FULVIA SESANI’S VENETIAN SAOR (Italian Sweet & Sour Fish)

Amarante

Wed, Jul 26 2017, 3:34 pm

Great and easy cook ahead dish since it needs to be marinated in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving.

Dish is perfect for a large gathering since it can easily be scaled up to serve 16 (or obviously more if necessary LOL

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FULVIA SESANI’S VENETIAN SAOR

Excerpt From: Michele Evans - Fearless Cooking for Crowds.

Each year that I have the good fortune to return to Venice, I discover something new. Last year it was saor. I spent an October afternoon in the kitchen of Fulvia Sesani’s Venetian palazzo observing one of her cooking demonstrations. It was there that I was introduced to saor, an ancient and typical Venetian fish dish.

Signora Sesani told us, “The most Venetian of dishes, which, together with the fireworks, is the real protagonist of the Redentore feast is saor or marinated fish.

“The Venetian word saor means taste, flavor, relish, and in truth, the oil, wine vinegar, onions, raisins, and pine nuts combine to evoke the memory of the long Venetian civilization. The possibility of keeping the fish for long periods, of eating it in the hot months without having to toil over the stove, of buying the fish when plentiful and, therefore, inexpensive—these are the advantages of the soar.”

Saor still provides an extraordinarily good summer dish.

SERVES 8

3 pounds small sole fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour
Olive oil
6 medium-sized onions, thinly sliced
½ cup white wine vinegar
¾ cup pine nuts
¾ cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons chopped candied citron peel
4 whole bay leaves

1. Season the fillets with salt and pepper. Dust them with flour and cook them, a few at a time, in a large frying pan in olive oil that just covers the bottom of the pan, until they are golden brown on each side. Add a little oil as needed to cook all the fillets. Drain them on paper towels.

2. Heat about 1 cup of oil in the frying pan and cook the onions over medium-low heat, stirring often, just until they begin to turn golden brown, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the vinegar, pine nuts, raisins, citron, and ¼ cup of water and cook the mixture over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often.

4. Make a layer of half of the fish fillets in a shallow 10-inch dish. Spoon half of the onion mixture over the fish. Top with the remaining fillets and finally the remaining onion mixture. Press the onion mixture down slightly and put the bay leaves on top at equal distances. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

More Servings
Double the recipe to serve 16 and use a large gratin dish or two 10-inch dishes.