As you may have read Nadia has just gone through carpal tunnel surgery on her left hand so this is Stuart, her husband and trusty assistant, with my first guest blog post. I don’t know how many of these I will do but it might be interesting for some and maybe especially for anyone who isn’t the primary cook in the household. I always try and help prep things but Nadia is in charge. I will give my opinions from the viewpoint of someone who doesn’t do this often other than helping.
This recipe is inspired from a Jamie Oliver recipe. I needed something to work from but it also has a few changes and my insights.
This recipe is just for two people so you can adjust it accordingly. I went and did the shopping and managed to get the correct items using my best French.
The recipe includes crab meat but we really didn’t think that it added anything to the dish. In my opinion you either should leave it out or add quite a bit more to make sure that you can really taste it.
The bucatini seems to be a really good match for this dish so I think it is well worth making sure you get this pasta.
Serves 2
Sauce (this might make a bit more sauce than some people would like)
Ingredients:
1 800g / 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
Preparation:
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan
Saute garlic for 30 seconds
Add tomatoes
Bring to a boil then cover, simmer and stir occasionally until the sauce thickens up (about 45-60 mins)
Main dish
Here are the main ingredients ready to get started:
Ingredients:
200g / 7oz crab meat (cooked)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp red chili flakes (to taste)
250g / 9oz mussels
150g / 5.5oz calamari/squid
200g / 7oz shrimp
bucatini (85g / 3oz pp uncooked)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
Preparation:
You should have already prepared the sauce since that takes time (see above)
Clean and beard the mussels
We had a whole squid so you remove the head and discard. Clean the remainder thoroughly and cut into small rings.
Use a large sauce pan with plenty of water. Heat it until boiling then add the bucatini. Let it boil for about 8 minutes until it is al dente.
A few minutes before the pasta is ready heat uncovered the butter, crushed garlic and oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan
Add the shrimp, crab meat, calamari/squid and mussels
Cook them all on high heat, with a lid on the pan, shaking once or twice for about 4 minutes (all mussels should be opened)
Add the tomato sauce into the seafood
Strain the bucatini and add to the pan with the seafood and sauce
Stir everything up well
Sprinkle with some parsley and oregano
Enjoy!
So many people have memories of overcooked, over-chewy calamari, a bit like rubber. But fresh or good quality frozen squid, cooked either very quickly or very slowly, is melt in the mouth tender. The in-between area is where things get very tough and rubbery. The long and slow cooking in this recipe is certainly worth it for a very tender and delicious result. It is a one pot meal and all it needs is some warm, crusty bread to mop all the juices up with. A dish to be enjoyed in summer as well as winter with a glass of cool white wine.
This is a very popular Italian way of preparing calamari or squid. You can use the whole calamari, tentacles, and bodies or just the tubes cut into rings. This is usually served as a starter with spicy marinara sauce but you could just as well use a sauce tartare. This way of preparing calamari really showcases the seafood itself as it does not have the thick batter often found with deep fried calamari in restaurants. Best of all, it is a really very easy. If you do not have a thermometer to test the oil temperature, no problem – use a piece of bread. My Italian grandmother taught me this trick and I still use it to this day. Drop a small piece of bread into the hot oil, if it sinks then the oil is too cold, if it turns black and burns immediately, the oil is too hot, but if it sizzles slowly and happily, your oil is just right.
