| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 piquillo peppers or 1 roasted red bell pepper from jar
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, rinsed
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 branzino fillets, skin on
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- For the puttanesca: To the bowl of a food processor, add the peppers, garlic, olives, capers, tomato paste, anchovy paste and salt. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. With the motor running, add 1 tablespoon water and the olive oil in a steady stream until emulsified and smooth. Pour the sauce into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- For the branzino: Dry the branzino fillets well with paper towels. Score the skin of each fillet three times with a sharp knife. Sprinkle with the salt.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lay 4 fillets, skin-side down, in the pan; press gently to ensure full contact with the pan. Cook until the skin is golden brown and the flesh is opaque at the edges, 2 minutes. Flip the fillets and cook for an additional 10 seconds; remove to a plate. Wipe out the pan and repeat with the remaining oil and fish.
- To serve, spread some sauce on each serving plate and shingle 2 fillets on top. Drizzle with a little more sauce if desired.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 529 |
| Total Fat | 34 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 7 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 49 g |
| Cholesterol | 106 mg |
| Sodium | 881 mg |
Reviews
IDK if it was because the fish was fresh or just because it’s that type of fish. But just with the salt and oil by itself the fish was great.
The sauce was great too, def a strong flavor. I was worried the piquillo peppers I used were too big/too much but it worked out.
I added 1 tablespoon of crushed Calabrian chili peppers which added a little spice and wasn’t melt your face off.
Both were great but I would definitely exercise caution when applying the sauce. Taste it before you apply it because like I said, it is a strong flavor.
A+ will make again.
My husband loves fish and this is definitely a winner, quick and easy but most importantly delicious!
This sauce is delicious! I’ve been looking for more ways to add fish into our diet, so this is great (will go with just about any fish or meat). Thanks!
Delicious and versatile sauce. We tried it on salmon and it was fantastic. Rinsing the olives and capers keeps this sauce from being overly briny like some putanesca sauces. I think I want to try a version of this sauce with a steak and see how that goes. Great recipe.
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I had never purchased Branzino. It wasn’t easy to find but finally found it in a local fish store and it was fresh. What a tasty fish. I was also hesitate to use tomatoes (which I love) on fish and this was so good that I’ll be serving this dish to guest!
I messed up by using the entire fish, not the fillets. The fish was so big that it didn’t fit in the pan…lol…but you could tell that it would have been fantastic if I had done it correctly. The Putanesca was simply incredible and I will use that again and again on other fish dishes.
Delightful!! I had to use tilapia but otherwise very tasty!