Fish stockfish Messina style

Preparation:

Preparation: It is the queen recipe of Messina cuisine. It is a tasty and robust dish and should be served as a first course accompanied by a vigorous and above all genuine red wine preferably prepared under the personal supervision of the host. A Messina-style fish stock dinner cannot end without a taste of fragrant 'Spaghetti alle restatine' which is seasoned with the remaining fish stock sauce. In a bowl filled with water, pour the capers that you have previously washed in plenty of water to remove the excess salt. Wash and cut the celery stalks into small cubes that you will have cleaned from all the filaments and the external film. Chop the onion into not very small pieces, pit the green olives into 2 half-shells. Peel the potatoes, cut them into medium-sized wedges and place them in a bowl filled with water to avoid blackening due to prolonged contact with air. In a saucepan, prepare a mixture with the chopped onion, the celery cubes and the capers: add half a glass of water, some olive oil and cook over low heat until all the water is used up; brown for a few minutes, taking care to stir the mixture continuously with a wooden spoon. Then add the tomato puree, 1/2 liter of water, salt, black pepper and the remaining part of the olive oil. After mixing everything, dip the washed stockfish pieces into the sauce, taking care to place them with the skin facing downwards, avoiding overlapping them, and cook over low heat. After about 20 minutes, add the previously cut potatoes, placing them in the empty spaces left by the fish and covering the same with a uniform layer so as to touch the upper edge of the liquid. Continue cooking for about 90 minutes and, in any case, until the fish and potatoes are completely cooked, taking care not to mix the ingredients but to move them slightly and delicately with the help of a wooden spoon, shaking the pot. Suggestions. For a perfect success of the recipe it is essential to scrupulously follow the choice of ingredients and the preparation phases. In consideration of the fact that the preparation is particularly difficult for those who try their hand at making this recipe for the first time, we suggest trying it without any commitment with guests and with halved doses in order to become familiar with what are classified as 'secrets of kitchen' and which ensure the perfect success of the recipe. Select the best parts of the stockfish which must be well soaked but equally firm and compact. The best parts are the central dorsal and tail parts. Prepare all the ingredients scrupulously following the methods of preparation and the sequence of use. The most difficult part concerns the cooking time since stockfish and potatoes do not have the same consistency and therefore require different cooking times depending on the quality of the potato used and which must be calculated with a good deal of experience.