Alfonso cooks a dish much like this one, invented epochs ago by the Cilentini during the vendemmia—the harvest of the wine grapes. He tells the story of the fishermen who were also winemakers, who, after depositing the daily winemaking debris into the sea, set out their shore lines, much as they did every other evening. Serendipitously, they lured an abundance of fat, pewtery sea bass—branzino—the fish bewitched by the fermenting perfumes of the grape skins and seeds. The Cilentini then roasted the fish who’d fed on the grape must over cuttings from the vines. The flesh of the fish was scented, through and through, with essences of grape. Legend has it that the dish made voluptuaries of all who ate it. Stuffing the fish with cooked grapes likely gives it an even more luxurious savor than that taken on by his must-eating ancestors.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Stem half the grapes, never minding their seeds, and place them in a heavy saucepan, smashing at them with a wooden spoon, crushing them. Add the bay leaf, the raisins, and the wine and, over a medium flame, bring the mixture to a simmer. Lower the flame and cook until the wine has evaporated and the fruit has collapsed into a thick jam. Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar. (Some might think to pass the jam through a fine sieve to relieve it of its debris of skins and seeds, clashing up against, though, the rusticity, the honesty of the dish.)
Step 2
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Step 3
Sprinkle the sea salt inside the fish and then stuff its belly with the jam. With a wooden mallet or some such instrument, crush the remaining grapes that are still on their stems and place them in a shallow terra-cotta or enameled cast-iron casserole just large enough to cradle the fish. Place the fish on top of the grapes and douse it with the red wine mixed with the olive oil.
Step 4
Roast the fish for 30 minutes, basting at least three times with the pan juices. As soon as the flesh is firm, the fish is cooked.
Step 5
Carry the fish to table in the roasting pan, serving it with spoonfuls of the juices and perhaps a rough puree of roasted fennel and a Taurasi from Mastroberardino.
