2 pounds swordfish (1 chunk or several pieces)

　　1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　1 onion, chopped (1 cup)

　　1/2 teaspoon peperoncino flakes, or to taste

　　2 cups canned Italian plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, crushed by hand

　　2 teaspoons fresh mint leaves, sliced in thin shreds

　　1 pound bavette (dry narrow fettuccine)

　　

Recommended Equipment

A large pot for cooking the pasta

　　A heavy-bottomed skillet or sauté pan, 14-inch diameter, with a cover

　　

Step 1

Heat pasta-cooking water—at least 6 quarts, with 1 tablespoon of salt—in the large pot as you cook the fish and sauce.

　　

Step 2

Cut the swordfish into small cubes, 1 inch or less, and season lightly with salt. Pour 6 tablespoons of the olive oil into the big skillet, and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, scatter the fish cubes in the pan. Toss and turn them for a minute or a little longer, just until they are opaque. Remove the fish chunks to a plate, and sprinkle a few pinches of salt on top.

　　

Step 3

Stir the chopped onion in the skillet, sprinkle over it 1/4 teaspoon salt and the peperoncino, and cook for 3 minutes or so, until wilted and sizzling. Pour the tomatoes into the pan, stir, rinse the tomato container with 1/2 cup hot water, and stir that in too. Raise the heat, and bring the tomatoes to a boil quickly. Stir in the rest of the salt and the shredded mint, and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle boil.

　　

Step 4

Cook the sauce for 5 minutes, then slide in the swordfish chunks and any juices on the plate. Tumble them in the sauce to heat and cook for just a minute, then turn off the heat.

　　

Step 5

Meanwhile, cook the bavette until quite al dente. Return the sauce to a simmer (if it’s off the heat) when the pasta is ready. Lift the bavette from the pot with tongs, drain briefly, and drop into the skillet. Toss pasta and sauce together for a minute or so, incorporating the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Adjust the seasonings, and serve, heaping the bavette into warm bowls, and spooning the saucy chunks of swordfish (which fall to the bottom of the skillet) on top.

　　From Lidia's Italy by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. Copyright (c) 2007 by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. Published by Knopf.Lidia Bastianich hosts the hugely popular PBS show, "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen" and owns restaurants in New York City, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. Also the author of Lidia's Italian Table and Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, she lives in Douglaston, New York.