Bourdeto — Corfu-Style Spicy Tomato-Baked Fish

Scrape the dark membrane from the fish’s belly cavity with the tip of a spoon. Rinse inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into thick, 3 cm slices, rub with half the salt, and refrigerate. Watch out for the scorpionfish’s dorsal spines; cut them off with scissors.

Slice the onions thinly from root to tip. Heat the olive oil in a wide pot, add the onions, and cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally. The goal is to soften, not brown them: they should turn translucent, shrink to half their volume, and take on no color. This 15-minute step builds the sauce’s sweetness.

Take the pot off the heat. Stir the chopped garlic, sweet paprika, and hot paprika into the oil. The oil will immediately take on their color and turn deep red. Wait 30 seconds before returning the pot to the heat.

Return the pot to the heat. Add the tomatoes, water, and remaining salt and cook over medium-low heat. The sauce should thicken, with oil separating at the edges and rising to the surface, and turn brick red. If it stays watery, it will not thicken again once the fish cooks.

Lower the heat and arrange the fish slices in a single layer in the sauce, without overlapping. Spoon sauce over the top. Cover and cook without stirring; gently shake the pot instead. Remove from the heat when the flesh begins to flake away from the bones.

Squeeze half the lemon directly into the pot and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Cover and let the stew rest for 5 minutes before serving. Bourdeto is served warm; straight off the heat, the chili can taste too sharp. Serve with the remaining lemon wedges.