Italian Acqua Pazza

In a wide, lidded skillet or shallow casserole, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the bruised garlic and peperoncino and cook gently for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the cherry tomatoes cut-side down and cook for 3 minutes until they begin to blister and collapse. Add the white wine and let it bubble for 1 minute. Add the water or fish stock and the capers. Season with salt. Bring to a vigorous simmer.

Score the fish 3 times on each side. Season inside and out. Lower the fish into the simmering broth. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for 8–10 minutes per 500g of fish. Spoon the broth over the fish every 3 minutes. The fish is cooked when the score cuts have opened and the eye of the fish has turned white and opaque — this is the Neapolitan fisherman's traditional indicator of doneness.

Scatter torn fresh parsley leaves over the fish and drizzle a final thread of raw olive oil over the broth. Serve directly from the pan at the table. Provide good crusty bread for the broth — the acqua pazza (crazy water) is the real treasure: a light, herb-bright, tomato-scented essence that should be drunk from the bowl at the end.