ITALIAN RECIPES TRADITIONAL AND CREATIVE 

The description and the Italian recipes of the sea fish 

The Atlantic Bonito (palamita or tonnetto), what is and how to cleanse: photographed description and Italian names 

Atlantic Bonito belongs to a group which have the dorsal fins  very near, or separated by a narrow interspace . It has the body completely scaled with those scales  in the pectoral fins area and the lateral line usually larger in size. Bonitos   (fishes in the genus Sarda ) differ from tuna by their compressed bodies, by having no teeth on the roof of the mouth, and by certain colouring differences. Atlantic Bonito are identified by their colour, the conspicuously wavy lateral line, 16 to 22 gill rakers  on the first arch, and the three lateral keels on the caudal peduncle. The species has a steel-blue back and upper sides punctuated by 5 to 11 dark, slightly oblique stripes that run forward and downward. The lower sides are silver. The skipjack tuna, Euthynnus pelamis, is also striped, but the markings are along the lower sides and belly. A bonito's maximum size is about 36 inches(0,90 mt) in length and a weight of about 27 pounds (12 kg). While buying note that the skin must be elastic and the smell agreeable, above all the blood shall be very red, specially on the gills.

For cleansing cut the belly and eviscerate it, than rinse under running water.

If you like you can keep the liver apart and than insert it into the body again after rinsing and drying.

Its meats are thick and tasty, slightly pink. The best ways for cooking are:  stew, baked, and also sliced  or in salad. The grill is inadvisable because makes the meat too fibrous .

The Italian Atlantic Bonito step-by-step photographed  recipes proposed by Italian Homemade Cooking

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