Pesce alla Griglia, or Grilled Fish with Lemon and Herbs

Right now, there is such an abundance of fresh herbs in my garden that I am challenged every day to come up with new ways of using them. Rosamarino, oregano and basilico make up the bulk of the fragrant green herbs, and lately I've taken to marinating fish in these herbs, along with lemon and garlic, and then simply placing the fish on the grill for a healthy and light dinner that is delicious. Tomato salad, a little crusty bread, and the perfect late summer dinner is ready.

I have used mahi mahi, swordfish and salmon for this recipe, and they have all worked well. The trick is to use fish with firm flesh to stand up to the marinating and grilling. I think chicken breasts or turkey cutlets would also be good for this method. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we have. Buon appetito!

Pesce alla Griglia

The amounts below are for two people, but you can adjust accordingly. You will need a little more of each ingredient for each additional fish filet.

• 2 six ounce portions of filet of salmon, mahi mahi or swordfish
  
  
• 1 lemon, juiced and seeded
  
  
• Fresh Basil, a generous handful
  
  
• Fresh Rosemary, a generous handful
  
  
• Fresh Oregano, 3 or 4 stalks, stripped of their leaves
  
  
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  
  
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  
  
• Olive oil for the grill

Begin by placing the fish in a shallow dish, and pour the lemon juice over it. Sprinkle liberally with the chopped garlic and the herbs, which have been chopped together. Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour, but not more than 3 hours, or the fish will begin to break down.

Light the grill and get the rungs hot. I often use a non-stick grill pan with holes in it. You could also use an indoor grilling pan. Brush the cooking surface lightly with olive oil, and then lower the heat to medium. Cook the fish, depending on thickness, for about 5 minutes on each side. Sprinkle on a little more olive oil before turning, in order to prevent sticking. Sprinkle with salt and pepper near the end of the grilling time.

The fish is done when the flesh flakes from the pressure of a fork. For a thick fish portion of about 1 inch thickness, 10 to 12 minutes of total cooking time should be enough. I don't like underdone fish, so I always use the fork test to make sure it is cooked through.

The walk below is inspired by one we took late last February. I have added a good deal of information to the notes I had taken as we strolled, shopped and had lunch. If this doesn't read quite like a diary to you, please keep that in mind.

Begin your walk, as we did, along the entrance side of the church of Santa Croce, by walking up the via d. Pinzochiere, crossing the via Ghibellina, and proceeding to the Casa Buonarroti on the corner of these two streets.

Casa Buonarroti

By the time you have reached the Casa Buonarroti, you will have noticed a distinct change in the neighborhood. The shops, stores, cafes and eateries in this neighborhood cater to quite a different crowd than do those in the Centro. Here, you will find many students and young people, as well as everyday working citizens of Firenze. You may not see the most elegant matrons strolling these blocks, but you will see the students and working folks who make this one of the liveliest, most evocative quarters of Firenze.

The Casa Buonarroti is a bit misleading as a name, for Michelangelo owned this house, but never really lived in it. But if you would like to know more of this great man, this is a worthwhile stop. There are two unfinished sculptures by Michelangelo inside, and several reproductions of paintings of scenes from his life, as well as a collection of memorabilia. The house is open to visitors every day but Tuesday, from 9:30 to 2. There is an admission charge.

Upon leaving the Casa Buonarrati, take via Buonarrati to the Piazza dei Ciompi, which will spread out to your right.

Piazza Ciompi and the Mercato delle Pulci

26 Febraio was a crisp sunny day here in Firenze, and the walk from Santa Croce to the market at San Ambrogio was a delight. On the way, we stopped at the intriguing little Mercato delle Pulci, which is a sort of permanent indoor/outdoor flea market. with lots of small antiques, in the Piazza Ciompi. There are always a few shoppers about, especially on Saturday mornings and at the height of tourist season, but on this day, shoppers were in short supply. Merchandise, however, was spilling from every open stall. Old clocks and toys, small and ancient appliances, silver pieces and loads of mismatched flatware of every sort, books, bowls and a mind boggling array of the discarded, some worth seeing and some not, were all on display. We dove right in.

This market is comprised of two long rows of glass and wooden walled tiny showrooms on either side of the rectangular piazza, and most of them are open everyday but Sunday, and Mondays in the winter. Much of the outside is painted green, and all the green wooden walls and doors of the closed stalls left us anxious for a return on a summer or spring day when more of them would be open. I am always on the lookout for old religious statues and pictures, and was saddened to find only rather common items here, but if I collected toys, signs, or old hardware, I would have had a great day.

Shopping in the Mercato delle Pulci is quite casual: you are unlikely to be hounded by stall keepers looking to strike a bargain, and if you don't enjoy rummaging through a plethora of goods to find that special piece, this may not be for you. But, while the contents of several of the cranny-like shops may seem a bit low market, if you like flea and antiques markets as we do, I urge you to pay a visit. On this day, we were in a hurry to get to San Ambrogio for lunch, but had we more time, which I will plan into our next visit to Piazza Ciompi, we surely would have found a treasure that suited us. If you take this walk, don't forego a stop at the Piazza Ciompi. A visit to the Mercato delle Pulci will place you among visitors to Florence who have truly strayed from the beaten path.

To get to San Ambrogio from Piazza Ciompi, walk from left to right, or west to east, through the stall until you reach Borgo Allegri. Turn right and back-track down this street to via Ghibellina. Make a left turn of via de Macci, and soon you will hear, see and smell the sounds of the Mercato San Ambrogio at Piazza Ghiberti.

Mercato San Ambrogio

While most food-loving visitors to Florence make a point to see the Mercato Centrale, I would also advise anyone with a love for markets and fresh foods to take a walk similar to ours, up to the San Ambrogio market. The mercato was originally constructed, around the time of Unification, to be Firenze's main produce market. The wholesalers have since moved to the suburbs, but San Ambrogio still presents a lively market scene. Perhaps it is even Firenze's liveliest market, for it is considered foremost for fruits and vegetables.

There are plenty of outdoor stalls surrounding the Mercato San Ambrogio, but they are all quite a bit different from the San Lorenzo outdoor market visitors usually pass through to get to the Mercato Centrale. Here at San Ambrogio, while most outdoor stalls sell fruits and vegetables, you can also see everyday clothing, meats, cheeses, breads, other foodstuffs, and flowers. It is an everyday market for everyday shoppers, and you won't see many tourists. A good rule to remember is not to touch the produce and simply point and ask for what you want. The fruits and vegetables here are generally of high quality and a morning visit is a great way to stock up for a dinner at home, or to buy, as we did, fresh fruit to round out our diet of restaurant meals. The indoor market stalls sell more meats and fish, some baked goods, canned and bottled items, and pasta.

After all the shopping sharpens one's appetite, head to the little indoor corner Tavola Calda da Rocco inside the Mercato San Ambrogio. This is another strange little structure (think of the flea market at Piazza Ciompi) that rewards those with patience and courage enough to vie for a table. Plopped like a miniature building with glass walls into the corner of the indoor market, da Rocco can seem intimidating to the first time visitor. There isn't a door! Where is the queue? Right where you are!

Since da Rocco is nearly always full, those wishing to eat here line up on either side of the glass walls, confident that the experienced staff will notice and seat them in good order. Follow the lead of others is my best advice, and before you know it, you will be ushered through a sliding opening in the glass walls and seated, perhaps with other diners at your booth, but with a welcome and welcoming aromas that will make you glad you waited to come in.

And you will be even more happy, I promise, after tasting the food and getting the conto. Our meal for two, which consisted of two portions of Pasta Carreteria (rigatoni is a spicy tomato sauce), one order of Polpettine Frite (two huge fried meatballs) and an order of tender and tomatoey Patate Contadino, came to 15.50 Euros. This was a fun and satisfying lunch and an especially good way to refuel and warm ourselves.

The Mercato San Ambrogio is open from 7am until 2pm, but many outdoor stalls begin to close a bit earlier in the afternoon. Trattoria da Rocca keeps the same hours.

If you aren't too tired to go on, I urge you to continue your walk down Borgo la Croce another long block to Piazza Cesare Beccaria.

Dolci e Dolcezze

The large oval of the Piazza Beccaria almost makes one forget what an ancient city is Florence. Here, newer buildings, although I use the word newer rather loosely, for most are from the 19th century, house street floor shops and offices, and the large facades of the stories that rise above them hint of prosperous businesses and elegant apartments.

On this day, just past two in the afternoon, traffic around the piazza was light, and the few people on the wide sidewalks were walking purposefully about their business. The neighborhood had changed again, from that student quarter before San Ambrogio, to a business-like and obviously prosperous area. Circling the piazza, we finally came to our destinations: that bijou treasure of a pasticceria, Dolci and Dolcezze.

The chocolate tarts were calling to me, and I would have loved a piece, taken at the tiny bar with an espresso. Alas, after my lunch at da Rocco, I couldn't possibly have eaten another thing. But I couldn't leave! We stood at the bar and drank hot chocolate, the wonderful cioccolatto calda that is more like molten bittersweet pudding than anything else, and purchased jewel-like fruit tartlets to carry home. Our walk was nearly over; we left Piazza Beccaria at the viale della Giovine Italia and headed toward the Arno and home to Santa Croce. It was a most rewarding morning and afternoon.