The recipe for boreto alla gradese, poor fish stew with white vinegar and black pepper

1. Clean the fish by removing the entrails, gills and, where necessary, the scales; leave the fish whole if small, cut into steaks only if larger. Rinse under cold running water and dry well.
2. Lightly brown the garlic cloves, slightly crushed, in extra virgin olive oil in a wide, low pan, preferably terracotta or cast iron, over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, without allowing them to color excessively.
3. Place the fish in a single layer in the pan, pour in the white wine vinegar and water, season with restraint and sprinkle with coarsely ground black pepper.
4. Cook over medium-low heat with the lid on for 20-25 minutes, without stirring but shaking the pan occasionally with circular movements to prevent the fish from sticking and breaking apart.
5. In the last 5 minutes remove the lid to allow the cooking liquid to reduce slightly, which should be scanty but present, thick and fragrant.
6. Meanwhile prepare the polenta bianca by bringing salted water to a boil and cooking the cornmeal for 30-35 minutes, stirring continuously until a creamy consistency is obtained.
7. Serve the boreto directly in the cooking pan, accompanied with polenta bianca or toasted homemade bread.

Boreto alla gradese is a fish stew that carries with it the scent of the Grado lagoon, the island-city on the northern edge of the Adriatic, where fishing with trawl nets and lift nets has always yielded small and varied catches. The dish springs from that essential logic of poor seafaring cuisine: nothing is discarded, everything is cooked together, quickly, with the few ingredients that a fisherman's pantry can offer. White vinegar and black pepper are its recognizable marks, almost a signature, capable of cutting through the iodized flavor of fish while at the same time preserving a certain gustatory roughness that more refined preparations tend to smooth away.

Boreto arrives at the table still steaming, directly from the pan or terracotta cooking vessel, accompanied by white or yellow polenta or slices of toasted homemade bread. It is not a dish for display: it belongs to the daily life of the port, to meals consumed after outings at sea, when unsold fish or fish too small in size became dinner. Its flavor profile is decisive, slightly tangy, aromatic with pepper, with the natural sweetness of lagoon fish providing a counterpoint. It should be eaten with your hands and without ceremony.

Boreto is a dish deeply rooted in the territory of Grado, but along the Friuli coast and in the lagoon areas there are variations that modify some details without overturning its structure.

• Boreto with sole plaice: in the most ancient tradition of Grado the preferred fish is the sea plaice, cooked whole with bones; the version with plaice alone is considered by many residents of Grado to be the most authentic.
• Boreto with vinegar and white wine: some families replace part of the vinegar with dry white wine, obtaining a cooking base that is less acidic and slightly sweeter.
• Boreto of Trieste: in the Trieste variant the fish is sometimes deglazed with red vinegar and a small amount of finely sliced onion is added to the soffritto, making the dish slightly more well-rounded.
• Boreto with polenta gialla: while not being the traditional version of Grado, in some areas of inland Friuli it is served with polenta made from coarse yellow corn.

The acidulous and peppery profile of boreto alla gradese requires wines with sufficient acidity and sharp aromatic character.

• Friulano (Collio or Friuli Isonzo DOC): the bitter almond notes and salinity of Friulano dialogue with the vinegar and pepper without overpowering the taste of the lagoon fish.
• Malvasia istriana: the subtle aromaticity and crisp acidity of this indigenous varietal from Carso and Istria pair well with the iodized flavors of the lagoon.
• Vitovska (Carso DOC): an austere and mineral white wine, it handles the acidic thrust of the dish well and emphasizes the saline component of the fish.
• Salted Gose-style craft beer: for those who prefer beer, an acidic-salty style with notes of coriander balances the acidity without weighing down the bite.

• Store leftover boreto in an airtight container in the refrigerator at a temperature of 2-4 degrees, for a maximum of 24 hours.
• Do not freeze: lagoon fish with delicate flesh lose consistency and completely fall apart after the freezing and thawing cycle.
• To reheat, warm over very low heat in a covered pan adding a tablespoon of water; do not use the microwave, which cooks unevenly and hardens the flesh.
• The accompanying polenta is stored separately and reheated in a bagnomaria or in a non-stick pan with a drizzle of oil.

In Grado, fish was cooked in a pan long before a market existed to sell it. The island, separated from the mainland by a shallow lagoon teeming with life, lived for centuries on direct fishing: flat-bottomed boats, tight nets, an abundant catch but of small size that hardly found buyers outside local boundaries. Boreto is born from this context, as a practical response to the abundance of small fish and the necessity of preserving or cooking it immediately with what was available.

The use of white vinegar, which in this preparation is not a secondary flavoring but a structural ingredient, recalls ancient practices of fish preservation in the Venetian Adriatic, documented at least since the sixteenth century. Grado was long under the Republic of Venice and then under Habsburg rule, and its cuisine bears traces of both influences: the simplicity of the Venetian lagoon blends with the Central European preference for sweet-and-sour and peppery flavors. The name itself, in the local dialect form, refers to the action of cooking in acidic broth, a gesture that in Grado has never ceased to be performed.