Re: [CH] Seafood Recipe Request

Porter Banister (porter9@concentric.net)
Mon, 1 Nov 1999 14:45:04 -0800 

Mike Szwaya Asked:


> Hey all.  I'm looking at the bowls of dried and still ripening chiles in
my
> kitchen from a strong finish to the Oregon pepper season.  I had dinner
with
> my SO a while ago at Three Doors Down (for those familiar with it...no
> affiliation, blah, blah, blah) and they had a Seafood Fra Diavlo which was
> absolutely divine.  I'd like to give it a try and really turn up the heat.
> Seeing as she's not a seafood fan and ardent CH, I've got carte blanche to
> do what I please.  If anyone has some versions of this recipe, could they
> post it please?  It didn't taste like just an ordinary spaghetti sauce
with
> more heat but had something else going on in there that gave it a rich
> flavor.  I don't know if it would just be from simmering the shellfish in
> the sauce for a bit or not.

Seafood Fra Diavlo is a dish I do quite often. I never use a recipe, just my
whim, but I can tell you how to achieve the richness you described in what
you sampled. Start with a home made marinara sauce which uses canned whole
tomatoes as its primary tomato source. If you have a brand called Red Pack
near where you live, Italian-American home cooks agree that this is the best
kind to use. Also you need to use a tomato paste in this sauce. Then plenty
of garlic, and hot crushed red chiles (pizza type is fine). Towards the last
20 minutes of simmering, add 6 or 8 anchovy fillets to the sauce. They will
disintegrate and you will notice only the richness of flavor they add. When
this sauce is ready transfer as much of it as you care to use in your Fra
Diavolo to a large hi-rimmed sauté pan. Add your seafood in stages,
according to what takes longest to cook. Stir in 2 tablespoons of clam
juice. Be sure to use plenty of crustaceans, as these will provide most of
your flavor. Lobsters in particular make this dish extra heady. Your last
sentence was correct, the simmering shellfish is what makes all the
difference. Add enough extra virgin olive oil to the simmering seafood to
provide a nice slick of orange oil for dipping crusty bread (up to half a
cup). When the seafood is cooked and all the shells have opened, remove from
heat, and toss with plenty of fresh-chopped parsley (Italian leaf provides
best flavor). Serve over linguini, which is traditional, or serve with no
pasta whatsoever, using only hot crusty bread as the foil (which I actually
prefer). I am not sure if the above will duplicate what you tasted at Three
Doors Down, but I guarantee you it will be very rich tasting, nonetheless.

Hope I've Been of Help,
Porter