Traditional food from Lake Como offers a variety of delicious freshwater fish as pike, tench, eel, carp and trout. Tradition teaches us how to preserve it without the need of a refrigerator. Our favourite method is known as “in carpione“: it means preserving fish (pesce, in Italian) by cooking and then marinating it.
Pesce in carpione dish is usually served cold and is amazing as both a starter and main course.
To make some tasty pesce in carpione you need some fish, of course – gutted, cleaned, scaled and pat dried -: season it all over with salt and pepper and dust it with all-purpose flour. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the fish on both sides for a few minutes until golden. Remove and set aside on a large plate.
Mince together half onion, one garlic clove, some celery and one carrot, stir fry these vegetables in some olive oil and after 3-4 minutes add some thyme, one or two cloves and a spoonful of whole pepper grains.
Lastly, add half glass of vinegar and half glass of dry white wine: bring to a boil, then pour this sauce over the fish, adding some parsley. Let it cool before eating.
Enjoy this traditional food from Lake Como! Buon appetito!