Fish heads are simmered with olive oil, aromatics, wine, and tomatoes, then milled to extract their flavor while leaving the bones behind. The sauce cooks down to a dense, creamy consistency before it is tossed with pasta, parsley, and butter.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Wash the fish heads in cold water and let them drain in a colander.
- Use a saute pan large enough to hold the heads later without stacking. Add olive oil and onion over medium heat and cook until translucent. Add garlic and saute until pale gold. Add half the parsley (2 tbsp, 30 ml), stir, then add the fish heads.
- Turn heads to coat, add wine and let it come to a lively simmer. When it bubbles away in about a minute or less, add tomatoes with their juice, salt, black pepper, and stir. Simmer gently 15 minutes.
- Remove heads. Scoop out the easy meat, especially from cheeks and throat, and set it aside for later.
- Discard the larger bones. Fit a food mill with the disk with the largest holes and mash the remaining heads through it into the pan.
- Return to a very gentle simmer and cook about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens to a dense, creamy consistency. Add the reserved meat, stir, and cook 5 minutes more.
- Toss with cooked drained pasta. Add remaining parsley and butter, toss again, and serve at once.