Rosa Matto, iconic South Australian Chef and a long time supporter of Slow Food South Australia, has kindly shared with us one of her delicious seafood recipes, Sweet and Sour Garfish.
“This is a Venetian saor, a ‘sweet and sour’ take on one of South Australia’s favourite fish – the garfish. This straightforward recipe works just as beautifully with our lovely Tommy Ruffs or Coorong Mullet if you are lucky enough to be in the South East. I ask my fishmonger (Samtass or the Fish Factory – but give them plenty of notice) to scale and clean the fish and leave the ‘beak’ and tail on for presentation. However, this isn’t essential to the outcome of the dish.” — Rosa Matto
Rosa Matto’s Delicious Garfish Recipe
Ingredients
- For the Filling (for about 6 – 8 fish):
1 whole garfish or other small fish (per person) scaled, gutted and washed
1/2 cup Riverland raisins
1/2 cup smoked Riverland almonds
1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaved parsley
3 tbsp fine breadcrumbs (I hope you make your own from stale bread)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp South Australian extra virgin olive oil plus extra for shallow frying
1/2 cup Lauke plain flour
- For the Dressing:
4 tbsp South Australian extra virgin olive oil
2 brown onions, halved and sliced lengthways
1 clove garlic, sliced
12 peppercorns
4 sprigs rosemary
4 bay leaves, fresh
1 cup white wine vinegar from the Barossa
1 cup dry white wine, see note below
1-2 tbsp sugar
Directions
- For the Filling:
- Make a loose paste by grinding together coarsely the raisins, almonds, parsley, crumbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring them together with as much South Australian olive oil as you need to make a soft stuffing
- Open the fish up and spread a tablespoon or so of the filling on one side
- Close the fish and tie them up with a bit of kitchen string
- Dredge the tied fish in flour, brush off any excess and lightly fry in olive oil. As you cook them put them into a pretty ceramic dish that you’ll bring to the table. Pour the hot, sweet and sour dressing over them while they are still warm.
- For the Dressing:
- Warm the olive oil and saute the onions until soft but not coloured
- Add the garlic
- Add the the peppercorns, rosemary, bay leaves, vinegar and wine and bring to the boil, reducing the volume just a little
- Add 1 tablespoon sugar and taste. Adjust with extra sugar or vinegar, and a pinch or two of salt, to achieve a pleasant sweet and sour flavour
- Pour over the fried fish and allow to marinate for a couple of hours
- Serve with some locally made sourdough rye brad and lashings of Paris Creek butter
Rosa suggests a Fiano from Coriole or a beer from your closest microbrewery.
Enjoy! Lidia