Linguine with Lemon, nocerino onion and smoked mullet

280 g Linguine 28 Pastai
8 Nocerino Onions DOP
1 lemon
2 Mullet (small size weighing 300/400 gr)
Extra virgin olive oil
50 gr butter
2 Sprigs of parsley
1 clove of garlic
Salt and pepper
Dill for decoration
For smoking: wood shavings to taste.

As a first step, fillet the mullet, previously peeled and gutted. The mullet must be fresh, as you will need white, firm flesh. The bone should be soaked in water to remove any impurities. In a high-sided saucepan, heat the 50 g butter with a little extra virgin olive oil, the clove of garlic cut in half and the parsley stalks. Toast the mullet bones well and moisten with very very cold water. Add very little salt and cook your mullet stew for at least 2 hours until two thirds of the liquid has been reduced. At this point you can strain everything through a fine-meshed chinoix (steel colander).

Remove the bones from the mullet fillets, add a little salt, in a steamer pan (if you don’t have a steamer you could also use the oven) light some of the wood shavings previously soaked in warm water. Place the mullet fillets on some baking paper to start the smoking process. In fact, at this stage the small mullet fillets will acquire an intense aroma and also a very slight cooking due to the heat from the burning of the shavings.

Now move on to portioning the fish fillets by removing the two ends and the part of the bacon that you will cut into small pieces to use in the sauce. From each fillet, retrieve three small slices of the smoked mullet and season with a little salt, pepper and a delicate drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Cover with foil.

In a saucepan of boiling salted water, drop the Linguine 28 Pastai, while in a frying pan heat the extra virgin olive oil and fry the thinly sliced spring onions for a few moments. Season the spring onions lightly with salt and add a ladleful of mullet stew and the small parts of the fillet paring itself. Drain the Linguine 28 Pastai well and stir into the pan.

Away from the heat, add pepper and a generous grating of lemon to add extra freshness to the dish. With the help of a ladle and a fork, arrange the Linguine 28 Pastai on a flat plate and finish by placing the three small slices of smoked mullet and a few small dill tops.