Triglie di fango al pomodoro — Manfredonia, Puglia

The dish belongs to the Gulf of Manfredonia on the northern Puglian coast, where the triglia di fango (Mullus barbatus), the red mullet, lives on the sandy and muddy bottoms of the shallow gulf. It is distinguished from the rock-dwelling triglia di scoglio (Mullus surmuletus), the striped red mullet, and the firm, sweet flesh of the triglia di fango is the foundation of the sauce. Marcella Hazan — Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking is the authority for the method of simmering the frames and liver into a fumet and finishing the whole fillets in a tomato sauce.

The mullet are filleted and the highly flavourful liver (traditionally prized) and frames simmered with parsley, white wine, and tomato for a concentrated, richly flavoured fumet. The fillets are kept whole. In a wide pan, garlic, cherry tomatoes, and a splash of Bombino Bianco create a bright Puglian sauce enriched with the fumet. The fillets are laid into the sauce for 2 minutes. Served over orecchiette or spaghetti, with the sauce ladled over and the whole fillets arranged on top, finished with fresh parsley and a drizzle of Puglian olive oil.

The dish is eaten over orecchiette or spaghetti, so that the sauce coats the pasta and the whole fillets rest on top. The mullet's sweet, mineral flesh is met by the acidity of the cherry tomatoes and the sharpness of the garlic, while parsley adds a green lift at the end. A crisp, dry white such as Bombino Bianco is the natural drink, since its freshness and acidity cut through the olive oil and the richness of the liver-enriched fumet.