I'm not Italian so whenever I hear of a pasta pescatora it always has this allure of a Shirley Valentine scene with me sitting at an ocean side table, a candle, a glass of white wine and a wonderful plate of pescatora. Then I open my eyes and find myself in my own Toronto kitchen making tomato and seafood pasta and somehow it just isn't the same. UNTIL.... you taste it. It's not that often that I do a hip hip hurray routine for a dish but this one ... it's really something else.
Motivated by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast and this week's charming, witty, efficient, kind and generous host Psychgrad of Equal Opportunity Kitchen I wanted to submit this dish for Presto Pasta Nights.
Ingredients
8 oz pkg of rice fettucini (you could use a different pasta) 1/2 cup olive oil 3 cloves garlic, sliced 6-8 manilla clams ** 6 sea scallops 8-10 raw shrimp, peeled and de-veined 1 1/2 cup diced tomatoes (or tomato sauce if you want the sauce thicker) 1/2 -3/4 cup dry white wine (the 3/4 is if you want a runnier sauce) 1 tsp dried oregano (you could use fresh) 1/4 tsp dried chili flakes coarse black pepper to taste 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley Method
1. If you're using rice pasta, immerse into boiling water, let boil 2 minutes and then cover for 15 minutes until done. 2. In a large skillet, add the 1/2 cup olive oil (if you use too much less the garlic will burn) and add the garlic until golden brown (but not burned) 3. Add the clam for about 1 minute. 4. Add tomatoes, wine, oregano, pepper flakes and pepper. Stir occasionally and reduce til it becomes a little thicker. If you're using tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes, your sauce will be thicker and ok to add some more liquid if too thick. When the clams begin to open... 5. Add the shrimp and scallops and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Don't let the shrimp or the scallops overcook. 6. Drain pasta and add it to your seafood/sauce combination. Top with parsley and voila...heaven.
This is really a great company dish and a total no brainer to prepare.
** Although I love clams, it doesn't seem to matter how much I clean them, I can't seem to escape some of the grit.
Note to Psychgrad: Although you didn't solicit all the compliments, I figure there should be some compensation somehow (other than the fact that you're my daughter) :)
After a very busy past couple of months, my idea of a good weekend is going for a long walk around the city, seeing the sites, going to the market, cooking and baking, and sleeping in.
With some of the best fruits of the summer in season, I’m starting to feel that itch to get my fill and prepare for the winter. I stocked up on a bunch of produce (peaches, basil, raspberries (1/2 flat for $10 – cheaper than picking them), lettuce, etc. I’m so glad I went blueberry picking, though. For 4L, I paid $15. But, to buy them in the market, they’re around $35-$40.
I’m still growing my own basil at home and it’s actually doing much better now that I put it in a place where it receives direct sunlight on a consistent basis. Too bad we’ve had so much rain. My first time growing basil, I left it on my kitchen window sill in my old apartment in one of the sunniest cities in Canada. The basil grew like a weed and I couldn't eat it fast enough. Living in a somewhat cloudy city, growing vegetable and herbs requires you to actually work for your produce.
I’ve wanted to make and freeze pesto for a while now. At $1/bunch of basil, how can you go wrong? I may have to get some more this weekend. I used some of the basil to make another Caprese salad. This time, using a balsamic vinegar and oil-based dressing. I used the rest of the basil to make a basil pesto.
Basil Pesto
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Blend the ingredients together.
I made a double recipe.
I then took the pesto and put it in an ice tray until it froze into small portion-sized cubes.
This allow you to freeze pesto in service-sized portions.
Stay tuned for the first dish I made with this pesto.
This post has been in the making for over a week now. But nothing but the best for Rosie and Pixie'sPutting Up Event.
When I first read about this event, I thought, "ok, I'll just sit this one out". I have never made any sort of preserve in my life. I don't have any tools and I don't have storage. But, Pixie takes no prisoners. My small kitchen was no excuse. So the pressure was on. When I told Giz that I was going to be trying Kittie's from Kittens in the Kitchen Malaysian Rempah paste, she said, "Perfect - submit it for Putting It Up. So, if this paste is bending the boundaries of Putting It Up, blame Giz. In fact, I'll just go ahead and say that any mistakes I make are Giz's fault. Nothing like making sure someone else takes responsibility for my actions.
Back to the Malaysian paste...You'll recall that I recently tried, unfulfillingly, to simulate the delicious flavours of Thai food that I've eaten while out for dinner. In fact, here are some pictures from my last visit to Giz's, about a month ago (yes, I gave in and visited), when we went out for Thai food:
Since the store-bought curry is not even close to food I've eaten while out for dinner, I figured, I would need to make something from scratch. When I saw Kittie's recipe, I thought it was a perfect first attempt recipe. Sure, it's Malaysian, but I think the flavours/ingredients are quite similar to what you would find in Thai food (please clarify this for me if I'm wrong).
Purchasing the ingredients for this post was a bit of an adventure in itself. R and I headed out for Chinatown and visited a Thai grocery store. I asked a guy to help me find all of the ingredients. He could have shown me fish heads and I would have believed him. I was suprised at how available most of the ingredients were and that they were reasonably priced. Between $1 - $2/item.
What follows is a video of me making the paste. NOTES: no, I do not sound like a 12 year old dink in person....just on video.
Malaysian Rempah Paste
2 tbsp coriander seeds 1 tbsp cumin seeds 1 tbsp fennel seeds 1” cinnamon stick 2 tbsp peanuts, ground to a paste 1” piece galangal – peeled, roughly chopped 2” piece fresh ginger – peeled, roughly chopped 2 small pieces fresh turmeric (or 1 tsp ground) – peeled (careful, will turn your hands yellow for several days...trust me on this) 4 garlic cloves – peeled 9 Thai shallots – peeled, roughly chopped 6 Thai red chillies – stalks removed, seeds in 2 4” lemongrass sticks – inc bulb The zest of 1 lime 1 tsp shrimp paste 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp groundnut oil (used canola instead) 2 tbsp finely grated coconut
In a dry pan, toast coriander, fennel, cumin seeds and cinnamon until they start to release their aromas. Grind in a mortar and pestle.
Take all the fresh ingredients and grind to a smooth paste.
Mix all of the fresh ingredients with the ground spices and sauces. The paste will keep in the fridge for up to two months – store in a glass jar, with a layer of oil to prevent oxidization.
Also, thanks to Kittie's advice and great use of the paste, I also found inspiration from her Thai Green Curry with Chicken.
4 bnls skls chicken breasts, diced 1 red pepper 1/2 courgette (zucchini) 1/2 aubergine (eggplant) 3 lime leaves, shredded (didn't have) 1 clove garlic, crushed 1" piece ginger, grated 3 tbsp curry paste 1 400ml tin coconut milk, or two small ones Oil to fry Thai basil leaves
Heat oil in a hot wok, add 2 tablespoons of curry paste and fry for about 30 seconds. Add a few tablespoons of coconut milk. Add the chicken and fry until opaque. At this point add the ginger, garlic, lime leaves, and the remaining paste. Fry for another couple of minutes.
Stir in the remaining coconut milk and the red peppers, then turn to a simmer. Allow to simmer uncovered for about 6 minutes - until the peppers are slightly softened, but still have a good 'bite'.
Add the aubergine and courgette, simmer for another couple of minutes and serve over steamed rice. I didn't use aubergine (eggplant). Instead, I added a variety of peppers. I also added extra Thai red chillis - but didn't eat them because they were too spicy. In fact, I had residual stinging from holding the chillis.
Overall, both the paste and chicken are very good. It doesn't taste like the Thai food I eat in restaurants, so that seach continues. But, this paste is a good addition. I have about 3/4 of a jar remaining, so I'm looking forward to trying other variations. One note, is that I would probably add more vegetables next time and cut the chicken pieces smaller. It also needed a touch of salt/sweetness. I added soy sauce and that did the trick.
