A burrida is a speciality fish dish from the Italian island of Sardinia (Sardegna) although it is also a signature dish of Liguria in Northern Italy. It is really fish pices served in a sweet and sour tomato sauce. It is prepared by first cooking the slices of fish in water and vinegar and then completing the cooking in a sauce with oil, garlic, breadcrumbs, pine nuts and walnuts. It’s a cold dish or rather one served at ambient temperature and is ideal for those blistering summer days in Italy -especially where sardinia where it can reach 40 Centigrade without any trouble. This recipe is adapted from one which I was given at the Is Benas Country Lodge in Sardinia in 2017.
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
- Skate, ray fish, gattucci (spotted dogfish) or palombi (small) 1.2 kg
- Garlic cloves 2
- Pine nuts 50 g
- Walnuts 50 g
- Breadcrumbs (white bread is probably ideal although a more authentic dish uses a rustic, slightly whole meal bread) 50 g
- Lemon 1
- Parsley 1 clump
- Salt as needed
- Pepper as required
- Vinegar 1 tablespoon
- Extra-virgin olive oil 7 tablespoons
Preparation (usually 40 minutes)
- Clean the fish, removing any entrails, head, fins and skin.
- Wash the fish thoroughly and cut the flesh into slices. Place in a pot filled with slightly salted cold water with one or two teaspoons of vinegar and a clump of parsley tied like a bundle.
- Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the fish slices and pieces for 10 minutes: drain them and most importantly keep the cooking broth as a stock. The parsley is removed. Keep the stock and fish pieces warm.
- Sauté the peeled garlic in a low and wide pan with 7 tablespoons of oil. Remove these as soon as they start to brown.
- Add the breadcrumbs, pine nuts and kernels of chopped walnuts, a tablespoon of vinegar, salt and pepper, stirring to mix the flavors.
- After a couple of minutes, add the slices of fish so that they pick up the flavours of the frying broth. About 2 or 3 minutes per side should do it, turning them at the right time.
- Pour a couple of ladles of preserved fish stock into the mixture.
- Let the soup resume boiling, then lower the heat and let it cook for 5-6 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, let it cool briefly. Drain the slices with pine nuts and kernels and serve them on a large plate garnished with lemon slices and parsley strands.
Tips
An alternative method to make any buridda involves pouring the hot sauce of walnuts, pine nuts and vinegar, extended with the boiling broth, over the drained fish and placed in a large tureen. Cover then stand for a couple of hours, before serving at room temperature.
Great little article. Would like to know more about the types of flour the Mexicans were using. How hard was it?