A Special Taste Of Italy On Your Table
Many of us enjoy eating at Italian restaurants and for this month our Specialist Chef Rodriguez presents an Italian seafood speciality to beat the winter blues:
Spaghetti Frutti do Mare.
We have looked at a sea food dish before but this is more eclectic and the sauce is the star.
It is a made with mixed seafood and thick red Arrobiato source.
Ingredients
1 lb clams & mussels (mixed) cleaned well
1 lb cooked prawns peeled
1/2 lb squid tentacles (omit if you wish)
Several fillets of white fish cut into chunks.
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic grated
1 tsp red pepper flakes + more to taste
¼ pint white wine
1 lemon for serving
Handful of fresh basil leaves or chopped Italian parsley
3/4 lb spaghetti
1 batch arrabiata tomato sauce (made in advance)
sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions until al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup of the salty pasta water.
- Meanwhile, heat up your largest skillet on medium low flame. Add a lug of olive oil, the garlic and red pepper flakes. Stir quickly making sure not to burn the garlic. Add in the clams and mussels and toss them around.
- Firstly dip the fillets of fish into a small bowl of whipped raw egg, then dip into flour. Shake off excess flour and gently fry both sides until they show some colour and remove for later.
- Pour the white wine onto the seafood and cover with a lid. Cook for about a minute or so until the clams start to open.
- Add the prawns to the skillet with clams and give it a stir. Cover and cook for another minute or so.
- Once all the clams and mussels have opened and the prawns are almost cooked, add the squid tentacles (if used). Cook another 30 seconds or so until they curl up.
- Taste for seasonings and add more sea salt if needed. (Remember that shellfish will generate a lot of sea water during cooking, so wait till the end to season).
- Meanwhile warm up the sauce in a saucepan (see below for recipe). Pour the sauce over the seafood and toss to coat well.
- Add the cooked spaghetti pasta to the skillet with the seafood and toss to coat in the sauce. Add a little of the reserved pasta water if needed to stretch out the sauce.
- Transfer your seafood spaghetti to a serving platter, drizzle with a lug of olive oil and sprinkle with the basil and parsley.
- Having warmed the fish fillets, place on top of the plated spaghetti.
Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
To make the sauce:
Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion minced
6 cloves garlic minced
2 tsp red pepper flakes + more according to your taste
2 x 28 oz can San Marzano Tomatoes whole
2 x full tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 bay leaf
sea salt to taste
a handful of torn basil leaves
In a large heavy bottom cast iron pan heat up the olive oil and sauté the onion with a pinch of sea salt until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and let them cook only for a few seconds until you can smell the garlic, but be careful not to let it burn.
In a large bowl crush the tomatoes with your hands but leave a few smaller chunks in there. Transfer them to the pot with the onions and garlic and bring to a simmer.
Add the bay leaf and partially cover with a lid. Allow the sauce to simmer away on a low flame for about 1 hour until thick and concentrated in flavour. Make sure to stir often, every 10 minutes or so, ensuring the sugars in the tomatoes do not burn.
Turn off the flame and season to your taste with the sea salt. Stir in the fresh basil leaves and finish it off with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Unusually for a wine to pair with the meal you can try a white such as Grüner Veltliner Pinot Grigio (Italy) or muscadet or to pair with the richness of the sauce try a red wine such as Burgundy Pinot Noir or a Grenache..
Enjoy
It’s not the sunniest time of the year, so to lighten up your day when you are considering engaging new staff, head straight to The Graham Agency. We are always ready to help. Check our website; www.thegrahamagency.co.uk