Red mullets as seen by Claude Monet.
Recipe: Pan-Fried Red Mullet with Almond Mint Fregola and Olio Santo
Last night I had another of my torturous dreams where I’m braising some type of meat in the oven, usually lamb or pork, and the thing becomes a whole living creature while cooking, not the shoulder roast or whatever I started out with. And it’s still alive, groggily trying to escape the engulfing heat. I keep trying to push the thing back in, turning up the temperature to try to decrease its suffering, but the animal stays half dead, half alive forever, and my feelings of misery and remorse grow so strong I can’t bear them. Pleasant, isn’t it? Is this the cook’s dilemma?
It’s trendy now in the food world to get to know the meat you cook in an intimate way and to master high-powered butchering. Cookbooks are filled with bloody photos of tattooed chefs burying cleavers into whole hogs, animals the chefs have watched grow up. I could never work on a farm and become friends with goats or lambs and then slaughter them. I’d be terrified of what I’d take back with me to bed at night. Fish, no problem. I’ve gutted and filleted fish that were still wiggling.
Who can sort it all out?
Maybe love of flavor overrides all. I’ve never met a sea creature I didn’t want to eat and wouldn’t mind harpooning, from the shimmering yellow pompano to the hideously appealing octopus. But I have to say that, lately at least, red mullet has been my favorite fish. It’s popular in the South of France, all along the Mediterranean, and down to Greece. The first time I tasted it was not in Europe, but in a Greek restaurant in Astoria, Queens, one of the many places there that serve plain grilled fish, Greek salad, retsina, and that’s about it. I ordered the red mullet because I wanted to be transported to Nice, but mainly because there the fish were, lined up on ice, a beautiful pinkish orange, a color frequently used by the designer Christian Lacroix to accent his amazing gowns. They were too lovely not to devour.
Red mullets for sale at Chelsea Market.
Red mullet looks firm, not floppy, and when you pick one up you’ll see that it doesn’t just look that way. Its texture after cooking is sturdy, not tender, and full of irritating little bones; its taste is shrimp-like and iodiny, a flavor that for me is addictive. After my first experience with red mullet (called rouget in French and triglie in Italian), I thought a lot about the fish. I wanted to taste it again. I wanted to cook it myself, for certain. Years ago I had a hard time finding it in fish shops, but now I see it often, since it’s caught and shipped up from the Gulf Coast of Florida (these fish really get around).
When in Italy I’ve ordered red mullet whenever I could. In Southern Italy it’s usually served simply grilled or fried, with a side of lemon, but I had it once in Venice worked into a pasta sauce. (I’ll see if I can remember that dish more vividly and write up a recipe. It included cherry tomatoes—I remember that distinctly.) In Spain it’s often matched with roasted peppers. For my version, I’ve just done an easy pan fry, pairing the crisp fish with fregola, the Sardinian toasted couscous, and a spiced-up olive oil. I hope you’ll like it.
The oil is not a traditional olio santo, the hot pepper oil used in Southern Italy, where the chilies are steeped in oil and then strained out. Rather I’ve minced everything together to serve more as a spicy relish.
My pan-fried red mullet.
Pan-Fried Red Mullet with Almond Mint Fregola and Olio Santo
(Serves 2)
For the olio santo:
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 long, red fresh peperoncini, seeded and roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt
1 teaspoon sugarFor the fregola:
1½ cups large fregola (it comes in two sizes, small pellets, more like a traditional couscous, and a larger version; I prefer the texture of the larger kind)
Salt
1 bay leaf
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 large shallot, finely chopped
A large handful of whole blanched almonds
A generous pinch of ground cumin
A generous pinch of ground cinnamon
Freshly ground black pepper
A splash of white wine
¼ cup chicken broth
A few large mint sprigs, the leaves lightly chopped, plus a few extra sprigs, left whole, to garnish the fish.
A few large basil sprigs, the leaves lightly chopped4 whole red mullets (usually 2 per person is about right; if you find bigger ones, 1 may do), cleaned and scaled but with the heads left on
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A pinch of ground cumin
A pinch of powdered, lightly smoked chili, such as Pimenton de la Vera
¼ cup all-purpose flour
Extra-virgin olive oil
To make the olio santo: Put all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until you have a rough but uniform chop. Transfer to a small bowl.
Set up a pot of water, and bring it to a boil. Add a generous amount of salt and the bay leaf. Add the fregola, and cook until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes for the bigger type but check the package for specific cooking instructions. Drain well, and place in a large serving bowl. Drizzle on a little olive oil, and give a quick toss.
In a small skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil with the butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and the almonds, and season with the cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, and a little salt. Sauté until the almonds are lightly golden. Add the white wine, and let it boil away. Add the chicken broth, and turn off the heat. Pour this over the fregola, and toss gently. Add the mint and the basil, and toss one more time.
To cook the red mullets: Season the fish with salt, black pepper, cumin, and a touch of smoked chili. Then coat them with flour, shaking off any excess. Pour about an inch of olive oil into a large skillet, and get it hot over medium-high heat. Add the mullets, and sauté them on one side until crisp and browned, about 4 minutes. Flip them, and sauté on the other side about 3 or 4 minutes longer. Removed the fish from the skillet, and place on paper towels for a moment to blot excess oil. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with mint sprigs. Serve right away with the fregola, drizzling a little olio santo over the fish.
Very nice!
Thank you for sharing this post, it was insightful.
good for the swiss that they beat spain but they are only human every team has to lose sometime. so spain? had a bad day so what. they will come back with a vengeance against honduras and chile wont stop them.
Pls. let me know where I can purchase the red mullets fish possibly Imported from Italy.
I am located in New Orleans ,La
Thanks
rinaldo fiorillo
Dear Rinaldo,
Since I’m located in New York, I really don’t have any information on where to buy specific seafood in New Orleans. The red mullets I find in my market are not Italian imports but caught in the Gulf Coast of Florida. They’re delicious. I would imagine you could find these at your local fish shops as long as there’s a market for them. I would just go in and ask around at good fish places.
Ciao,
Erica
Ok so I am a couple of years late! Not a huge blogger fan! BUT THIS I LIKE!!! I am going to assume red mullet is “TRIGLIA” right????
ERICA I go to Arthur Avenue at least 2x a MONTH of Fridays. That is where I get mine. They also have ricci sometimes …. :)
Ciao Gabriella
Gabriella,
Yes triglia. It’s just about my favorite fish. I find them at the fish store in the Chelsea market. Nice on the grill too as long as you oil them up sufficiently.
Best,
Erica
Dear All
We can supply Red Mullet with big quantity. Fishes were caught at Pacific Ocean FAO 71 (Asia). If you are interested in import this fish. Please feel free to ask me (chungocbien@baseafood.vn
Thank you very much
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Fab recipe, well explained.
Thanks, Simon. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Dear Erica! I live half the year in Lerici (near La Spezia) and make a sugo di triglie at least once a week. Now I am in California for the other half of the year, and miss my triglie. Where can I find them, even shipped frozen, in Southern California?
Here is the recipe for Sugo di Triglie What you need to know in advance is that you are making two sauces and then uniting them near the end. First, the tomato sauce–olive oil, some red pepper flakes, one shallot thinly sliced–let all of this simmer for 5 mins, then add 10-12 fresh cherry tomatoes (halved if they are large) and a can or two (small) of Mutti daterini. Lots of chopped fresh prezzemolo. While this is simmering, and the pasta water is heating, start with olive oil and a couple of garlic cloves (to be removed later, squashed but not crushed or minced). Let that infuse, and then add finely minced salted anchovies (3-4) that will break down and give that great umami flavor. Meanwhile, about 300-350 g. of triglie fillets–perfectly cleaned, scaled, and deboned–should be chopped and then into the pan to sizzle. Stir a lot, the triglie break down into a nice pebbly consistency. After about 5-6 minutes add a cup of white wine and let that boil off over medium-high heat. You can add a half-cup of fish broth too, for extra intense flavor. Meanwhile, put your pasta on (linguine are best) and then in another 2-3 minutes add the fish mixture to the tomato sauce (or vice versa, whichever pan is bigger) and stir together over low-medium heat. When the pasta is about 3 minutes away, drain it (saving some water) and add to the sauce. Let the pasta finish cooking in the fish-tomato sauce, it will be delicious and creamy beyond belief. Salt and pepper a bit if it needs a bit more kick. Keep stirring until the end. Serve with a little more chopped parsley sprinkled on top. THIS IS THE BEST!!! I am a triglia lover like you, and this is the best sugo I have found (having tried lots of recipes). In Lerici I am spoiled because I can get triglia just-caught out of the bay at our fish market every day. Here I am lost!!
Hi Rob, Thanks for the recipe. It sounds wonderful. Triglia here is mullet. What I find in New York markets is red mullet, what in Provence and Marseille they call Rouget. This is a small red fish with lots of little bones and an amazing sweet flavor. Is this the fish you’re talking about? When I was in Marseille I got them straight off the boat at the Old Port. I can never find them that fresh here, but when I see them in my market, I often buy them anyway. I’m not sure about their availability in California. Maybe speak to a fisherman about this, or just inquire at a trustworthy fish shop and see if they can help you. It’s a special fish. Best, Erica