Neapolitan Breadcrumbs for fish, veggies , pasta meat etc…

 

These breadcrumbs will keep in the fridge all week ready to top fish, stuff vegetables, top simple pasta dishes or coat meat for frying! They taste and smell like the Mediterranean Sea with the essence of lemon anchovies! 

Ingredients 

1 lemon zested and juice of

2-3 cups plain bread crumbs 

Olive oil to entirely coat bottom of sauté pan

3 anchovies filets 

2 garlic cloves minced 

Handful Italian  parsley chopped fine ( about 1/8-1/4 cup after chopped)

Salt and black pepper 

Directions 

Heat oil over medium heat and add anchovies and melt into oil, add garlic and soften, add the rest of ingredients and stir until toasted and the smell fills your kitchen! It should not be too wet or too dry and Keep stirring constantly. 

Turn off heat and leave to cool and dry out. 

Store in container in fridge for a week or a little longer.

Uses: stuff mushrooms and add parmigiana and bake/ topping for pasta that’s coated in olive oil and garlic (aglia olio)/ use instead of bread crumbs for coating chicken or fish or eggplant or zucchini before sautéing or frying/ 

Paella For Two

This is my Paella recipe  for 2 using a 10-12 inch pan since its just my hubby and me now : ) The original Paella Recipe is HERE And the chart for making this in a larger pan is below.

Ingredients (My recipe has been adapted from the  La Paella pan booklet)
(1012  inch pan which serves 2-4 see modification chart for different sized paella pans below) my hubby loves it)
pinch saffron threads
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup white wine
sea salt to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 of a medium Spanish Corizo Sausage (not mexican as its a completely different product)  peeled and cut up
3 garlic cloves minced
1/2 onion chopped fine
1 small tomato(Roma size) peeled and grated on large grate
1/2 red bell pepper diced small
3/4 cup Bomba Rice or medium grain rice (OR, My Dad always used Uncle Ben's Converted rice)
1 lemon cut into wedges

Directions 
Note: The paella pan must be turned through out the cooking in a circular motion for even heating.

Boil the water with salt and saffron covered for about 10 minutes, taste for salt, turn off heat and set
aside.
 Heat oil in paella pan on medium high and saute the shrimp and chorizo until the shrimp is just starting to turn pink, remove from pan set aside on plate.
Turn heat down to medium and in the oil saute the sofrito:onion, pepper, garlic, and tomato until dark burgundy adding a little water here and there if starting to burn, about 10-15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste again..

Bring broth back to boil.
Add the rice and saute for 1-2 minutes.
Add the wine and most of the saffron broth at this time (reserve a bit for end if needed) stir or shake to evenly distribute rice turn up heat to a vigorous simmer.
At this point no more stirring of rice but turning of pan is needed.

After rice and liquid are at same level (8-10 minutes) lower heat to medium and arrange the clams and peas on top simmer gently for another 10 minutes or until rice has absorbed all the liquid about 10 more minutes.Turning pan as needed.
If it is not finished (check a rice grain and it should be al dente or chewy with tiny white dot in the center) add more broth and continue cooking a few more minutes.
Arrange the shrimp and chorizo on top and turn up heat to high, turning pan in circles to create  a crust on the bottom (socarrat) but be careful not to burn  this only takes 1-2 minutes!
Squeeze lemon all over and arrange more wedges on top of paella.
Serve right away with bread and a good Spanish Red Wine!

Modification Chart by Size of Paella pan
16 inch pan serves 4-6 multiply recipe by 1 1/4
18 inch pan serves 6-8 multiply by 1 1/2
22 inch pan serves 8-10  multiply by 2
26 inch pan serves 10-12 multiply by 3
32 inch pan serves 12-14 multiply by 5

 (A larger pan will require 2-3 burners)

Linguine & Red Clam Sauce

Linguine & Red Clam Sauce
This is my husband's favorite way to eat clams!
Ingredients
1 or 2 dozen fresh clams
1 large can crushed Italian plum tomatoes (San Marzano or Pomi)
1 cup white wine
olive oil (about 4-5 tablespoons)
1 clove garlic minced
6 fresh leaves basil
1/4 cup fresh parsley
red pepper flakes (to taste)
salt & black pepper
Directions
Mince or crush garlic. Cover the bottom of a large skillet (It needs to be big enoughable to hold the pasta and sauce at the end) with olive oil and cook the garlic on low and slow just until tender but not brown. Add the tomatoes and the herbs to the skillet along with the salt and both peppers. Simmer uncovered while you steam the clams and start the pasta water.
Start a large well salted pot for the pasta.
Steam the clams in a large pot with the wine for 5 minutes or till they all open. Remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon. Place into a bowl. Discard any unopened ones after most have opened. Do not remove the clams from the shells. Retain any juice from the pot: you can strain it through a fine mesh strainer to remove any sand if you are using "wild" clams but if they are "farm raised" clams they are probably okay.
Add the clams, shells and all to the skillet of tomato sauce along with the clam juice/wine mixture produced while steaming.
Simmer, uncovered for 15-20 minutes.
After the pasta is cooked al-dente add it to the skillet with the sauce and mix well. A set of tongs works great for this.
Serving Suggestions: No cheese! The Italians never serve fish with cheese. Lot's of bread to soak up juices and a nice light salad go well with this meal. Wine Paring:Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or Verdicchio.

Frutta Di Mare in a Marinara Sauce (For The Feast Of The Seven Fishes)

Frutta De Mare or Fruit Of The Sea in a marinara sauce is what I ate almost every Christmas Eve as I was growing up and my husband and I have continued this tradition with our own family. The Feast Of The Seven Fishes or festa dei sette pesci is a Neapolitan traditional feast served on Christmas Eve which includes seven different types of seafood cooked and served in every way imaginable. The seven is believed to stand for the seven sacraments of the church. My favorite is this simple marinara sauce in which you simmer the seafood. Add a salad and lots of bread for soaking up the sauce and you have a wonderful holiday meal! If you want to have a more traditional festa dei sette pesci you can also serve some fish sides such as crab legs, baccala, and fish salad! I remember sitting around the table for hours just eating and talking and eating some more. This recipe is for a huge pot that will feed 12 so it is a nice meal to share with another family.
Ingredients
3-4 pounds of atleast 2 different kinds of frozen seafood: mussels, clams, shrimp, calamari, octopus, and lobster tails, are typical (If you live near the coast use fresh seafood/the cooking time is basically the same as frozen seafood) Trader Joes & Publix each sell a frozen seafood mix
Four-28 ounce cans OR one-106 ounce can Italian Tomatoes crushed ( you can buy crushed or you can crush them yourself)
1/4 cup olive oil & 1 tablespoon butter
3-4 garlic cloves minced
1 small onion chopped finely
1 big bunch fresh parsley chopped fine
2/3 cup white wine
1 small bottle clam juice (This is near the canned tuna/anchovy section of your grocery store)
salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds spaghetti 
1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup white wine
Directions
Heat the oil and butter in a very large heavy bottomed pot and saute the onion. Add the garlic and saute over very low heat until soft but not browned. Turn up the heat and add the wine and clam juice . Allow this to cook and reduce some for about 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and return to a low simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste and half of the bunch of parsley reserving the other half for the pasta and cook uncovered until thickened up some, about 20 minutes. After it has thickened up pretty good you can cover it and allow it to cook on very low heat for several hours, this will not have as fresh of a taste but a much richer one, it's your choice. *Start your seafood about 20 minutes before dinner.
*Seafood: At this point start your pasta water. Also, bring a large pot of the water and beer/wine to a boil and add the frozen seafood straight from the freezer. Cover and steam for about 5 minutes or until clams and mussels are open, remove any unopened clams or mussels. Add the seafood and about a 1/4 cup of the the juice to the simmering sauce (a low simmer) and cook uncovered for about 10-15 minutes, which is just enough time to cook the pasta. Do not over cook the seafood in the sauce or else it will be tough. At this point I like to pick out the good clams and mussels and leave behind any unopened ones or cracked ones in which I will remove the mussel or clam meat and discard the cracked shells. It is nice to have some whole and some just meat in the sauce.
You can leave everything in the sauce and serve it just like that or take it all out using a large slotted spoon and serve it in a separate platter, that's the way my family always did it.
Serve the sauce and seafood over thin spaghetti or linguine with the rest of the parsley but no cheese please ; )

Shrimp Scampi

Pasta alla Shrimp Scampi
Pasta alla any seafood is a great way to help a little seafood go a long way. The seafood sauce flavors the pasta so you get the same flavor in the pasta as well as the actual seafood.
The term scampi is actually a type of lobster prepared with white wine and garlic butter but has come to mean any meat prepared in that style. Here is my recipe for shrimp prepared scampi style. This recipe serves 5-6 as most of my recipes on this blog do, we are a family of 5 and my husband always takes left overs for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
1-2 pounds shrimp (I buy fresh or frozen medium deveined shrimp with tails on, 1 pound will go far with about 5 shrimp per person but if I get it on sale I get more)
3/4 pound linguine (I use Barilla)
1 lemon juice & zest
1/2 cup white wine (any type just as long as it is white)
5-6 garlic cloves grated
1/2 cup olive oil
1 small bunch parsley chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt & fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of butter
Directions
In a bowl: whisk together the garlic, zest and juice of lemon, olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper, to taste. Add the shrimp and set aside.
At this point in a large pot of well salted water start the pasta. You will the cook linguine until al dente.
Heat a skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp (reserve the marinade) and cook until they turn pink on both sides, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan to a plate and add the marinade that is left over. Let it cook for a few minutes then add the wine. Continue to cook until sauce reduces by half. Add the butter and stir to combine. Taste and see if you need more salt. Add the shrimp, parsley, and pasta and toss to combine with the sauce.
Serving Suggestions
I serve this with a big salad with a lemon vinaigrette and some bread to soak up the juices.

Fish or Shrimp Fried in Leavened Batter ( Dorati Frutti Di Mare)

This is also known as seafood Alla El Capitan D's  in my house and there is a funny little story behind this name. Years ago when my Zio Alfonzo was visiting us in Charleston from Naples, Italy he told my Dad he was craving some famous Charleston SC seafood so my Dad told him he knew of a very nice little fish shack  near by. When I asked my Zio what was the name of this place my father was taking him to he replied, " A very nice place called......uhm... how do you say.... oh yes, El Capitan D's."
  This recipe is from a cookbook my father gave me  called Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan when I got married and it has been my main source of Italian cookery ever since. It was intended for shrimp but I use it for fish as well. It is a very fluffy and crispy coating similar to the fish shacks you find near the coast of SC or like you get at that very nice fish place Captain D's!
This recipe is for 2 pounds of seafood but you can double (or even triple) it by doubling the ingredients except for the yeast, leave that amount (1 1/2 teaspoons) the same.
Ingredients
2 pounds of shrimp (deveined and peeled with the tails still on) or fish fillets Fresh or Frozen/defrosted
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup warm water
1 cup all purpose flour
Enough vegetable oil to come to about 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the pan, dutch oven, or Fry Daddy.
Lemon Wedges for serving (This is a must in our house and the classic Italian and SC way but you can use malted vinegar)
Directions
Shell, clean, and dry the shrimp or clean, fillet, and pat dry the fish (you can also buy prepared shrimp or fish fresh or frozen and just defrost)
Dissolve the yeast in the water. Break both eggs into a bowl, add 2 teaspoons salt, and beat well with a fork
Add the yeast & water and while beating add the flour through a mesh strainer
Allow this to sit for 20 minutes
Heat up the oil to 375-400 (a thermometer is very helpful because if the oil is not hot enough the seafood will be soggy and greasy) I do mine at 400 although  most recipes call for 375 just try them both out and see what you like.
Dip the seafood into the batter, allowing excess batter to fall off, and slip into the oil, do not crowd the pan (again, this will cause soggy seafood rather than crispy)
As soon as they are golden and have formed a crust on both sides ( you need to turn once) transfer to paper towels or newspaper or paper bags (for draining) and than a rack. Salt on one side while still hot. I place a rack on a sheet pan in the oven on 250/low and this keeps everything warm and crispy!
Continue this process allowing the oil to heat back up in between batches (again, soggy/crispy) until they are done.

At the end remove the chips and salt, these are for the cook!

Serve with lemon or vinegar and a big salad, this makes up for all of the fried food ; )

~My Zio Alfonzo & Dad 2005~

Neapolitan Fish Fry (Fritto Misto)

Neapolitan Fish fry (Fritto Misto)
Neapolitan people love their fried seafood and veggies! Like all other poor areas of the world they have taken what they've got at hand, in this case seafood and vegetables, and turned them in to a feast fit for a king! I do believe that poor people make the best food and this dish proves it!
Ingredients
2 pounds of seafood (squid, shrimp, fish fillets, octopus, etc....)
cut, peeled, deveined, or whatever else needs to be done. Costco has an assortment of seafood fresh and frozen.
2 lemons cut into slices and seeds removed
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
sea salt
canola oil for frying
2 small zucchini cut into 2 inch by 1/4 inch sticks
More lemon wedges to serve the food with
Directions
Set your oven temp to 200
Place oil in a fry daddy or cast iron dutch oven and heat up to 375 (It needs to stay at this temp so you need a fry daddy or a deep fry thermometer)
Have a pan lined with paper towels set up next to the fry daddy
Dry off and salt your seafood liberally and set aside.
Add the seafood and veggies and lemon wedges to the flour and toss shaking off any excess
Drop these in a few at a time (do not over crowd) and fry for about 3 minutes turning a few times
Remove with a slotted spoon and place on the pan with the paper towels
Salt the food and then place the pan in the middle of the oven to stay warm while you fry the rest
Always allow the heat to get back up in between each batch or else you will have greasy fried foods, not light and crispy.

Serve with lot's of lemon wedges and white wine!

Linguine and White Clam Sauce

This is one of my favorite meals from my childhood and it is so quick and easy! Because I grew up in Charleston, SC we had plenty of fresh clams, and we all know that warm weather seafood is the best : ) It was always one of those very impromptu meals, my Dad found some fresh clams in the store or after a good day of digging for clams, my little sister and I loved digging for clams and oysters on the Ashley river with our Dad. But now that we live near the Mountains of SC we don’t have as much opportunity to buy fresh. So I have 3 different ways to prepare it, depending on the ingredients I have. All 3 recipes are below but of course fresh is always better!

Recipe #1 Fresh Clam sauce
1 pound box linguine (I like Barilla but any Imported Italian pasta)
2 pounds little neck clams scrubbed – purchase them and keep in your fridge at the most for one day with the bag open so they can breath (here in Greenville purchase at: Publix, Costco, or Whole Foods)
1/2 cup white wine (dry)
1/4 cup clam juice
 Juice of 1 lemon
4 cloves of garlic minced or grated
Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper and red pepper flakes
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
A lot of fresh parsley leaves chopped (Wal-Mart carries it for under $1.00 a bunch! When you get it: rinse it, dry well, and place in a large cup of water {like a vase of flowers}, store in the fridge for 1 week changing the water as needed)
 lemon wedges and red pepper for the table
Directions
Start pasta: Bring a large pot ¾’s full of water to a boil with a good handful of salt-
Meanwhile put the clams in a bowl with 1 gallon of water and 1/3 cup salt, allow to soak for 20 minutes and then rinse well. Discard any dead ones (they won’t close when tapped).


Meanwhile in a frying pan heat the oil and butter add the garlic, over low heat, and cook until lightly golden . Add clam juice, lemon zest and juice, and simmer until slightly reduced. Add salt, red pepper, and black pepper to taste.
Place the clams in a large pot, pour in wine, place over medium high heat, and cook, stirring the clams occasionally, until they start to open and as they do set aside. Finally discard any that refuse to open up. Drain pasta and add to the frying pan with the sauce and cook for a minute or two while stirring and tossing. Add the parsley and toss. Now add the clams on top, a drizzle of olive oil!
Recipe #2 Canned & Fresh Clam Sauce
This recipe is good if you can only get your hands on a small batch of clams. It is the same as recipe #1 except for the following: You only need about a pound or less of fresh clams and 2 small or 1 large cans of clams. The only difference in the preparation is that you also add the  the canned clams along with fresh ones to the frying pan at the very end.

Recipe # 3 Canned Clam Sauce
This recipe is for canned clams and here are the differences from recipes #1: You need 4 small cans of clams- or 2 large  (Wal-Mart has canned clams near the tuna), and 4 fillets of anchovies canned.
You do the same as recipe #1 except for the following: You sauté the anchovies along with the garlic. Then you add the clams at the very end to the frying pan just to heat up.

Buon Appetito!

New England Clam Chowder

This is the cream based chowder usually known as "New England" Clam Chowder, not the tomato based one usually known as "Manhattan" Clam Chowder. We love good creamy chowders in the cold weather as they truly are "stick to your ribs" good and warm!

This recipe is one that I adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks. I got it a used book sale at my library and the name of it is "The New Basic Cookbook" by Rosso & Lukins. It is actually about 25 years old and goes back to the days when they actually used butter, cream, eggs, wine... you know, real food ingredients. I made a few changes to it such as using canned clams, since we do not live on the coast anymore. You will want to serve this steaming hot and I like to serve it with a veggie tray and Vermont Cheddar Biscuits!

New England Clam Chowder

4 cans chopped clams & their juices (the 6.5 ounce size)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons olive oil (I like the combo of the fats for creamy based soups)
2 large onions grated on a cheese grater (4 cups)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
6 potatoes peeled & diced small ( 4 cups)
1 1/2teaspoons dry thyme or 3 teaspoons fresh thyme
lots of fresh ground pepper!
salt to taste
3 cups whole milk & 1 cup cream
fresh or dry chives or parsley for topping

Open the cans of clams and dump into a strainer on top of a bowl to separate the juice from clams, reserve both
Heat both oils over medium heat and saute onions until wilted ( 10 minutes)
Add flour and stir constantly while cooking for about 5 minutes
Add reserved clam juice, potatoes, thyme, and salt & pepper
Place a lid on cook , stirring every few minutes, over medium/low heat until the potatoes are soft
At this point you may refrigerate this part until ready to serve or turn off heat and set it aside until ready to serve.
15 minutes before serving, add clams, milk, and cream
Cook over low heat (do not boil) while stirring until heated through
Adjust seasonings and serve piping hot!