There was an outing organized for a cooking lesson at a downtown Catania restaurant called Ristorante Crociferi. I was lucky enough to get the day off of work, but Jess was not able to join in. The lesson was Pesce al Sale (Salt Fish), which is a very traditional Sicilian dish. This marked the first time that I tried the dish let alone made it.
Surprisingly it is very easy to make. You basically make a salt paste with coarse and fine salt mixed with water. You then cover a cleaned out whole fish with the paste and bake it. The coating of salt traps all of the moisture and fish flavor and makes for a very tasty dish…. surprisingly the fish does not taste salty!
We had a great lunch paired with our fish. Thanks to Ristorante Crociferi for allowing crazy Americans to come into their kitchen.
Ristorante Crociferi
Piazza S. Francesco 14 Catania
http://www.ristoranteicrociferi.com/