Fish is a very important food and has always been used in cooking both in coastal areas and inland: together with meat, it is one of the foods that most unites all societies and cultures of the world, across space and time, from north to south and from east to west of the planet.

Fish like pork

When it comes to processing this food, many chefs follow the " nothing goes to waste " rule, just as has been done for centuries with pork . Many fish-based recipes utilize parts considered by many to be waste, but instead create true gastronomic delicacies . Various associations, including Slow Food and Slow Fish, are fighting for the sustainability of this practice, so that lesser-used parts of the fish are reused to create diverse and innovative recipes. Nonetheless, it should be noted that ancient chefs used the so-called "scraps" of the catch, creating recipes that are still part of ancient traditions today.

 

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In his 2016 “The Big Book of Fish,” Josh Niland , an Australian writer and chef, owner of Saint Peter restaurant in Sydney, talks about all the experiments he experiments with in his kitchen, transforming fish and treating it as if it were meat . This chef adapts the most bizarre recipes that can be created with meat into a form suitable for seafood, with dishes such as garfish prosciutto , jackfish pastrami , and amberjack black pudding .

Come and find out more about the online fish market

Historical uses of fish "waste"

Historically, especially in the Mediterranean area, some parts of the fish considered "waste" have always been used to prepare two very particular versions of fish broth :

Fish cartoon

This is a concentrated broth prepared by boiling the head , bones and some of the innards of the fish in question, which gives the broth a delicate flavour and is seasoned with onion, carrot, garlic, parsley and black pepper.

Shellfish stock

Its tastier version , which is prepared with the shell and head of the crustacean, in addition to the above-mentioned vegetable ingredients.

There are also other parts of the fish that are used to create more specific and unique recipes , yet still flavorful and special. Below is a list of recipes using unusual fish parts:

Fish skin

Its skin is widely reused in southern Italy to make a very simple but equally tasty recipe: the skin of freshly caught fish is recovered and fried in batter to make a fish-flavored fritter to serve as a side dish for a fish-based dish.

Bottarga (mullet and tuna)

Bottarga is essentially the ovarian gland of the fish, which is dried and crumbled ; the tastiest is that of mullet , widely used and more expensive, it has its own variant, namely that of tuna : both are used as a gastronomic condiment to add flavour to fish-based first courses , but also to flavour soups and other fish dishes.

To purchase mullet bottarga, click here , here and here .

Fish eggs

These are fish eggs, the contents of the ovarian glands. Various eggs are used in cooking, the most famous being caviar , or sturgeon eggs: it is one of the most expensive dishes and is widely consumed in northeastern Europe. Other eggs of interest for culinary preparations include cod eggs, but also salmon eggs, lumpfish eggs, sea urchin eggs, and carp eggs. They are all used as individual ingredients to accompany bread (possibly with a little butter), or as an ingredient in rich seafood salads .

Tuna innards and head

This fish is one of those from which nothing is thrown away; in fact, since ancient times, Sicilians have reused all its parts: from the tuna's head to its lattume , or gonads filled with seminal fluid , which are salted and dried ; this last recipe is considered a specialty in many parts of the Italian island. But in Sicily, all of the tuna's innards are reused: the heart , liver , lungs , and stomach are all parts of the fish that are used to create various typical and traditional recipes. In this case, it can truly be said that nothing of the tuna is thrown away .

Tuna eyes

Just as Sicilians use all parts of the tuna, the Japanese are accustomed to consuming the fish's eyes : they season them with soy sauce or kirin sauce and ginger and eat them whole; this is a traditionally accepted and common dish, and its flavor is similar to that of a hard-boiled egg , with a savory fishy aftertaste .

Cod tongue

The tongue of this fish is used to create an ancient recipe from Scandinavia. Scandinavians transform cod into stockfish, but they use all its parts, as already described in a previous article (the head, eyes, tail, and fat are examples of this massive reuse of scraps). Their main and most important recipe using "scraps" is cod tongue: it can be prepared fried in oil, or marinated and served lightly seared in a pan , or battered (either fried or pan-fried) and stewed , with a few spices and finishing touches. Its flavor is both intense and delicate , very interesting from a sensorial perspective.

To learn more about the history of cod and salted cod, click here .

Cod tripe

This is a widely used preparation, using cod offal — stomach , intestines , and other internal organs—to create a tasty dish, but not to everyone's taste. It's excellent in quality, just like lamb and veal, and is much more flavorful yet delicate.

To purchase cod tripe, click here .

Fish cheeks

Another very important part of fish is the cheek: it is one of the most flavorful parts of the catch, which can be cooked in a variety of ways. You can use the fresh cheek of fish such as cod, sea bream , sea bass, or tuna , but it can also be transformed into guanciale di mare , which is a salted and dried process of the cheeks, transforming them into a true fish cured meat. Guanciale di mare is excellent for seasoning guanciale-based first courses , with the latter providing a savory and interesting alternative.

To purchase cod cheeks, click here .

Monkfish liver

This dish recalls goose liver , which is used to create foie gras pâté : well, monkfish liver is also considered valuable and is transformed into pâté, with a different sensory result: the flavour of this frog liver pâté is more intense and savoury than that of goose and is excellent for preparing bread croutons or as a condiment for toasted bread.

Sea lard

This is the fish version of pork lard: it can be prepared with cuttlefish or swordfish , of which the belly and its fat are used, which is salted and dried and transformed into a delicious and delicate cured meat: in fact, the fish has a low saturated fat content and is excellent as a light alternative to pork lard.

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