Red Brodetto of Skate

Preparation

1. Cutting and Frying the Skate

   Step 1

   Slice the skate wing into 1 1/2-inch-wide strips, cutting along the rib lines that extend from the body side to the edge—a whack with a chef’s knife will cut through the tough band of cartilage. If using thin skate fillet, cut the strips a bit wider, about 2 inches, so each piece has some substance. If any strips are longer than 6 inches—from a large wide skate wing—cut them in half crosswise.

   Step 2

   Sprinkle all the pieces with salt on both sides, using about 1/8 teaspoon of salt in all. Roll them in the flour to coat on all surfaces; shake off any excess and set them down on a plate or a piece of wax paper.

   Step 3

   Meanwhile, pour enough canola oil into the pan to cover the bottom with a 1/8-inch layer. Heat over high heat for a couple of minutes or more, until the oil sizzles instantly if you dip a piece of fish into it. Lay a batch of fish strips in the pan, with an inch or two of space in between the pieces. Fry for 2 minutes or more, until the first pieces you put into the pan are crisped and golden brown, then turn them over in the same order that you put them in the pan. (If they are coloring much quicker or much slower, adjust the heat down or up.) Cook on the second side for another 2 minutes or more, until it is nicely colored too: thin fillet pieces will need less time; skate pieces with cartilage will need more. When caramelized on both sides, lift the pieces with tongs and lay them in a bowl lined with paper towels to drain. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

   Step 4

   Fry all the pieces the same way, adding oil to the pan as necessary; drain on paper towels and salt lightly (use only three or four pinches in all). Pour the hot canola oil out of the skillet—I use a 1/2-gallon cardboard container, from milk or orange juice, to collect the cooled used oil.

2. Making the Brodetto

   Step 5

   Put the skillet back on the stove, pour in 1/4 cup of the olive oil and dump in the onions, sprinkling 1/4 teaspoon salt over them. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes, as they sizzle and wilt, then pour in a couple tablespoons of water to steam and soften them. Continue to cook for another 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Clear a space in the pan, and drop in the tomato paste. Stir and toast it for a minute in the hot spot, then stir in with the onions.

   Step 6

   If you’re cooking skate pieces with cartilage, return them to the skillet now. Turn and toss them (with tongs) to mix with the onions, and start cooking again. As they heat, stir the red wine vinegar into the 2 cups of hot water or vegetable broth in a measuring cup. When the fish is sizzling, pour the vinegar water into the pan and turn the heat to high. As it heats up, stir to amalgamate the onions, tomato paste, and fried bits, then shake the pan and move the skate pieces around gently, so they’re bathed with liquid but don’t break apart.

   Step 7

   Add more water or broth to bring the sauce level just over the top of the skate; drop in the peperoncino, and drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil all over; shake the pan to stir things up a bit. When the sauce comes to a boil, adjust the heat to keep it actively simmering all over the surface. Cook for about 5 minutes, then taste, and add more salt if needed.

   Step 8

   If you’re cooking skate fillet pieces, return them to the skillet now. Lay them in the pan and cover with the simmering sauce, without breaking the pieces apart.

   Step 9

   Cook for another 5 minutes or so—10 minutes of simmering in all—until the sauce has thickened and reduced slightly. Sprinkle the chopped parsley all over the brodetto and take the skillet off the heat.

   Step 10

   Serve right away.

3. Simple Variations on Basic Red Brodetto

   Step 11

   Follow the basic procedure in the recipe, using 2 pounds of trimmed monkfish pieces—trimmed and cut as they are for the brodetto on above—in place of the skate. Cook monkfish in the brodetto the whole time, like sturdy skate pieces with cartilage.

   Step 12

   Other good seafood to prepare in red brodetto are black bass, eel, and grouper.

4. Serving Suggestions . . .

   Step 13

   Skate brodetto is delicious served over hot polenta, or grilled polenta.

5. Step 14

   It’s also a great condiment for pasta or risotto when removed from the bones.

6. About Skate

   Step 15

   Skate is a flat, ocean-bottom creature with wings on either side that move it through the water, like a ray. The fan-shaped wings—weighing 1 to 2 pounds each—are the parts of the skate that get to market. The thick, inedible skin on the top and bottom of the wing is removed to expose a wide, thin slab of sectioned flesh. Actually, there are two layers of flesh, with a middle layer of thin cartilage that extends out to the edge of the wing. What you are most likely to find in the supermarket are pieces of skate fillet—wing meat already sliced from the cartilage. You can see the narrow ridges and grooves where the branches of cartilage were attached.

7. Step 16

   When they are fresh, skate fillets are fine for this recipe. But if you have a fish market where they get the whole wings, I recommend that you have the fishmonger remove only the skin and leave the skate still on the cartilage. There are several advantages: skate pieces with cartilage taste better than fillets, just like meat cooked on the bone; the pieces are sturdier and can cook longer with other seasonings in the pan, the cartilage lending flavor and body to your brodetto. Finally, if you are an omnivore, as I am, you will find that most of the wing cartilage (except for one tough edge) is a delicious treat to chew on. And it’s good for you, too!

8. Step 17

   Freshness is more critical with skate than with other fish, because the flesh begins to deteriorate and gives off an ammonia smell within a day or two after the wing has been skinned, faster when it has been filleted. This is another reason it’s best to find a market where they get the whole wing and you can see it with the skin on, before you buy it. Fresh skate will smell like the clean sea.

9. Everybody Loves Fried Skate!

   Step 18

   Simple fried skate was a supper treat when I was growing up, and it is still one of my family’s favorites of all fried seafoods. . . . Salt the strips of wing, flour them, fry until golden on all sides, remove to paper towels to drain, and salt lightly again.

10. Step 19

    I suggest you slice the wing pieces narrower than for brodetto—I cut them into fish fingers, which the kids love. Since there is no further cooking in sauce, fry the pieces slightly longer than in the brodetto recipe, to make sure they are cooked through, especially if the cartilage is still inside. And one more thing: if you are just frying skate and not making a brodetto, you will need lots more fish, because it disappears fast.

11. Red Brodetto with Cannellini Beans

    Step 20

    Fish cooked with beans is traditional fare in Tuscany, and this basic skate brodetto can easily become a hearty one-dish meal with the simple addition of cannellini.

12. Step 21

    You’ll need 3 cups of cooked beans, either home-prepared or canned. When you start frying the onions for the brodetto, heat the beans in a saucepan with a cup of their cooking liquid, vegetable broth, or water. After the tomato paste and vinegar water have cooked for 3 or 4 minutes, pour the hot beans and liquid into the pan, and gently stir to incorporate into the brodetto; if you have big fish pieces in the pan already, don’t break them up. Add more water or broth if the sauce is thick. Cook for another 8 to 10 minutes; as in the basic recipe, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt to taste, and the skate fillets (if you are using them) for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Serve fish and beans together in warm soup bowls.