Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking - Marcella Hazan [149]
Grilled, sliced polenta would be very pleasant accompanying this dish. See Polenta.
Ahead-of-time note You can complete the recipe up to this point several hours in advance. Reheat the squid gently, but completely before proceeding with the next step.
A Single Fish Cooked Fish-Soup Style
IF YOU LIKE the spirited taste of fish soup, but you don’t want to cook up a large assortment of fish because there are only four or fewer at table, here is a way of preparing just one fish in a simplified zuppa di pesce style. The procedure is analogous to that employed in My Father’s Fish Soup, except for pureeing the heads, which is omitted. The result is fresh and lively flavor that allows the character of the single fish to stand out. Almost any white-fleshed fish is suitable: sea bass, red snapper, mahimahi, monkfish, flounder. Or fish steaks, cut from halibut, grouper, tilefish, mako shark, or swordfish.
For 4 servings (If cooking for 2, use a smaller fish and halve the other ingredients.)
A 2½- to 3-pound whole fish, scaled and gutted, but with head and tail on, OR 1½ to 2 pounds fish steaks (see recommended varieties above)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
½ cup dry white wine
¾ cup canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, chopped, with their juice
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill, OR chopped hot red chili pepper, to taste
1. Wash the fish inside and out in cold water, then pat thoroughly dry with paper towels.
2. Choose a sauté pan that can later accommodate the whole fish or the fish steaks in a single layer. Put in the olive oil and the onion, turn on the heat to medium, and cook the onion until it becomes translucent. Add the garlic. When the garlic becomes colored a pale gold, add the parsley, stir once or twice, then put in the white wine.
3. Let the wine simmer for about a minute, then add the chopped tomatoes with their juice. Cook at a moderate, but steady simmer in the uncovered pan, stirring from time to time, for about 15 or 20 minutes, until the oil floats free from the tomatoes.
4. Put in the whole fish or the steaks without overlapping them. Sprinkle liberally with salt, add several grindings of black pepper or the hot chili pepper, cover the pan, and turn the heat down to medium low.
5. If using a whole fish, cook it about 10 minutes, then turn it over and cook it about 8 minutes more. If using fish steaks, cook each side about 5 minutes, or more if very thick.
6. Transfer to a warm serving platter, handling the fish gently with two spatulas or a large fork and spoon, being careful that it does not break up. Pour all the contents of the pan over it, and serve at once.
All–Shellfish and Mollusks Soup
For 6 servings
2 pounds whole squid OR 1½ pounds cleaned squid, sliced into rings
2 dozen live littleneck clams in the shell
1 dozen live mussels in the shell
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 cup dry white wine
1½ cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1 pound unshelled raw shrimp
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill, OR chopped hot red chili pepper, to taste
1 pound fresh sea scallops
Thick, grilled or oven-toasted slices of crusty bread
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. Wash and scrub the clams and mussels as described. Discard those that stay open when handled.
3. Put the olive oil and chopped onion in a deep saucepan,