Eating Fish in Terracina

From where we live The Mediterranean is about 30 minutes drive away.  So when Enzo fancied a fish dinner, his first thought was a trip to Terracina and he knew exactly where he wanted to go. 

Centro Ittico dei Pescatori is one of many restaurants along this strip of The Mediterranean which pride themselves on their fresh fish.  The fish which comes in directly from a collection of small fishing boats, is arranged for sale either raw or cooked.   What intrigued me were the drying anchovies on the table outside.  Sprinkled in hot chilli flakes, they would later make their way into a bath of olive oil

Many of the restaurants have evolved to serve both requirements.   If you are looking for a cooked meal, it would not be difficult to eat every day throughout the year and never eat the same dish twice.

Since writing up a menu every day would be a task in itself, you are invited to choose from their counter display and if that proves difficult, they will willingly put a bit of everything on a plate:

Baked Langoustine with fresh parley and cherry tomatoes	Bruschetta with herb cream, cherry tomatoes, shrimp and black olives	Lightly fried fish in orange butter with basil

Enzo chose the plaice in orange butter and since he hardly spoke throughout his eating experience, give or take the odd involuntary ooooing and aaahhhing, we can only assume he enjoyed it.  Along with a serving of lightly roasted potatoes with rosemary and broccoli rabe.

Although the salmon pasta looked tempting, my eye was drawn to all the colourful salads and vegetables.  I had a selection of brined seafood salads, roasted peppers with onions (and the onions really did lift the whole dish to another level) and the bruschetta dotted with shrimp, cherry tomato and olives.  I did expect the bruschetta to taste rather differently than it did.  It was a little bland for me, and the herb cream had little to no flavour. 

I decided that when I recreate the bruschetta, here is how I would do it.  The cream base would be Philly Cream Cheese, a little mayonnaise, garlic, with lots of fresh parsley and chives.  Whip it all together to a cream, spread it liberally over some slices of fresh bread (exactly as in the photo) and dot with shrimp, olives and tomatoes as above.  A perfect buffet dish too I think.

So you see, there is something for every taste and dietary propensity.  What makes Centro Ittico dei Pescatori one of the most popular places to eat and buy fresh fish, is its view of The Mediterranean from upstairs.  But even if you don't get a chance to visit, we hope that these dishes inspire you to create truely Italian dishes that are simply simple.

Over looking The Mediterranean