Fish in Crazy Water
with linguini and spinach salad
This Italian recipe gets its unique name from the "crazy" flavorful sauce that cooks down and poaches white fish in a single pan. We serve it over pasta with a simple green salad on the side.
Ingredients
- Garlic - 3 cloves, chopped
- Fish (any mild fish, like tilapia or cod) - 4 fillets
- Pasta, linguini or spaghetti - 8 oz
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Thyme, fresh - 2 sprigs
- Tomato paste - 1 Tbsp
- Tomatoes, diced and preferably fire-roasted (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can
- Water - 2/3 cup
- Wine, white (sub vegetable stock or water) - 1/2 cup
- Red pepper flakes (opt) - 1/2 tsp
- Lemons - 1/2, juice of
- Shallots - 1/2 clove, diced
- Oil, olive - 3 Tbsp
- Vinegar, balsamic - 2 tsp
- Italian seasoning - 1/2 tsp
- Spinach, baby - 4 oz
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Garlic / Shallots - Prep as directed. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Fish - Rinse and pat dry and season with salt and pepper.
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Make
- Bring a saucepan of water to boil. Salt generously and add pasta. Cook until al dente, tender but not soggy.
- Heat a dutch oven or skillet (large enough to hold all of the fish without overlapping) over medium heat. Add oil and when it begins to shimmer add garlic and thyme sprigs. Saute until fragrant, ~1 minute. Add tomato paste, canned tomatoes (including juice), water, wine and red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Increase heat if needed to bring sauce to a simmer. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with some salt and pepper.
- Add fish to pan and spoon sauce over the top of each filet (don’t worry if the fish isn’t completely submerged in sauce). Simmer fish, flipping halfway through, until fish flakes easily, ~4 minutes on each side (more or less depending on thickness of fish).
- While fish poaches, whisk together shallots, oil, vinegar and Italian seasonings. Toss with spinach.
- Squeeze fresh lemon juice over fish.
- Serve fish over pasta and enjoy with salad on the side!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
Most Helpful
Very easy to make and quick. I used Sauvignon Blanc for the wine didn't add the red pepper flakes but added some onion powder when I added the fire roasted tomatoes and served it over zoodles with the side salad. Family loved it
1 Helpful39 reviews
My husband just asked me if there was a way to favorite meals on cook smarts. I let him add some extra jar tomato sauce and capers, but still. This was super easy and not how I would have made an Italian fish and pasta so it was cool to learn a new trick.
0 HelpfulGood and quick, but nothing special. The sauce did not really thicken that much even with extra time. I used cod.
0 HelpfulMind blowing. In order to cut the acidic level of the tomatoes, I used 1/4 tsp of baking soda. OMG
0 HelpfulMight immersion blend sauce a bit more next time - watery and then big chunks. And maybe some harissa paste if not sharing with littles? No kick.
0 HelpfulIt was easy and quick to make. After reading the comments, I decided to add a tbs of italian seasoning and let it simmer longer than in the recipe :) The sauce was very tasty and I imediatly put some aside for some other pasta time!
0 Helpful