Imagine strolling through one of Le Marche’s many coastal towns at dusk. Imagine a fishermen’s district or the alleyways near an old harbour. It could be Imagine being more than peckish and then imagine smelling the most inviting food you have ever smelt coming from someone’s garden, balcony or terrace. It’s the kind of smell that shakes the earth, awakens the dead and tempts the vegans. Aromas like these talk straight to the brain and make your mouth water uncontrollably. The name of this tempting fish roast is Rustita and its distinctive aroma will blow your mind before you even taste it. All coastal marchigiani have a family recipe and the smell is really dear to all of us: it brings back memories, reminds us of home, of the Italian summer and good times with friends and family.
A good thing about the Rustita aside from its amazing scent is that you don’t have to sell your soul to the devil to be able to cook it: all you need is a barbecue, bread crumbs, olive oil, salt and pepper and a variety of Adriatic fresh fish, possibly from one of the many markets. Then you might want to flush it all down with some chilled Verdicchio or Bianchello, in the company of a loud group of friends, possibly Italians.
Some time ago Isabel and I hooked up at designer Paola Brunello’s studio with our chef friend Carolina Maggioli and our photographer friend Vanessa Illi. So while Carolina cooked, Vanessa took amazing shots and … well, Isabel and yours truly made notes and of course ate lots of freshly made food. The result was lots of loud fun, a full belly and mouth watering food photography. DO try this at home!
IINGREDIENTS
A variety of fresh Adriatic fish suitable for grilling, cleaned
Bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
Olive oil to taste
Lemons to serve
1 . Prepare the aromatic bread crumbs by adding to the crumbs salt and pepper to taste. Some like to add a finely chopped clove of garlic and parsley to give the mix extra flavour, but Carolina likes to keep things simple.
2 . Preheat your grill.
3 . Add salt and pepper to the clean fish. Add olive oil and then rub it in the aromatic bread crumbs. They will stick to the wet fish. If you decide to remove the fish bones, then put some bread crumbs inside the actual fish.
4 . Cook in the grill until golden. Adriatic fish is quite small so will not take too long to cook.
5 . Serve with a fresh salad and ample drizzles of lemon.
Carolina Maggioli is the owner and chef at seasonal restaurant Goodies Sassonia, Fano where, by the way, you can eat very good Rustita!
Vanessa Illi is an independent lifestyle photographer based in Le Marche
