Black Bass And Gamberi Cacciucco Recipes

PACIFIC COD AND CLAM CACCIUCCO

Steps:

• Heat a stock pot, lightly coated with olive oil, over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic and salt, to taste, and sweat for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the fish bones and shrimp shells and fill the pot with water. Add the bay leaves and thyme and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid into a bowl and reserve. Voila! Fishstock!
• For the tomato broth:
• Heat a large saucepan, lightly coated with olive oil, over medium heat. Add the onions, fennel, celery and a large pinch of salt. Cook the veggies until soft and very aromatic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the wine and reduce by half. Season with salt. It's important to season all along the way.
• Add 2 quarts of fish stock and the saffron. Stir in the pureed tomatoes, thyme and bay leaves. Season with salt and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. The final broth should be a very pretty and flavorful soup. Taste and add salt, if needed. Remove and discard the thyme bundle and bay leaves. Reserve.
• Heat a straight sided saute pan, lightly coated with olive oil, over high heat. Season the cod with salt, add it to the pan and brown it on all sides. Remove the cod from the pan to a large plate and reserve.
• Drain the fat from the pan and add the clams and about 4 cups of the tomato broth. Cover and cook until the clams open, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the shrimp and cod along with the beans and the escarole. Cover and cook until the cod and shrimp are cooked through and the escarole is wilted. If at any point the soup has cooked down too much, add more tomato broth.
• For the toast:
• Preheat grill. Place bread slices on grill and toast on both sides. Remove and rub with garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and cut in half.
• To assemble:
• Remove the cod, clams and shrimp from the pan and put in a bowl. Spoon the beans and escarole into serving bowls. Ladle in the tomato broth and arrange the cod, clams and shrimp on the beans and escarole. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with fennel fronds. Serve 2 grilled bread slices with each serving.
• Fantasico!!!

SHRIMP CACCIUCCO

Steps:

• Coat a large saucepan with extra-virgin olive oil and bring to a medium-high heat. Add the diced onion, season with salt, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the fennel and crushed red pepper and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sweat for 1 to 2 more minutes. The veggies should look soft and wilted, be very aromatic, but not have any color. Add the white wine and cook until it has reduced by half. Stir in the tomatoes, saffron, lemon zest, bay leaf, and 1 cup of water. Taste for seasoning, and season with salt. It should not taste done but it should taste good. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Taste again; it should taste really good now. Add some more salt, if needed, (it probably will). Turn off the heat and reserve.
• Coat a large skillet with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Season the shrimp generously with salt. When the oil is sizzling, add the shrimp and cook them on both sides until they turn pink, about 1 minute on each side. Remove the shrimp from the pan to a plate and reserve.
• Remove the oil from the pan and put over medium-high heat. Add the clams and the cooked tomato mixture. Cover and cook until the clams begin to open, about 5 minutes. If the tomato mixture starts to become too thick add some water. Taste to make sure it tastes good and season with some salt, if needed. Add the beans, escarole, and the cooked shrimp. Cover and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove the clams and shrimp from the pan to a bowl. Spoon the tomatoes and beans into 2 large bowls. Arrange the shrimp and clams on top. Garnish with the reserved fennel fronds and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Call yourself a super star!

CRISPY BLACK BASS WITH PEPPER, TOMATO, AND GINGER NAGE

Steps:

• In a non-stick pan, sear the bass, skin down, with 1/2 the butter on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Lower the heat and continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until medium rare.
• Cut the potatoes in half, lengthwise, and blanch in salted water for 2 to 3 minutes. Once potatoes have been blanched, saute in 1 ounce of the butter, and set aside.
• Once the fish has cooked, set aside. In the same pan add the remaining butter and saute the habanero, ginger, peppers, and onion until pungent, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, sweet wine, chives, and season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, arrange the potatoes on the bottom of a large soup plate. Place the fish skin side up, and spoon the hot nage mixture around and over the fish. Serve immediately.

BLACK BASS WITH PIPERADE AND POLENTA

Steps:

• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Coat the bottom of another smaller saute pan with olive oil.
• Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper on both sides. When the large saute pan is screaming hot but not quite smoking, lay the fish fillets in the pan skin-side down. Place the small saute pan directly on top of the fillets; this applies gentle pressure to the fish and forces the skin to have contact with the pan and will create crispy skin. Cook the fish for 2 to 3 minutes, and then remove the top pan. Shake the pan a little to unstick the fish. Use a fish spatula to flip the fillets, and cook until the flesh is opaque.
• Place a dollop of the Soft Parmesan Polenta on the bottom of each plate, top with some Yellow and Red Pepper Piperade and place a piece of fish on top. Finish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
• In a medium-size saucepan, bring the milk, 2 cups water and bay leaf to a boil. Season generously with salt, almost to the point of over seasoning. How do you know that you are there? TASTE IT! When it has reached a boil, slowly whisk in the polenta in small sprinkles. Once all of the polenta has been incorporated, reduce the heat to medium and immediately switch over to stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook the polenta until it begins to pull away from the pan, adding water to loosen it up if it becomes too thick.
• When the polenta is thoroughly cooked, it should look creamy and not feel gritty on your tongue. Remove it from the heat and stir in the Parmesan and mascarpone.
• In a large saute pan, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom and place over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic. Add the onions and continue to saute until slightly caramelized, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the plum tomatoes and diced peppers, season with salt and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, chile flakes and pimenton and cook until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add the sherry vinegar and cook for an additional minute. Taste and season.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped almonds and chives. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.