Redmond Cabot shares some delicious fish recipes, including salted cod, shellfish pasta, and deep fried calamari
GOLDEN DELICIOUS Deep-fried calamari could be one dish in your traditional Italian seven-course fish feast this Christmas.
Pic: Flickr.com/avlxyz
A different kettle of fish this ChristmasFood
Redmond CabotIn these times it is easy to get railroaded down one way of thinking, and with that in mind here is a slightly different take on some Christmas dishes.
Christmas is all about coming together, family and friends, and sharing our experiences. Over the years, I have spent some amazingly special Christmases in Westport – some wild, some peaceful. None was better than those spent with Angelo and Anneli.
Italian Angelo had a take on Christmas that was all about eating fish on Christmas Eve. This came from the Southern Italian tradition of the Feast of the Seven Dishes. Echoing the Roman Catholic tradition of abstinence from meat or dairy products, it also chimes with the Seven Sacraments of the Church, the Seven Sins of the world, and the Seven days it took Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem.
Whatever it was, it involved eating a lot – seven dishes or more – of fish on Christmas Eve. This was new to my Northern European tradition of meat, meat, and more meat!
The most popular fish dish in this tradition is salted cod (baccala), and from there you could pick between baked cod; cod balls in tomato sauce; crab-stuffed mushrooms; deep-fried calamari; shrimp; scallops; pasta with anchovy clam, or lobster sauce; marinated eel; octopus salad; whiting; oyster shooters; or stuffed calamari in tomato sauce.
Giovanni Scorzo, from Calabria in Southern Italy, says “You do not want to hide the flavour of the seafood in rich, heavy sauces, Everything must be fresh, the best you can buy.” I heartily agree. To serve, make sure you have plenty of crusty bread on table to sop up any liquids, and a mixed green-leaf salad with balsamic and oil to cleanse the palate throughout.
Here is a selection of ideas to get you started.
Salted cod Salted cod is produced by surrounding halves of fish in salt for about ten days, while partially air-drying them. You must then wash and then soak and reconstitute it for ten hours before cooking, changing the water three times. For 1½ pounds of salted cod in a litre of chicken stock, simmer for 15 minutes, add four cloves of garlic finely chopped, one cup of milk, five tablespoons of olive oil and seasoning, and cook for another five minutes. Serve with chopped flat-leaf parsley
Deep-fried anythingYou can achieve deep-frying effect with squid (calamari), shrimp, prawns or whiting by rolling your cut fresh fish pieces in seasoned white flour (00 flour is best for this because it is super fine), and dropping them into a regular very hot frying pan with small puddle of veg oil, turning as each side browns. When dones, place the pieces on paper towels on a plate. Serve with lemon wedges.
Mussels (cozze) and clams (vongole) Get some local shellfish (we’re on the West coast, so let’s maximise our positives). After sweating some thinly chopped onions and garlic in a pan, throw in your rinsed shellfish and cover. Leave on high heat for two minutes, shake, and leave for another five minutes. Throw in some pasta cooked (still with a ‘bite’) in heavily salted water, stir and cook for three minutes. Serve with chopped parsley.
Or try ‘clams Italiano’ with onions, garlic, white wine, oregano, finely chopped red chillies and clams on top.
Why not try a different Christmas meal, with lots of delicious fish dishes? These might be new ways of cooking to you, but they are all relatively easy, and they make use of our Atlantic backyard.
Angelo died suddenly and unexpectedly some years back, but his warmth, traditions, and positive impact still warm us. Enjoy your time with your loved ones this Christmas. Peace and love.
Red Cabot is interested in food, nature and small things. He sells his food at Westport Country Markets in St Ann’s Boxing Club, James’s Street car park, Westport, every Thursday, from 8am to 1pm.
