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Video: Passionate guide to buying and eating at the fish market in Catania
2024 Author: Cody Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 12:26
It will not have the status of a Baroque masterpiece, but there will be a reason if it does Fishmonger is among the must-see destinations for tourists visiting Catania.
It may be the imprint of an Arab bazaar, or the veracity of Sicilian habits, such as those of the vendors who set up fish stalls at dawn singing romantic songs. Or the proverbs, the famous proverbs of Catania fishmongers.
We spent 24 hours among the scents and colors of the fish market which is simply for the people of Catania in piscaria.
Trying to understand what it is, what you buy, if it is true that good fish in Catania can only be found among the red-streaked marble banks soaked in water in this unmissable corner.
THE FISH MARKET
Let's start like this: how should we behave? Between those who sell and those who buy, the winks are continuous and often incomprehensible to the occasional customer, who may feel lost.
Some fishmongers will tell you that you have to trust, so much in piscaria the fish is good everything, everywhere and at any time. You will receive many silent reassurances, entrusted to the look that says without saying, that suggests.
Translating from the catanese mimicry the meaning is: we understand each other.
If that's not enough for you, if the doubt persists, here are some tips to avoid blunders, to be accompanied in any case with a holy dose of patience.
1 # Walk a long time before buying
Do not buy without first walking for a long time around the Fish Market, because in this case, instinct is not a good advice.
So take a nice round of patrol, indeed, do more than one. Turn, see. An hour, even two. A whole morning. Always look at the display of the stalls, you will understand which fishmongers exhibit in the frenzy of selling, and who, on the other hand, arranges their wares carefully, because they know that trust is also won through the details.
You will be mesmerized by the water where the cuttlefish sail, black but not dirty, and by the splashes of the fish that do not give up on death.
From the wisdom of the gestures of men accustomed to living on fish since they were born.
The market is not large, it is interesting that each of the three neighboring pitches has different ways of buying.
The first pitch is covered, the tunnel dug under the Palazzo del Seminario dei Clierici and the walls of Charles V, in front of the Arches of the Navy, have the appearance of a real entrance.
One of the stalls to go to has been home here since time immemorial, that of Giovanni called u straburutu due to the fact that as a child he used to get lost among the stalls of the fish market, with the entire neighborhood trying to find him again.
The second space, surrounded by trattorias, is located in piazza Pardo.
From where an alley full of butchers and greengrocers starts showing pyramids of consate olives. For a few minutes the nostrils are filled with a scent different from that of fish.
In these pitches, the impressive assortment of some stalls, with molluscs, fish and crustaceans of all sizes and varieties, makes them resemble authentic fish shops.
The third space, in Piazza Alonzo di Benedetto, is located just below the majestic Piazza Duomo. Here the larger shoals are replaced by a frenetic bustle of small fishermen, which reaches its peak around 10.00.
2 # Don't go with the idea of buying that certain fish
The variety of fish found at the Pescheria allows you to indulge yourself. The best thing is to let yourself be guided by the offer. For example, if you come across a large amount of masculine or mullet, that is obviously the right time to buy them.
Otherwise, even if you had in mind to cook the mullet, it is better to leave it alone and focus on something else.
3 # Don't be swayed by prices
Don't let the cost of the fish decide for you, for better or for worse. The best is not always the most expensive, and vice versa. It's more important to choose the right time to get the best price.
4 # Forget hit and run
No, you are not in the right place. Take an extra ten minutes (even two or three), stop and talk to the fishmongers, listen to the comments of regulars, introduce yourself and ask them questions.
You will find several in the middle of the morning arranged on the side of Piazza Alonzo, perched on the railings as if they were doves to pass the time, observe, comment on the show which is their daily bread.
Top experts of the fish market, they will be guides, storytellers, fishermen and chefs by chance for you. From them you will know the life, death and miracles of bellu and sangusu fish, also expect the best advice on what to buy that day, where, and how to cook it.
5 # Become a regular customer even if you are on vacation
Trusting and then feeling like one of them is the best thing. With the mornings spent at the market you will have acquired the status of a known and respected customer from your trusted fishmonger who will direct you to the best fish.
So you will be a little more sure of what you buy.
Eat at the fish market
Keep following us even if you went to the Pescheria just to visit it, we have some tips for you.
Trattoria La Straw
In Piazza Pardo, right in front of the fish stalls, you can dine well without too much sophistication at the trattoria La Paglia, a small, informal restaurant with few tables, unfortunately often occupied by tourists.
Open since 1812, it has been serving a few simple dishes for five generations. As understandably, the tradition is great, the sardines a beccafico, with a rigorous recipe from Catania, are excellent, as is the pasta with squid ink or octopus salad.
The room is the kingdom of Ignatius, thin, energetic, dark hair and big black eyes. He doesn't talk much, he just does it just to answer customer questions.
He knows the fish market like the back of his hand because he was born here and he has worked here since he was a child, if you ask him he will tell you that he would not leave for any reason in the world.
From the tables of the restaurant, through a window overlooking Piazza Pardo, you can witness the final phase of the market, when the fishmongers begin to dismantle the stalls, dedicate themselves to washing and cleaning, leaving the bites for the seagulls.
Trattoria Mm
Different atmosphere at Trattoria Mm, once Mr. Marino's butcher and then, after his sons took over, transformed into a unique restaurant in the city, for the place and the cuisine.
Large, in iron, permanently broken, the door reveals the typical veined white marble that covers the walls of the butchers through a large porthole. The customers are mainly trendy from Catania, who have elected the restaurant to the role of evening buen retiro. The service is entrusted to one of the Marino brothers.
The dishes on the menu, well representing the extravagance of those who cook them, do not follow a predictable or logical thread, and often they are not even the only ones that can be tried.
Teasing the cook, the second and most bizarre of the Marino brothers, you will discover that in addition to pasta with cuttlefish ink, boldly revived in the ancient version with peas, you could try a crazy carbonara that is worthwhile: spaghetti with turmeric, mussels, bottarga and lemon zest.
Scirocco Lab
Those who want to stay in the area until late in the evening can take advantage of the Scirocco Sicilian fish lab, which specializes in fried fish wrapped in traditional paper straw.
A take away right on the sides of Piazza Alonzo, near the water fountain or linzolu, immersed in the nocturnal area of the fish market, which, given the time, becomes even more gray and intense.
Dark but not dark, still but not inert, still full of life.
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