Pan-Roasted Tautog Puttanesca
- One 4-6 lb. tautog or black sea bass
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup diced fresh garlic
- 1/4 cup salted capers
- 1 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives
- 3 – 14oz cans of Italian cherry tomatoes (I use MUTTI brand)
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 1 lb. linguine pasta (I use an artisanal dry pasta because it stays al dente and holds on to sauce better)
- Gut and clean the fish. (Tog doesn’t need to be scaled, but sea bass does.) Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- Heat a sauté pan on the stove, then add olive oil, diced garlic, capers and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute and then add the olives.
- Sauté for 1 more minute and add the 3 cans of tomatoes. Simmer for 3 minutes and take off flame. Lightly coat a full-size roasting pan with the sauce. Lay the fish whole into the pan and cover with the remaining sauce. Wrap the pan in aluminum foil and bake in the oven. A 4- to 6-pound fish should take about 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place your pasta water on the oven and bring to a boil. After the water boils, add salt, and not just a pinch—the water should be salty like seawater! Boil the pasta until al dente, then drain.
- After 40 minutes, remove the foil and place the fish back in oven for an additional 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven to a counter top.
- Use two spatulas and gently move the whole fish from the pan to a serving platter. Take the pasta and place it into the roasting pan, then swirl it around in the sauce inside the roasting pan.
- Plate the pasta around the fish on the serving platter, then cover the fish and pasta with the remaining puttanesca sauce and serve. I like to use a fork and knife to gently pull back the skin to expose the beautiful white meat!