Acqua Pazza

I love going through my recipe books on Sundays to see what I want to cook the upcoming week. Last weekend, I came across a recipe that I wrote down while watching Rachel Ray a couple of years ago. It was Red Snapper in Crazy Water (Acqua Pazza). I remembered her using anchovies to create the strong flavor in the soup and this intrigued me. I made sure I bought all of the ingredients at the store that day and was ready and excited to try this recipe.

INGREDIENTS
· 2 1/2 lbs. of red snapper fillets with skin, cut into 3 inch chunks (I used sole fillets without skin and they worked fine.)
· salt and pepper
· 1 tbsp. Old Bay seasoning
· 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
· tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
· 3 cloves garlic, crushed
· 1/2 jar flat anchovy fillets
· 1/2 cup of white wine
· 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
· 3 tbsp. capers
· 3 scallions, chopped
· 1 quart chicken stock
· fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish
· crusty bread, for dipping

DIRECTIONS
· Season fish fillets with salt, pepper, and seafood seasoning.
· Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
· Add red pepper flakes, garlic, and anchovies. Melt down the anchovies in the oil.
· Add fish fillets to pan skin side down, if the fish has skin, to crisp it. Turn and brown the fish for about 3 minutes.
· Add wine and de-glaze the pan. Then, add sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and scallions.
· Stir in chicken stock. Let all of the flavors simmer together in the soup for a few minutes.
· Serve fish in shallow bowls with plenty of broth. Garnish with parsley and plenty of crusty bread for dipping and dunking.

This dish was very surprising because of all of the flavor. I would have to say that the best part was dipping the bread in the broth. I made Parmesan garlic bread to dip. Don't let the anchovies intimidate you. They melted down perfectly and added a wonderful flavor. This would be a great meal to entertain with because it is super easy to make and you could make a huge pot of it. Paired with a salad, it would perfect.

I will say that when I make this next time, I will definitely add all of the sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and scallions when the soup is cooking. But, I might take them all out when getting ready to serve. The broth had so many chunks in it, that it would have been more enjoyable to get those flavors with out having to eat the source.

Mangia!