Skate with Tomato, Saffron, Garlic and Sultanas

This recipe was taken from Rick Stein's 'Mediterranean Escapes'.

BURRIDA ALLA CABRARESE: Skate with with Tomato, Saffron, Garlic and Sultanas

2 x 225g skinned and trimmed skate wings

For the tomato, saffron and sultana sauce:

100ml olive oil
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400g can plum tomatoes - or use fresh ones, peeled
30g sultanas
A pinch of saffron strands
A pinch of crushed dried chillies
2 fresh bay leaves
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp small capers, drained and rinsed, to serve
Salt and pepper

For the sauce: 

Put the olive oil and garlic into a medium-sized pan.  Place over a medium heat and as soon as the garlic begins to sizzle, add the tomatoes, sultanas, saffron, dried chillies, bay leaves, sugar and 1/2 tsp salt.  Bring up to a gentle simmer and leave to cook for 30 minutes, stirring every now and then, and breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.  Remove the bay leaves, season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Bring 1.5 litres water to the boil in a large shallow pan.  Add 1 tablespoon salt and the skate wings and leave them to simmer gently for 10 minutes until cooked.

Lift the skate wings out of the water onto a board and cut each one into 2 or 3 pieces.  Spoon slightly more than half the tomato sauce onto the base of a warmed oval serving dish and place the pieces of skate on top.  Spoon the rest of the sauce down the centre of the skate, scatter with the capers and serve.



I served this with roasted garlic potatoes.