Stanley Tucci Recalls Dinner with Harry Styles When He Made This Cod Recipe and They Talked ‘About Books and Love’

Whether he’s cooking for his family or famous friends, Stanley Tucci regularly turns to this cod recipe.

The Academy Award-nominee features cod alla Livornese, a fish dish cooked in tomatoes, olives and capers, in his new book What I Ate in One Year. (He also shares it with PEOPLE below.) In the memoir, he wrote about eating it on a few occasions, including serving it to Harry Styles on a September night.

Tucci remembers the British singer biking to dinner at Tucci’s London home with his wife Felicity Blunt. “We had not seen him for a long time,” wrote Tucci. It was “just the three of us.”

Styles had finished his sold-out tour and was “taking a much-deserved break,” wrote Tucci.

To accommodate for the Grammy Award winner’s pescatarian diet, Tucci made leek and zucchini risotto, carrot salad and the “easy-to-make” tomatoey fish dish.

Tucci recalled that the group “drank tequila and wine and Harry brought one of the best single-malt scotches I’ve ever tasted.” The conversation varied, according to the father of five. “We talked a lot about books and love. Harry is a voracious reader,” wrote Tucci. “He’s a thoughtful and kind fellow.”

Tucci’s cod dish has been years in the making.

“I ate cod alla Livornese for the first time at a tiny restaurant in Little Italy in New York about 40 years ago, and it was perfect. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to match that,” The Devil Wears Prada actor tells PEOPLE.

“It’s delicate, covers a lot of bases flavor-wise, very healthy and easy to make,” he adds. But, if you are looking for shortcuts to make it even easier, he suggests looking in the freezer and cupboard.

“Fresh is always better, but you can absolutely use defrosted frozen fish,” says Tucci. “You can also use canned whole tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes.”

Stanley Tucci’s Cod with Tomatoes, Olives & Capers 

4 (6-oz.) skinless cod fillets 

1 tsp. kosher salt, divided

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 small yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, halved

18 small cherry tomatoes or pomodorini, chopped

6 fresh basil leaves, torn

1½ cups dry white wine

12 black or green olives (or a mix of both)

1½ Tbsp. capers, rinsed

1.  Lightly season cod with ½ teaspoon of the salt; set aside.

2.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil and remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until tomatoes break down and a thick sauce has formed, 4 to 5 minutes.

3.  Increase heat to medium high; add wine, and return to a vigorous simmer. Simmer, stirring constantly, to burn off some of the alcohol, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium; add olives and capers. Add cod to skillet’s center, spooning the tomato mixture over fillets. Cover and cook until fish is opaque and warm in the middle, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Spoon sauce over cod. Drizzle with olive oil; serve immediately.

Serves:  4
Active time:  25 minutes
Total time:  35 minutes