Fried dolphin fish in piquant sauce (Lampuki biz-zalza pikkanti)

The lampuka is not some grand sophisticated fish like say, gurbell (brown meagre). It is a simple, no frills attached, you-get-what-you-see kind of fish. You could say it’s the Daniel Day Lewis of Mediterranean fish. And so it is with the humble lampuka: when gracing our taste buds, it gives the most authentic of tastes – that of delicious, lip-smacking, salty sea. And put simply, in these dire economic times, lampuka is perfect because it’s cheap.

In a new series of features on timesofmalta.com Mark Triganza, one of Malta’s leading chefs, and Denise Mintoff take us on a step by step guide of a typical Maltese lampuki dish: fried and served with piquant sauce. The series aims to reveal a real taste of home. True, Maltese cuisine may not exactly be found on the gastronomic map of the world, but with a bit of stirring and probing it’s very easy to uncover the hidden identity of dishes known only to locals.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 Lampuki

• Sunflower oil

• Olive oil

• Salt and pepper Piquant sauce:

• 3 onions, chopped

• 3 green peppers chopped

• 100 g capers

• 100g black olives (stones removed)

• 5 garlic cloves chopped

• 300g tomato puree

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 2 table spoons wine vinegar

• Handful of fresh mint and basil chopped and parsley

Method Piquant Sauce:

Cook the onion in hot olive oil until it browns. Add the garlic, then the green peppers and the parsley. Add the tomato puree and the wine vinegar. Simmer gently until thickened. Add the capers and the olives. Mix well and simmer uncovered for some 15 minutes. Add the mint and basil. Can be served hot or cold.

Lampuki: Cut the cleaned fish into four steaks. Heat the sunflower oil gently. Dip the pieces of fish in flour and fry them in hot oil. Every now and then test that the fish is cooked through by piercing with a knife to the backbone and check that there are no traces of blood. Allow to cool slightly. Serve with the piquant sauce.

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