Green Dragon Acqua Pazza

 Are you ready for a huge leap forward storywise, Dungeon Meshi Maniacs?  Get ready because we jummp ahead not only several chapters but well into the next book before we get to the next recipe!  You'd think the gang would be eating every other chapter like in the old days.  You'd be wrong!  As we get closer to the end the story becomes a runaway train of fights...well the avoidance of fights...elves, werewolves....kinda...and so much more. That leaves little room for cooking but the remaining dishes are dynamite! Before we get to any of that we have to talk what has to be one of the most fun dishes that we've made during this journey. So let's get to it and cook us up some Green Dragon Acqua Pazza!

Gotta admit I never heard of Acqua Pazza before, DMMs.  I am just a humble mountain slime after all.  But it's my loss because this dish rocks.  First let's look at how we get to making what is literally Italian for "Crazy Water."  It all starts with one ticked off homeowner!

Thistle!  Gotta admit, I'd be a little upset if a gang of weirdos broke in my home and cleaned up. I have my things where I want them, DMMs!  You can tell Thistle has had it with the group too.  Just like a Dungeon Master that is done with a campaign, Thistle throws ALL the dragons at the group!

Oh, and he also made everyone smaller.  Or made the kitchen bigger?  It's hard to tell. But if you're going to squeeze so many dragons in a kitchen something's gotta give.  You can just about hear the "All Is Lost" music starting up, DMMs.  And you'd be right because just about

Every

Single

Party member

Gets wiped out! Look, DMMs.  If you've had it with a campaign there are more adult ways to deal with your frustration than killing all of your players.  Or in this case, your characters. Hope is not lost, however!  I'm sure keen eyed DMMs have noticed that Laios is still alive and kicking.  I'm not going to spoil how the goober saves the day.  Let's just say Laios is the kind of guy I want in a clutch.

Another key thing is Laios notices that the dragons will not attack Thistle.  Makes senses, Thistle is the Dungeon Lord and the dragons obey the Dungeon Lord.  So Laios does the next best thing he can to just freaking killing Thistle.  He creates a Thistle Backback.

Gotta admit.  He may be insane but I do think Thistle is cute.  Do you think I could fix him, DMMs?  Or is there nothing wrong with him?  Either way the dude is spoken for so it wouldn't matter.  Shockingly, Laios doesn't kill Thistle.  What does he do?  What else!  He instead cooks for Thistle.

Laios is always going to try and talk things out over a meal, DMMs.  I do have to respect that.  You can't change someone's mind on an empty stomach!  The dish Laios makes is Acqua Pazza which is an entirely new dish for me.  So what are we even making here?  As I mentioned earlier Acqua Pazza is Italian for Crazy Water.  What in the name of all boot shaped countries does that mean?  Food historians aren't sure since the recipe is just poached white fish with herbs and maybe a little wine.  Personally seeing how the dish was created by Italian fishermen I think they just named it Crazy Water as as goof.  Sounded fun and it stuck!  But that's the basics, DMMs.  This is poached whitefish.  Trust me, it's far better than plain old fish in water.  So we'll start with the main ingredient...FISH!

There are so many whitefish in the world, DMMs, so go with whichever is your favorite.  I went with good old Cod because it's the easiest for me to get my hands on.  Plus, this dish relies heavily on the spices which I think work great with cod's light flavor.  Whatever fish you have make sure to pat it dry and set aside while we crazy up some water.  We start with one of the meanest ingredients you'll ever meet.

Red Onions!  I gotta admit, I don't know why they aren't called Purple Onions.  Maybe that's why they are so mean?  What am I talking about?  Trust me, once you start chopping this bad boy up you'll know.  I only cut up a fourth of this onion and I had to leave the kitchen at least twice because my eyes were STINGING.

That hurt, DMMs, but it's worth it!  Art is pain!  To start the crazy water heat up two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.  Add your red onions and about two tablespoons of fennel seeds.  You can also use chopped fennel if you have that on hand.  This will give the sauce a real nice bite to it.

This is going to smell great, DMMs, trust me!  Toast this for four minutes and then add the staple of all Italian cooking.  Garlic.

Use as much as you want.  I put in four bulbs.  Feel free to put in more but don't go below two.  If you are looking for some heat you can add some cayenne at this point.  I've seen recipies go either way when it comes to the cayenne but it is part of the original recipe so I added a tablespoon.  You can also add in a single chopped cayenne pepper if you have it on hand.  These are toasted for a minute.  Once everything is  nice and toasted like a 90's toyring band it's time to add the ingredient that is going to make the sauce CRAZY.

Cherry tomatoes!  How does this lower the sanity of the sauce, exactly?  Simple.  You will be cooking the heck out of these tomatoes.  As they break down their acid will thicken the sauce and bring everything together!  Go with about 25 cherry tomatoes and chop them in half.  You can go straight red like I have or throw in some yellow tomatoes if you want things to look extra fancy.  Just dump all the chopped tomatoes into the pan.

The tomatoes are roasted for another four minutes.  By now you're probably wondering why this sauce has no liquid. It is Crazy Water, isn't it? Patience, DMMs!  Crazy is the first word in the title so we start with the crazy.  Now we are at the Water part.  Normally you add 3/4ths cup of white wine but long time DMMs know that I'm not a fan of cooking with wine.  So I turn to my old standby.

Rice vinegar!  Oh, I love using this as a wine substitute, DMMs. Whichever you choose to go with just pour your 3/4ths cup straight in the pan and crank that temp up to High.  You want to reduce that liquid for threeish minutes.

Now the kitchen is going to smell pretty spicy, DMMs!  Those flavors are really starting to come together.  But we still need a bit more liquid for this to be Water.  And what better thing to add to achieve that than water?  Add two cups of water along with about a half tablespoon of basil and a pinch of salt.

Once this comes to a boil just move the temp back to Medium and wait.  This will simmer for 20 minutes.  Don't walk away, however.  If your sauce reduces quicker just move onto the next step before the 20 minutes are up.  The sauce will be more Crazy and thick than water when it's finished.  Which ever comes first is when you add your fish!

Fish cooks quick, DMMs.  And we are going to make sure it cooks all the way through by adding a lid.  Trap that heat!  This is only take 6 minutes so stay put.

Okay, sure.  The lid does trap the heat and helps the fish cook but it also gives you the opportunity to pull it off and go "Ta-Da!" when the time is up.

Ta-da!  That is looking great and smelling even better.  Now for the fancy part, plating!  This dish does take a little plating to get right but trust me, DMMs, it's worth.  Start with some crusty bread.

I went with a baguette but any really crusty bread will work.  Cut off about three pieces and put them on the plate first.  Then top that with the sauce.

  Resist eating this right now, DMMs!  This dish isn't complete yet even though it looks pretty yummy.  Now add your fish.  I made dinner for two so it's two fish per plate!

Not going to lie, DMMs, this is the fanciest thing I've made this entire journey.  It may have started as a simple dish made by fisherman coming back with the day's catch but wow....those guys knew what they were doing!  It is absolutely delicious! This one is going into the family cookbook.  Especially when I want to make something for a special occasion.  Be sure to give it a shot yourself because it may look fancy it couldn't be easier to make.  The best kind of recipe!  That's it for this week but be sure to come back next week when we will be talking something dragon related.  Maybe a convention of dragons related?