Shrimp "Fra Diavolo"

       This is a fun and easy dish. The ingredients can be varied, but you really need tomato and some kind of hot pepper. I like to rough-chop the ingredients and after they cook down a bit, homogenize  them in a blender. In place of cheese (which I don't think is needed with this spicy dish), I add a little cream or half-and-half.

        Fra Diavolo means "Brother Devil" which to me requires some serious hots. I usually use a few Jalapeno or Serrano peppers. Today I have two Serrano Peppers. You want this hot, but you still want to taste the food. I think sweet peppers add a great deal of flavor so there's a little of that too. I blend all the ingredients to make a smooth sauce so that it sticks to everything better.

        Your choice of wine can vary from whites to reds, but I would recommend a somewhat dry wine. You should probably avoid carbonation, as this does not work well with hot food. My choice is a wonderful 2010 red made in Languidoc Roussillon by the brothers Coston on a 100% Bio/organic property. The wine, dubbed Les Terrasses du Larzac is made from grenache, syrah, carignan and mouvèrdre with low yields. A super wine. See red dot near bottom of map.

        In the method below, after you add the Brandy, you can either cook-off the alcohol for a few minutes or, if you're comfortable, flambé. My grandson insists on flambé, or the meal preparation isn't worth watching!  There are many ways to cook Shrimp. With this small number however, it's easiest to toss them in the cooking Pasta and pluck them out with tongs when they are done. They're done within a few seconds.

        You'll want little else with this dish. I made just the simplest Salad, drizzled with a small amount of the very finest Olive Oil.

Ingredients:

        (for one: you wouldn't have to increase these by much for two)

        5      oz       Shrimp (I used 8 of the 21 per lb. size)

        4      oz       Penne

        ¼     cup     chopped Onion

        ¼     cup     chopped Sweet Red Pepper

Most of the Ingredients

        ½     stalk   Celery, diced

        2                  Anchovies

        2                  Serrano Peppers, chopped

        4                  Capers

        14   oz       can diced Tomatoes 

                         (or fresh, if in season)

        ¼     cup     cream or ½ & ½

                fresh Parsley minced: (about 2 Tbs. minced)

                sprig of fresh Basil

        1      Tbs.    Salt

        1      Tbs.    Butter

                pinch of Sugar

        ¼     cup     Brandy

        2      Tbs.    Olive Oil

Equipment:

        Large fry pan, Pasta pan, Electric Blender, Tongs

Method:

1.    Sauté onions, celery and sweet peppers for about 5 minutes until they have softened.

Ingredients Prepped

After first 5 minutes

2.    Add Anchovies, Capers and Hot Peppers. Anchovies will completely dissolve. Lower heat and cook for about ten minutes.

3.    Turn up heat until everything sizzles. Add Brandy and either cook off alcohol or flambé.

flambe

4.    Add Tomatoes, about half the Parsley, Salt and a pinch of Sugar. Stir everything together. 

Add Tomatoes, etc.

     When the ingredients come back up to a boil, lower the heat, partially cover and simmer gently for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Ready to Simmer

5.    While sauce simmers, clean and shuck Shrimp.

6.    Just before sauce is finished bring Pasta water to a boil.

7.    Add Pasta to water and set timer for about 1 minute less than box instructions.

8.    While Pasta is cooking, remove Basil from sauce and then run it through the Blender until sauce is smooth and pinkish. Return sauce to pan and keep it on low. Taste and correct seasoning.

 

9.    When timer shows about 4 minutes left, add Shrimp to Pasta water. When they are done (less than a minute) remove them with tongs and place them in sauce.

 

10.  When Pasta is done, drain very, very well and add to sauce and shrimp. Add the cream or ½ & ½ and mix in. 

Pasta added

Cream added

      Cover and let simmer for a few minutes. At the end, swirl in the Butter and serve, sprinkling the remaining Parsley over the dish.

 

 Enjoy!

Pasta con le Sarde

(Pasta with Sardines)

                This is a traditional Sicilian dish which, since it is meatless, has a Lenten bias. Where I grew up, it was often a favorite for a St. Joseph's Table. Well, it's been a long time since I was into anything like that, so, with St. Joseph's Day upon me (March 19), I decided to take a crack at this again. Now the biggest objection I always had with this meal was the deadness of the flavors. After thinking about this for years, I have concluded that the problem is that we always make it with canned stuff. You can buy a yellow can of Pasta con Sarde ingredients packed in Sicily. Then after sprucing it up a little bit you get the traditional goopy, and to me anyway, uninteresting dish.

                This really shouldn't be the case, because the basic ingredients: sardines, anchovies, fennel, golden raisins and pignoli (pine nuts) are really pretty good. The problem is one of freshness. Traditional dishes almost always rely on local foods. Local foods = Freshness. I think when we attempt to make meals whose fresh ingredients are too far away to ever be fresh by the time we get them, then we must substitute fresh ingredients which we can obtain and which don't alter the flavors too much. I live 4700 miles or about 7500 km from the Straits of Messina! The chances of getting fresh sardines or anchovies are zero. However, on the Niagara Frontier we have access to Lake Smelt. So I have revised this recipe a little to try to make it taste a little fresher. Since I'm writing this after my little experiment, I'm here to tell you that it worked! It was by far the best tasting Pasta con Sarde I have ever had and was perfectly bright in flavor. And so I thought I would share it here.

                The only Sicilian wine in my cellar right now is Regaleali Bianco from Tasca d'Almerita. Not a bad choice for this meal. The map shows that Regaleali and Messina are not too close, but distance is relative. From here in Niagara they look next to each other!

These are the ingredients for two servings 

(as are most of the recipes in this blog).

Ingredients:

Smelt in front

4 oz. Fresh Lake Smelt

2 oz. good quality canned Sardines (this replaces Anchovies)

1 small Fennel (Anise) bulb

1 medium Onion

½ oz. Pignoli (Pine Nuts)

2 oz. Golden Raisins

pinch of Saffron

Sea Salt and freshly ground Pepper

Olive oil

5 oz. Pasta (short tube type)

Method:

1              Wash the Smelt and remove the backbone. Divide into two piles. Keep the larger Smelt in one pile and the smaller in the other. The piles should be approximately equal.

2              Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Wash and trim the Anise bulb (reserve some of the lacy fronds, but don't add them to the water). Add bulb to the water and cook for about 15 minutes. Remove bulb, leaving the Fennel-water on simmer, and let the bulb cool while you chop the Onion into smallish dice, measure out the Pignoli and Raisins, and remove the Sardines from the can. I'm using half a can for this recipe.

fennel ready for boiling

ingredients prepped, bulb cooling

When the Fennel is cool enough to handle, remove and discard the tougher outer peel and dice the rest.

3              Sauté the Onion in several Tbs. of Olive oil until it is golden.

Add the Sardines and the smaller Smelt and crush them with your spoon. Add lots of salt* and freshly-ground pepper, simmer for a while, stir often and keep crushing until you make a sauce.

Now add the Raisins, Pine Nuts and diced Fennel to the sauce. 

sauce base finished

remaining ingredients added

Cover the pan and simmer for a while, adding a little hot Fennel-water from time to time. When the sauce looks done, add a pinch of Saffron and stir in.

* a note on the salt: fresh fish is not salty, so you need to salt (and pepper) up this sauce a bit.

4              Heat another several Tbs. of Olive oil in a small pan and carefully fry the larger Smelt until the edges are brown. Let these drain on a paper towel, seasoning them well while they are hot. I did this fish-frying while the sauce was simmering.

frying Smelt

5              Heat the Fennel-water back to a rolling boil and add the Pasta. (Preheat the oven to 375F at this time.) A few minutes before the Pasta is done, remove it from the pot and drain well. In a bowl, mix it with about half the sauce.

mixing pasta and sauce

6              In a shallow, oven-proof pan (I used a flan pan), spread out a layer of about half the Pasta. Then add the fried Smelt over this. Cover with the remaining Pasta and pour the remaining sauce over all. If it looks a little dry, add a little Fennel-water to moisten.

fried smelt in "middle"

ready for oven

Bake, covered, at 375F for 25 minutes.

my flan pan has no cover so I used foil

Decorate with a few of the Fennel fronds and serve.

Perciatelli in Mushroom Sauce

            This is a pleasantly, full-flavored dish that's pretty quick and easy to make. It's perfect for wintertime both because of the warmth of flavor and the reliance on pantry items. I find the flavor satisfying without the addition of any spice "heat," but that would be easy to remedy for those who require it.

            Perciatelli is a type of hollow spaghetti, slightly thicker than Bucatini, which could be substituted here. Its added weight is useful for dishes with chunks of bacon, pancetta, mushrooms, etc. The hollowness also allows it to soak up sauces or melted cheeses. Both conditions are met in this dish!

            The wine to accompany could be white or red as long as it contrasts nicely with the richness of the food. I don't think I'd want a Merlot here, or a cloying California red. I've chosen a 2007 Côte-du-Rhône,  Perrin & Fils Vinsobres  Les Cornuds. This is a lovely wine with just the right amount of complexity to not overpower this food. It has a remarkable finish, mouth-satisfying and then vanishing like a well-behaved child.

          I'm using good quality canned tomatoes here, but separate the tomatoes from the liquid they're packed in, reserving it. Remove any hard parts (right where the stem was attached) and puree the solids. You'll add the liquids a little at a time as the sauce simmers, only using as much as needed for the thickness desired.

I enjoy the smokiness the Bacon gives to the dish, but if this is something you don't like, then blanch bacon for a few minutes in boiling water. A good tip for any dish.

Ingredients:

½         large, sweet Onion, diced

1          small stalk Celery, diced

2          strips Bacon, see method

3 oz     Mushrooms, sliced

2 Tbs   Olive oil

2          cloves Garlic, minced

1 cup    Beef stock

28oz     can of Tomatoes

sprig     fresh Basil

⅛ tsp   Cinnamon

            Nutmeg

            Salt & Pepper to taste

3          Scallions (or 4)

3 oz     the Wine you'll serve with the meal

            Parmigiano Reggiano

            Perciatelli (just under ¼ lb. per person)

Method:

Prep all ingredients. Slice Bacon strips into 3 or 4 thinner strips lengthwise, then crosscut into pieces about 2 inches long. Prep tomatoes as described above. Chop Scallions into small tubes and reserve for the final steps.

prepping tomatoes

ingredients prepped

Sauté Bacon until its fat is rendered, then add mushrooms and cook until they color on both sides.

rendering bacon

add mushrooms

Now add Onions, Celery, and Garlic and cook until transparent.

Add Beef stock and raise heat, cooking down for a few minutes.

cooking down stock 

Add Wine and cook for a few minutes.

cook down wine

wine added

Add Puree and stir in well. When it comes to a boil, lower heat to simmer and add Cinnamon and several gratings of Nutmeg. Float the Basil in the sauce and simmer on low for about 45 minutes. 

tomatoes added

sauce simmering

As it cooks, stir occasionally and add juice, if needed,  to keep the right consistency. [Mine took just about all the juice!]

After 45 minutes, add Perciatelli to a pot of boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes fewer than the instructions on the box. Drain well and add to the sauce, submerging all the pasta, stir in about half the scallions. Let this cook for about 3 or 4 more minutes. The Perciatelli will absorb the sauce into the hole in the pasta!

perciatelli simmering

pasta drained

Plate the dish and sprinkle remaining Scallions and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Serve, accompanied by your wonderful wine.

Enjoy!  - Love, Dave