Feast of the 7 Fishes
OK, so I'm not a vegetarian at all. I found out recently that I'm actually a pescetarian. I eat fish.
It's not Christmas without baccala and broccoli rabe. When I was a kid, my Uncle Freddy would show up at our house once a year on Christmas Eve to enjoy my mom's version, which has survived the ages. It was always a great night, that is, until Uncle Freddy decided to ask you your nationality - God forbid if you were Jewish. "I asked you where your people are from, not your religion," he would say.
My sister Yvette has taken the Feast of the Seven Fishes to new extremes since mom passed away. It used to be a simple family gathering, but "E" knows everyone in the world and has been inviting them all to the feast for the past few years. One year, she got carried away and made about $1,000 worth of fishes, 13 different kinds in all. After cooking for days on end, she justified her extravagance by saying it didn't have to be seven, just an uneven number. Italians like to make things up. Most don't even know where the number seven came from. Could it be the seven hills of Rome, the seven virtues, the seven deadly sins? Who knows? Nobody really cares. It's just a tradition that can never be broken.
Hopefully, since everyone's broke this year, it will be a more reserved gathering. She told me on the phone yesterday that she was sticking to seven this year and that I could bring the shrimp.
Well, I couldn't wait until Friday night. I got a jump on Christmas Eve by making my two favorites, one a little different than the traditional Italian-styled stuffed calamari E makes. Instead of a red sauce, I cook mine in white wine, the French Marseillaise way. E would like to kill me for that.
I must admit that after 30 years of marriage - with me cooking the festive meal at my own home for my neighbors for several of those years - I couldn't bear to see my ex actually spend the holiday without the fishes - even though he's Irish - although some days I would like to see him sleep with them. So, I will prepare a little care package and send it over with the kid. The kid, by the way, doesn't eat anything green, healthy or wholesome. He's a WaWa man.
These are the two recipes I made.
Baccala with Broccoli Rabe
1 pound of semi-dried salted cod (in box or package, not the fully dried shoe leather kind)
3 C water
2 bunches of broccoli rabe
1 small can tomato sauce
Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
Place baccala in a bowl of water and place in refrigerator for a day or two, changing water several times. Place baccala in sauce pan covered with water, cover and boil for two minutes. Off heat and let stand until cooled.
Rinse broccoli rabe and remove large stems, cut large leaves in half. Heat oil in large saute pan, add garlic, saute for a minute or two. Add broccoli rabe and a little water, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cover and steam for about 10 minutes or until broccoli rabe is just tender. Do not overcook the broccoli rabe! Flake the baccala and add it to the greens. Add tomato sauce. Adjust seasoning. Leftovers make a great sandwich, heated on hard roll with a slice or two of melted provolone - a real elbow licker.
Stuffed Calamari a la Marseillaise
2 pound package of frozen, cleaned squid, thawed
4 T olive oil, separated
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 14-ounce can of petite cut tomatoes, drained
2 C fresh breadcrumbs
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
Salt, pepper
1 C dry white wine
1 C water, if needed
1 bay leaf
Finely mince tentacles, set aside. Saute onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until golden, add garlic, tentacles and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and cook five minutes. Off heat. Add breadcrumbs and parsley to make stuffing. Stuff squid bodies with stuffing using a pastry bag, seal with toothpick. Saute bodies in olive oil until slightly browned. Add white wine and bay leaf, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Add water as needed if sauce gets too thick. Remove toothpicks when serving so no one gets injured - remember George Peppard?
Adapted from the New Doubleday Cookbook. Thanks Uncle Sam.
It's not Christmas without baccala and broccoli rabe. When I was a kid, my Uncle Freddy would show up at our house once a year on Christmas Eve to enjoy my mom's version, which has survived the ages. It was always a great night, that is, until Uncle Freddy decided to ask you your nationality - God forbid if you were Jewish. "I asked you where your people are from, not your religion," he would say.
My sister Yvette has taken the Feast of the Seven Fishes to new extremes since mom passed away. It used to be a simple family gathering, but "E" knows everyone in the world and has been inviting them all to the feast for the past few years. One year, she got carried away and made about $1,000 worth of fishes, 13 different kinds in all. After cooking for days on end, she justified her extravagance by saying it didn't have to be seven, just an uneven number. Italians like to make things up. Most don't even know where the number seven came from. Could it be the seven hills of Rome, the seven virtues, the seven deadly sins? Who knows? Nobody really cares. It's just a tradition that can never be broken.
Hopefully, since everyone's broke this year, it will be a more reserved gathering. She told me on the phone yesterday that she was sticking to seven this year and that I could bring the shrimp.
Well, I couldn't wait until Friday night. I got a jump on Christmas Eve by making my two favorites, one a little different than the traditional Italian-styled stuffed calamari E makes. Instead of a red sauce, I cook mine in white wine, the French Marseillaise way. E would like to kill me for that.
I must admit that after 30 years of marriage - with me cooking the festive meal at my own home for my neighbors for several of those years - I couldn't bear to see my ex actually spend the holiday without the fishes - even though he's Irish - although some days I would like to see him sleep with them. So, I will prepare a little care package and send it over with the kid. The kid, by the way, doesn't eat anything green, healthy or wholesome. He's a WaWa man.
These are the two recipes I made.
Baccala with Broccoli Rabe
1 pound of semi-dried salted cod (in box or package, not the fully dried shoe leather kind)
3 C water
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 C olive oil2 bunches of broccoli rabe
1 small can tomato sauce
Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
Place baccala in a bowl of water and place in refrigerator for a day or two, changing water several times. Place baccala in sauce pan covered with water, cover and boil for two minutes. Off heat and let stand until cooled.
Rinse broccoli rabe and remove large stems, cut large leaves in half. Heat oil in large saute pan, add garlic, saute for a minute or two. Add broccoli rabe and a little water, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cover and steam for about 10 minutes or until broccoli rabe is just tender. Do not overcook the broccoli rabe! Flake the baccala and add it to the greens. Add tomato sauce. Adjust seasoning. Leftovers make a great sandwich, heated on hard roll with a slice or two of melted provolone - a real elbow licker.
Stuffed Calamari a la Marseillaise
2 pound package of frozen, cleaned squid, thawed
4 T olive oil, separated
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 14-ounce can of petite cut tomatoes, drained
2 C fresh breadcrumbs
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
Salt, pepper
1 C dry white wine
1 C water, if needed
1 bay leaf
Finely mince tentacles, set aside. Saute onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until golden, add garlic, tentacles and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and cook five minutes. Off heat. Add breadcrumbs and parsley to make stuffing. Stuff squid bodies with stuffing using a pastry bag, seal with toothpick. Saute bodies in olive oil until slightly browned. Add white wine and bay leaf, cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Add water as needed if sauce gets too thick. Remove toothpicks when serving so no one gets injured - remember George Peppard?
Adapted from the New Doubleday Cookbook. Thanks Uncle Sam.
Labels: baccala, broccoli rabe, calimari, Christmas Eve, Feast of Seven Fishes, squid
posted by Egg Salad at
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
1 Comments:
I grew up Italian and Baccala I can't even stand to be near (never ate it) and I like fried calamari, but never had it that way. My mother did an "Americanized version" with seafood she ate and we would eat. Love the broccoli rabe though. You are much kinder than I could ever be, sending over a care package, phooey on that. (I don't know how I missed this post, must keep up with my reader more often)
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