Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [148]
9. While the squid is cooking, retrieve the clam and mussel meat from its juices, carefully lifting it with a slotted spoon, and put it aside. Line a strainer with paper towels, and filter the shellfish juices through the paper and into a bowl. Spoon a little of the juice over the clam and mussel meat to keep it moist.
10. When the squid is tender, add the fish to the pan, holding back the smallest and most delicate pieces for about 2 minutes, then add a little more salt, and all the filtered clam and mussel liquid. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, turning the fish over carefully once or twice. Add the shelled shrimp. Cook for another 2 or 3 minutes, then add the clam and mussel meat, turning it into the soup gently, so as not to break up the fish, and cook for 1 more minute.
11. Carefully transfer the contents of the pan to a serving bowl or deep platter and serve at once, preferably accompanied by thick, grilled slices of good, crusty bread.
Note You need at least 3 or 4 heads for this recipe, so if you won’t be buying that many whole fish, ask your dealer for extra heads. Make sure you have a food mill with interchangeable disks; the disk with the largest holes is indispensable for pureeing the heads.
Halibut over Squid Sauce
WHEN YOUNG and locally caught, halibut is a fish of exceptionally fine texture. It is rather short on flavor, however, and can become dry in cooking. The preparation described here preserves all of the fish’s natural moisture, and overcomes a shyness in taste by being cooked over a tender, densely savory stew of squid braised with tomato and white wine. The same method can be applied with equal success to other fish steaks, such as mako shark or monkfish.
For 6 to 8 servings
2 pounds whole squid OR 1½ pounds cleaned squid, sliced into narrow rings
⅔ cup onion chopped fine
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic chopped fine
3 tablespoons parsley chopped fine
⅔ cup dry white wine
1½ cups fresh, ripe, firm tomatoes skinned raw with a peeler and chopped OR canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up with their juice
Salt
Chopped hot red chili pepper, to taste
3 pounds halibut, cut into steaks 1 inch thick, OR other fish steaks (see recommendations above)
1. If cleaning the squid yourself, follow these directions. Slice the sac into rings a little less than ½ inch wide, and separate the cluster of tentacles into two parts. Whether cleaning it yourself or using it already cleaned, wash all parts in cold water and pat thoroughly dry with cloth or paper towels.
2. Choose a sauté pan that can later accommodate all the fish steaks in a single layer without overlapping. Put in the onion and olive oil, and turn on the heat to medium high. Cook the onion, stirring once or twice, until it becomes colored a pale gold, then add the garlic. As soon as the garlic becomes colored a very pale gold, add 2 tablespoons parsley, stir quickly once or twice, then put in all the squid.
3. Turn the squid over completely 2 or 3 times, coating it thoroughly. Cook it for 3 or 4 minutes, then add the wine. When the wine has simmered for about 20 to 30 seconds and partly evaporated, add the tomatoes with their juice, turning all the ingredients over completely. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down to minimum and put a lid on the pan. Cook until the squid feels tender when prodded with a fork, about 1 hour. If in the interim, the cooking juices become insufficient, replenish with up to ½ cup water when needed. Add salt and chili pepper, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes longer, while stirring frequently.
4. Put the fish steaks over the squid, in a single layer without overlapping. Sprinkle with salt, turn the heat up to medium, and cover the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes, then turn the steaks