This Calabrian inspired Fish Ragù is rich, flavorful and absolutely delicious! It comes together much faster and easier than your typical, meat-based ragu sauce and offers a bold and briny twist on this classic dish.

Why you’ll love this Calabrian Fish Ragu:

• Faster than most ragu sauces: Unlike most meat-based ragu recipes, this one cooks up in under an hour making it a great recipe for busy weeknights.
• Incredibly flavor-packed: This recipe uses a combination of whole and dried Calabrian-inspired spices, fresh ingredients and umami boosting additions to pack the most flavor into every bite!
• Fun and unique way to cook with cod: If you find yourself getting bored of your usual cod dinner recipes then this one’s for you! The buttery cod pieces flake apart into the rich-tomato sauce creating a melt-in-your-mouth texture that’s incredibly satisfying!

Season the Cod

1. Bloom the spices: Fry the whole and dried spices in oil for 1-2 minutes. This will enhance the flavor of the spices and impart that flavor into the oil.
2. Remove and cool: Pour the spices + oil in a bowl. Add a little bit more oil to bring the heat down. Let it cool a minute or two.
3. Coat fish: Add the fish pieces to the bowl. Gently mix together until fully coated in spice and oil. Set aside.

Blend Veggies

1. Add to a blender or food processor: roughly chopped onion, celery, carrot, garlic and parsley.
2. Pulse into small pieces: Run the blender for 5-10 seconds to break down the veggies. Scrape down the sides as needed.

Why blend or process the aromatics?

The goal here is to make a cheaters’ soffritto: finely minced vegetables used to sauté in oil or butter. Like with this fish ragu, it’s the foundation of many Italian recipes.

Sauté and Simmer the Sauce

1. Sauté the blended vegetable mixture in oil (about 8-10 minutes).
2. Fry tomato paste (about 2-3 minutes).
3. Simmer the wine and cook until almost fully reduced (about 5 minutes).
4. Add passata or blended tomatoes, sugar and fish sauce (if using). Let all the main ingredients simmer, uncovered (at least 10 minutes).
   • Do this while the pasta cooks in another pot.
5. Stir in the coated cod pieces then cover and cook (about 5 minutes).

Pasta Prep & Cooking Water

• Prepare the pasta according to the packet instructions provided.
• About 1-2 minutes before it’s finished, remove about 1 cup of the cooking water from the pasta pot and add to the tomato sauce. Stir and simmer a few minutes.
• Drain remaining water and add pasta and chopped parsley to the fish ragu. Toss everything together and enjoy.

Why add pasta water to the sauce?

The starchy water will help create a thicker, silkier ragu sauce that clings to the pasta better.

Additional Flavors and Optional Ingredients

• Parmesan: Finish with grated parmesan for an extra, cheesy addition.
• Fish Sauce: Much like soy sauce, fish sauce adds a punchy, salty, umami flavor that’s perfect in this fish ragu!
• Red Pepper Flakes/ Chili Flakes: I like to finish with an extra pinch or two of chili flakes to amp up the heat. You can increase or decrease the amount you use according to your personal preferences.

Enjoy!

And that’s it!

Let me know if you try this Calabrian Fish Ragu recipe! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!

More Ways to Enjoy Fish

• Spinach & Turmeric Fish Curry
• Gluten Free Thai Salmon Cakes
• Baked Coconut Fish Curry
• Keralan Fish Stew (Fish Molee)
• Mango & Shrimp Thai Noodle Salad
• Salmon Kale Caesar Salad
• Almond & Herb Crusted Baked Salmon + Asparagus
• Sayadieh (Lebanese Fish & Rice)

Recipe

Calabrian Fish Ragu with Cod (Ragù di Pesce)

Yield: 6 servings Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 50 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

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Cod makes for a tasty and speedy alternative to your typical meat-based ragu! The end result is a rich and aromatic tomato sauce with Calabrian-seasoned cod pieces tossed in a hearty pasta dish.

Ingredients

Fish

• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided (45ml)
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp whole fennel seed
• 3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground black peppercorns
• 1 lb boneless, skinless cod cut into bite size pieces (450g)

Ragu

• 2 tbsp olive oil (30ml)
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 1 large carrot, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large celery stalk, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 large garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 cup fresh Italian parsley, divided (about 30g total), leave half whole and chop other half
• 1 tsp salt, divided
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (35g)
• 3/4 cup dry white wine (180ml)
• 1 3/4 cup passata (400g) OR 1 can whole, peeled tomatoes (15 oz) *see notes
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp fish sauce, ensure gluten free (optional, but recommended)
• 14 oz dry, gluten free pasta
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan (optional)

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

1. Add 2 tbsp oil to a small pan and place over a medium heat. Once the oil is hot add paprika, oregano, fennel seed, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Stir and fry about 1-2 minutes until fragrant then remove from heat.
2. Pour the fried spice blend into a medium bowl. Stir in another tablespoon of oil to cool down the hot spices. Add the cod pieces and mix together until fully coated. Set aside.
3. In a blender or food processor: add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and 1/2 cup parsley. Pulse in 5-10 second intervals it until very finely broken down into a chunky paste.
4. Place a large pot or deep skillet over a medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan along with the blended vegetable mixture and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sauté about 8-10 minutes.
5. Add tomato paste. Cook 2-3 minutes until it caramelised into a darker, brownish-red color.
6. Stir in the wine. Gently scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen up any crispy/stuck bits. Simmer and cook until most of the wine evaporates.
7. Add the passata (or canned tomatoes), sugar, and fish sauce (if using) or salt (3/4 tsp). Reduce to a medium heat and let simmer, uncovered about 10 minutes.
8. While the sauce simmers: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente according to package directions. A minute or so before draining, carefully scoop out about 1 cup (240ml) of the cooking water then pour straight into the tomato sauce. Strain remaining pasta in a colander and set aside.
9. Stir the coated cod to the ragu sauce - make sure to fully submerge the fish in sauce. Cover with a fitted lid, reduce to medium-low heat and cook another 5 minutes.
10. Add the remaining chopped parsley and toss everything together. The cod will break down into smaller chunks as you mix. Taste and season as you see fit with more salt, pepper, chili flakes etc.
11. Serve immediately and enjoy. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat fully before eating.

Notes

What is Passata (US Readers)? Passata is puréed (typically uncooked) tomatoes. It's usually sold in a glass jar or carton - easily found in Europe. Ingredients should include tomatoes and salt - nothing else. You may be able to find it in US stores, but it can be tricky to find.

Passata Substitute: Use whole, peeled canned tomatoes instead (1 can | 15oz). Any tomato variety will work. I recommend you blend until smooth like a tomato puree to get a similar ragu texture. You can leave the tomatoes whole. As it cooks and simmers, stir and break down tomatoes to create a chunky texture.

Pasta Type: Feel free to use your preferred pasta shape here. Pappardelle and tagliatelle are popular choices to serve with ragu, but can be hard to find gluten free. Penne and other tube shapes pastas are great options.

Downgrade the Spice: Tone down the overall spice by swapping out the red pepper flakes for chili flakes. Chili flakes are usually less spicy than red pepper flakes.

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© A Saucy Kitchen, Sarah Nevins

Course: Mains Cuisine: Italian