Bottega - Michael Chiarello [57]
¼ cup chopped fresh tarragon
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for sprinkling
About 1½ pounds calamari, cleaned
FOR THE TOMATO CONFIT: Preheat the oven to 250°F. In a Dutch oven, gently arrange the tomatoes. Add the thyme and with your hands crumble the bay leaf over the tomatoes. Pour in enough olive oil to cover the tomatoes and add the salt and pepper. Bake for about 4 hours, or until tender, then increase the oven temperature to 450°F and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, or just until browned. Remove from the oven and let cool to the touch. In a blender or food processor, blend the tomatoes and their liquid until smooth. Set aside or cover and refrigerate.
FOR THE SAFFRON ROUILLE: In a small sauté pan, mix the wine and saffron. Bring to a boil and cook to reduce by about three-quarters, 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
In a blender, combine the egg yolks, mashed garlic, chile paste, and pimentón; blend until smooth. Add the wine-saffron reduction and lemon juice and blend. With the machine running, gradually add the oil in a thin stream to make an emulsified sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
FOR THE BRODETTO SAUCE: Heat a small stockpot over medium heat, add the olive oil, onions, and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes, or until soft. Add the vinegar and cook until the pan is almost dry. Add the capers and anchovies and sauté until the anchovies break up. Add the wine and cook until the liquid has almost evaporated. Add the fumet, bring to a boil, and add the tomato confit. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat.
FOR THE CROUTONS: Slice all the crust from the ciabatta loaf. Discard the crusts (or save them for making bread crumbs for another dish), and cut the loaf into 2-inch squares or tear them into uneven pieces. Heat a large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat and melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the bread cubes and toast for 30 seconds to 1 minute, tossing until evenly browned. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Heat a very large soup pot or Dutch oven (6 to 8 quarts) over medium-high heat, add the 2 cups olive oil, and sauté the garlic until golden, 2 to 4 minutes. (A shorter, wider pot is better than a tall one, because trying to gently stir all the fish and shellfish in a narrow pot makes your life harder.) Add the mussels, monkfish, and brodetto sauce. (Throughout, treat the stew gently to avoid breaking the fish.) Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Add the rock cod and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the basil, tarragon, and the 1/4 cup parsley. Finally, add the calamari, submerging it in the sauce. Simmer just until the calamari is cooked through and warm, 1 to 2 minutes.
Ladle the stew into shallow bowls. Top with a few spoonfuls of the saffron rouille. Give it a good sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Toss on a few croutons (you can rewarm them quickly in a sauté pan if you like), and serve.
“Angry” Prawns with White Bean Passatina
SERVES 6
In Italy, Tuscans are sometimes called mangiafagioli—“bean eaters”—because many Tuscans eat bean soup every day of their life. In other words, they know their way around a white bean. In Tuscany, Toscanelli beans are the lobster, the filet mignon, the highest level of beanmanship. You can use navy beans, great Northern beans, or cannellini in this recipe, but if you find Toscanelli beans, you’ll understand why the Tuscans lavish so much affection on these small but mighty legumes.
Seldom will I advise people to go to great lengths for a bean, but these really are unbelievable. Talk to your produce people, or see Resources.
What’s a passatina? In simplest terms, it’s a purée of beans, but that’s like saying a soufflé is just eggs. At Bottega, we serve a passatina to showcase beans with fantastic flavor.
Wine Pairing: Gewürztraminer
WHITE BEAN PASSATINA
1 cup dried Toscanelli beans, rinsed and picked over
½ cup diced yellow onion
½ cup diced peeled carrot
½ cup diced