I enjoy watching my wife get as excited as a kid when it comes time to opening presents. I actually did well this year. Most years I kind of strike out with the gift giving when I try to surprise her with things that aren't on her pre-approved list. But this year she was thoroughly impressed which makes me happy and I got some sweet stuff too, including a new Shun slicing knife which I will be using a lot this coming year for Mario's fish chapter.
This will be my last post of 2015, making a pretty dismal 12 recipes completed. Working long hours with barely any days off this year really got the best of me. My previous job certainly made having a life almost impossible, but my new kitchen is where I want to be professionally while allowing me the ability to have a life, take care of the baby when she is born, and hopefully work on one recipe a week out of the cookbook. That's my New Years goal. My work is very important to me, but the older I get I realize the importance of a work/life balance.
I chose an antipasto to finish out the year. It's a great dish for the home cook in that it has a few easy to find ingredients, is made entirely in one pan, and only takes about five minutes to assemble. Busy restaurants like recipes like this for the same reason. It's a crowd favorite that takes pressure off the sauté station, which for an Italian restaurant, tends to be one of the busiest in the kitchen.
As Mario mentions, the simpler a recipe is with only a few total ingredients, the more important it is to have each ingredient be a shining star. Good sourcing is really going to be my focus for 2016. My local sources didn't have the exact clams that Mario suggests to use so I had to substitute, but the dish is still essentially the same.
First I prep all of the ingredients. I thinly slice fresh garlic, finely chop fresh jalapeños, chop fresh parsley, and chiffonade basil.
Next up, the clams will need to be scrubbed under water which is simple enough. Because we're using raw shrimp they will need to be peeled and deveined. As shown, I run my pairing knife down the back, cutting through the shell enough to remove it, then I look for the vein and take that out as well. If you buy shrimp like this often enough, freeze the shells until you have enough to make a stock with them.
Now I'm ready to cook. I heat olive oil until almost smoking and add the thinly sliced garlic.
Once lightly browned I add the jalapeño, clams, shrimp, and white wine. It gets cooked over high heat and covered until the clams are opened and fully cooked. If you have a sauté pan with a cover please use it, I just do what restaurants would do, however, and place another sauté pan over the top to trap the steam.
Once cooked, I put the shrimp and clams in a bowl and add parsley to the sauté pan. Then I swirl in some more olive oil until lightly emulsified and season with salt and pepper.
This broth gets poured over the shellfish and it's ready to eat.
This is a great example of good but uncomplicated Italian food. It's light, quick, and not intimidating. Add a salad and some grilled bread and the easiest dinner of your life is served.
My wife liked this dish but wasn't overly impressed. Most restaurants that serve something similar actually finish the broth with butter and lots of it. That will, of course, add a richness that olive oil simply cannot do. But I liked the lightness of it. And of course, the home cook can tweak the broth very easily to include whatever flavor they want.
Before I sign off for the year, I want to mention a little about Mario's philanthropic work with a charity that he founded called the Mario Batali Foundation. It's a charity that is child focused with an emphasis on making sure that kids in the NYC area are well fed, well read, and well cared for. The money donated goes to child literacy programs, local food banks to feed hungry children, and medical research to defeat childhood illnesses. It's something that sounded very special to me so they have received my donation. I don't get a kickback from mentioning this at all, I just wanted to bring awareness to his great cause. Maybe you donate to your local food bank or other favorite charity or you start your own, but I implore you to help out somewhere this holiday season. His website is www.mariobatalifoundation.org which has more details so be sure to check it out.
Until next time...
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