Ingredients for 4 persons.

For the fish stock: Heads and Bones of the red mullet; 1 litre water; 3 glasses of white wine; A few slices fennel; 1 bay leaf; Salt and pepper

For the sauce: 10 red mullet; 400g spaghetti; Half a red onion, chopped finely; 2 small anchovy fillets; 50g datterini tomatoes, halved; 50g crushed, toasted almonds; 1/2 litre fish stock; 1 clove garlic, crushed; A pinch of dried chilli flakes; Extra virgin olive oil; A handful of parsley, chopped; Salt and pepper.

Procedure: Ask your fishmonger to fillet the red mullet and to put the heads and bones in a separate bag. To make your stock, simply put all the ingredients in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Leave for about an hour until the quantity has halved. Taste, season with salt and pepper if necessary and cook for a few minutes more. Then strain the stock making sure no bones get through.

Put half the stock in your pasta pan and top up with enough water in which to cook the spaghetti.

Now it's time to make the sauce! Put the chopped onion and the anchovy fillets to a large frying pan and gently fry until the onion is soft and the anchovies have melted. Add the garlic and the chilli and cook for another couple of minutes. Then add the tomatoes and a good ladle or two of your fish stock. At this point you can bring your pasta water to a boil and start cooking the spaghetti.

When the tomatoes begin to break down, add the red mullet fillets and cook on a low flame for about 10 minutes. Break them up with a fork and mix well. You should now have a fairly thick sauce with chunks of red mullet. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Drain your pasta (when al dente), keeping a little bit of the water to one side. Add the spaghetti to the frying pan with the sauce, add the chopped parsley and toss well. If necessary add a little pasta water to loosen the sauce. Serve with a sprinkling of the toasted crushed almonds and a good white wine.

 

Source: thethinkingtraveller.com