Pasta with Coccio (Red Gurnard) Sauce

Method

1. In a pan, heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sauté a crushed garlic clove.
2. Clean the fish (coccio): gut it, remove the fins, and prepare it for searing.
3. After rinsing and cleaning the fish, place it in the pan and sear lightly for a few seconds.
4. Deglaze with white wine.
5. When the wine has evaporated, add cherry tomatoes (red and yellow).
6. Add a ladle of pasta cooking water, cover, and cook slowly. Season with salt.
7. After a few minutes, gently turn the fish over and cook for another couple of minutes. Total cooking time is about 6 minutes, depending on size.
8. Remove the fish from the pan and set aside.
9. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water.
10. When the pasta is al dente (about 3 minutes before the package time), drain it and transfer it to the pan with the sauce over high heat. Start the mantecatura (creaming process).
11. Gradually add pasta cooking water if the sauce dries out, and finish cooking the pasta. The sauce will become creamy.
12. Add a drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil and chopped parsley. Toss the pasta to combine.
13. Plate the pasta and serve the cooked coccio fish on the side.