Best Italian pasta recipes: spaghetti with red fish ragù of gurnards

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Gurnard is a delicious fish, you can make some great fish soup with them, but above all, you can make the ultimate fish ragù, a red ragù of course: we are not big fans of white, pale ragù.

And the watchword for the success of this fish dish is simplicity: slow cooking for the fish, to not alter the delicate flavor of the gurnards, fresh tomatoes, a touch of tomato paste, extra virgin olive oil and some leaves of marjoram.

That’s all, when the fish is good and super fresh you do not need anything else, but pay attention to the millions of fish bones per square centimeter, prepare 2 or 3 gurnards is a Herculean task, but definitely worth it.

Ingredients for pasta with fish ragù of gurnards

4 servings

• 400 grams of pasta (spaghetti, fettuccine or bucatini are fine)
• 3 gurnards, medium size, 600 grams of
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 3 ml of apple vinegar
• 5 ripe tomatoes
• 40 grams of triple tomato paste
• 120 grams of white wine
• salt and pepper
• 35 grams of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 sprig of fresh marjoram

How to prepare pasta with fish ragù of gurnards

First of all the gurnards: when you are at your fishmonger, pick 3-4 chubby fish and let the fishmonger clean and fillet them. If the fish are small you will have to cook everything and then remove the fishbone pins, but it would be torture, so try to buy big fish. Please do not forget to take heads and bones too.

Place a pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil for the tomatoes and then pasta.

Slide your finger on the fillets to identify any fish bones and take them out with tweezers.

Crush garlic and let it cook (gently) in a pan with 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. After 4 minutes add the fillets and cook for 5 minutes, then with a wooden fork crush the fishes.

Place the head and the fishbone in a pot with a little bit of oil and 1 whole garlic, cook for 2 minutes, then add 3 cups of water and 1/2 tablespoon of apple vinegar and cook for 5 minutes. Strip the flesh off the fish bones to recover the pulp and clean the head, especially the cheeks and put in the pan with gurnards fillets.

Let the fish stock simmer to reduce, then strain it. Pay attention to the bones!

Now put it in a pan, add a little oil and simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally. Mark each tomato with an X cut and when water is boiling, immerse tomatoes for 20 seconds, put them in a colander with some ice and peel with a knife, chop and remove seeds.

Put tomatoes in fish stock, season with salt, pepper, tomato paste and marjoram and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring and mashing tomatoes.

At 5 minutes from the end of cooking, add the flesh of the gurnards, stir, taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary.

Cook pasta al dente, drain, and set aside 2 ladles of the cooking water, put the pasta in the pan with fish ragù, stir, add a little bit of cooking water and a drop of olive oil. Serve immediately.

What wine matches well with spaghetti with fish ragù of gurnards?

Let’s choose a fragrant and crisp white wine like Dianetti winery Pecorino.

If you want to pair a cocktail, play it safe with a good old Moscow Mule.