The Catholic Feast of the Seven Fishes,
contrived to represent the seven sacraments, is one of the great Christmas Eve
food traditions. From a seven-course extravaganza that includes seafood salads,
fried, steamed, baked, stewed and raw fish, to a perfect zuppa, it’s a tour de
force and a tradition enjoyed by any and all denominations, humanists, and atheists alike
at my restaurants.
The secret of a good zuppa is making a great
crab sauce base and then timing the cooking of the seafood so you don’t
overcook anything! This is best served over light pasta like
thin spaghetti or angel hair, or just served with a loaf of good Italian bread.
serves 6
8 hardhell blue crabs or 2 dungeness crabs or
two 1 pound lobsters
1 pound cleaned calamari, cut into thick rings
18-24 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, peels reserved
18-24 medium dry pack sea scallops
18-24 littleneck clams (scrubbed)
18-24 mussels (scrubbed and debearded)
1 ½ lbs firm white fish filet, cut into 6
pieces (hake or pollock are good sustainable choices)
extra virgin olive oil as needed
6 tablespoon onion, diced small
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
2 cups dry white wine
4 cups canned plum tomatoes pureed in a food
processor
One small can tomato puree
2 bay leaves
2 cups clam juice (buy a quality, chemical-free brand)
crushed red pepper to taste
good dried Sicilian oregano
Italian parsley galore
Salt to taste
To make the “Zuppa Sauce” base
Clean the crabs/lobsters, both the same.
Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Drop the crabs in and cook for 3
minutes, remove and rinse with cold water. Use scissors to remove the face.
Pull off the back and remove the “dead man’s fingers” or gills.
In a heavy pot add some olive oil. If using lobsters, break the shells and remove
the tail, claw, and knuckle meat and reserve. Sauté the shells. If using crab, add the crabs and reserved shrimp peels and season lightly with salt. Sizzle in
the oil until the aroma releases and the shrimp shells are pink. Add the
onions and the garlic and cook until soft but not brown.
Add one cup of the white wine and cook at a
brisk boil for 3-4 minutes. Add the plum tomatoes and the can of tomato puree.
If the crabs are not covered with liquid, add some water to cover. Add the bay
leaves and a pinch of crushed red pepper and allow to simmer for at least 45
minutes to infuse the crab flavor into the sauce. Carefully remove the crabs from the sauce and
allow to cool. Strain the sauce to make
sure there are no stray shrimp shells or crab shell pieces in it, pushing
everything through your basket strainer.
Pick whatever meat you can get from the crabs
from the back and by cracking the claws to remove the meat there too. Add this
to the strained sauce.
You now have a deep seafood-infused tomato
base for the zuppa without having overcooked your fish! Keep this sauce warm or reheat it before
getting ready to finish the dish.
Assembling the Zuppa... Timing is everything!
OK—get this. The clams take the longest to
cook. Then the fish filet. Then the scallops and shrimp and finally the mussels
and squid. Respect your seafood!
Use a heavy casserole dish with a lid for
this. If you are serving pasta for this, have it ready. Don’t make the fish
wait for the pasta.
Add enough olive oil to coat the pan generously.
Turn up to high heat.
Add the clams and cook in the oil until they start to “piss and sizzle." At this point, add the clam juice, the reserved
seafood-tomato sauce, the filet pieces and some oregano and cover. In exactly four minutes add your shrimp and scallops, cook one more minute and add the
mussels and cover. Now cook one MORE minute hard, then add the calamari (and cooked lobster meat) and cook ONE MORE
MINUTE! Add a fistful of chopped
parsley and some more oregano and cover. Turn off the heat–you did cover it right?–and let it
all gently steam for 5 more minutes before serving.
Ladle over pasta or into big bowls served with plenty
of bread. Serve olio santo on the side (see recipe below).
Olio Santo
1 large fresh, long hot pepper, stemmed and
cut into half-inch pieces
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt
In a small pot, cover the pepper with oil.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5
minutes. Allow pepper to steep in the oil.
Drizzle…
