My favorite night of the year is Christmas Eve. For over 65 years my family has celebrated the Italian American tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fish.
Here are some recipes for you!
Lobster Tails (Oven Baked) in Tomato Sauce
(Serves 4)
These oven baked lobster tails are stewed in a tomato sauce and couldn't be easier for even the most novice of cooks. This dish is actually course number 4 of my family's Feast of the Seven Fishes, Italian American Christmas celebration. This tradition has been in my family for over 70 years. And it is by far my favorite night of the year. You can serve this dish with pasta mixed with the delicious juices of the lobster, or you can even serve it alongside roast potatoes and maybe even some sauteed broccoli rabe.
Ingredients
4 (8 oz) Lobster Tails, Rinsed
⅓ cup, Plus 3 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
7 Garlic Cloves,Halved
¼ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
½ Cup Whole Canned Tomatoes
⅓ Cup Clam Juice
½ tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Pepper
2 tbsp. Chopped Fresh Parsley
2 Tbsp. Butter
Method
Put the tomatoes in a small bowl, and use your hands to crush them.
Next In a small frying pan put ⅓ cup of olive oil and add in the garlic. Cook on a low flame (being sure not to burn) until the garlic is cooked through. Remove the garlic and mash on a cutting board using a fork. Next coat the bottom of a shallow baking dish with the olive oil you used for the garlic (I use a 13 x 9 Pyrex).
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Use a scissor to cut down in a straight line down the top of the shell of the lobster. Take a knife and slice down (about half way down) the center of the lobster meat. Remove any veins or green particles. Then just rinse it and dry well. Tuck the shell under the meat on both sides. The meat will now be on top of the shell. Almost as if the shell is holding it up.
Place the lobster in the dish (top side up). Take about 2 tbsp. of olive oil and drizzle over the tails. Use your hands to spread (coat well) the shell and the meat.
Then take the smashed garlic and evenly put some on top of each tail. Use your fingers to rub the garlic into the meat a little.
Pour the tomatoes and the clam juice over the tail and along their sides. Season (sprinkle)with salt, pepper and parsley.
Drizzle 1 more tbsp. of olive oil over the tails. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the foil and add the butter to the top of each tail. Baste each tail with the juices.
Return to the oven and cook for 5 minutes and baste again. Then bake for about another 10 minutes.
Serve. Be sure to pour more juices over the tails when serving. The sauce is so good.
Seafood Salad
The Italian American Feast of the 7 Fishes is my favorite night of the year. I love all the food, in particular this delicious seafood salad. For our family's recipe we use lobster, shrimp, polpo (octopus), crabmeat, and calamari.
Quick tip with this…you can do this the day before you are planning to eat it. I find that the fish tastes even more delicious after it is marinating in the lemon vinaigrette longer.
Ingredients
(Serves 8)
1 lb. (about 18) Jumbo Shrimp, Deveinedii
1 lb. Calamari- I use just the tubes (the body)
1 lb. Canned Colossal Crab Meat (Be sure to use high quality brand), Rinse and drain well
1 lb. Polpo (Octopus), I buy just the tentacles
3 (8 OZ) Lobster Tails, Using a scissor, cut through the top of the body of the lobster before boiling
5 Celery Stalks (About 6 oz), Diced
3/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Black Pepper
3 tsp. Fresh Parsley, Chopped
¾ Cup High Quality Extra VIrgin Olive Oil
8 cups Red Wine Vinegar to boil the Polpo
Method
In a small sauce pot, heat up the red wine vinegar. Once the vinegar comes to a slight boil, dip the tentacles 3 times (this tenderizes the polpo before boiling), and then boil them for 25 Minutes. Once they are done, rinse and remove the pink part (the suckers) and cut into small pieces.
In three other pots boil water. Boil the shrimp, calamari and the lobster separately. The lobster will cook in about 8 to 9 minutes. The shrimp in about 7 minutes and the calamari in about 20 minutes. For the calamari, boil the whole tubes. Drain all the seafood once done. Remove the lobster from the shell and cut into small cubes. Slice the calamari into thin rings. Take the tails of the shrimp off and cut them into small pieces. Cool the seafood.
Put all the seafood in a bowl and add the celery, salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, and parsley.
Mix well, chill for at least three hours and serve.
Linguine alle Vongole (Linguine with Clams) Serves 4
Linguine with Clams, called Linguine alle Vongole in Italy, is a dish you can find on almost every menu in Italian-American restaurants. For my family it is a summertime favorite and even a great fish recipe for Lenten Fridays, or Christmas Eve for the Feast of the Seven Fishes. I use the smallest clams that I can find. In Italy the size of the clams for this dish is comparable to the size of a dime. To me they taste better than the larger clams and are a little sweeter.
Locally the smallest clams I can find are New Zealand clams. But ask your fishmonger for help. He or she can guide you in the right direction regarding the types of clams to use. But again, the smaller the better with this recipe. Be sure to serve this dish with crusty bread to mop up the delicious sauce.
Ingredients
⅔ Cup Olive Oil
10 Garlic Cloves
½ Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
2½ Pounds Clams (I Use the Tiny New Zealand Clams), cleaned
16 Ounces Whole Plum Tomatoes
¾ Cup Pinot Grigio
½ Cup Bottled Clam Juice
¾ Teaspoon Salt
10 Basil Leaves, chopped
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 Pound Linguine
Method
Bring a pasta pot to boil. Add salt.
Put the olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in another pan and heat on a very low flame until the garlic is cooked through. Mash the garlic with a fork into the olive oil,
Then add the clams. Raise the heat to low/medium. Cover and cook until the clams start to open up, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, wine and clam juice and season with salt. Cover and cook until the shells of the clams open.
Add the basil and butter. Cook for another 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Some clams can be more or less salty. So, you might have to add more salt depending on the clams.
In the meantime, cook the pasta. Using a measuring cup, remove some of the pasta water and set aside.
Drain the pasta when al dente. Add the pasta to the sauce. If necessary add a little of the pasta water to make the sauce looser.
Serve.
Shrimp Oreganata (Serves 6)
Shrimp Oreganata is the fourth course in my family's Feast the Seven Fishes. This Italian American tradition is one that we’ve been doing in my family for over 70 years. It is absolutely my favorite night of the year. I usually have about 50 people for a sit down seven course fish dinner. It’s a lot of work, but the joy it gives me to do this far outweighs the effort. Growing up I could remember helping my grandfather prepare the fish. I would help him clean it, and assist in the preparation. The time spent with him was invaluable to me. These days my aunts and I all collaborate on the cooking as we get up in the wee hours of Christmas Eve to start the meal.
Over the course of the year, I make this meal often. I love to serve it with a sauteed vegetable, like spinach and even some roasted potatoes.
Ingredients
42 Jumbo Shrimp, Deveined and Butterflied with Tails on
¾ Cups Plain Bread Crumbs
¾ Cups Pecorino Romano Cheese, Grated
2 Tbsp. Garlic, Chopped
2 Tbsp. Parsley, Chopped
1 Tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Oregano
Zest 3 Lemons
6 Tbsp. Olive Oil plus extra to coat the pan
Method
1/2 Cup White Wine
2/3 Cup Lemon Juice
1 Cup Clam Juice
1 Tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
4 tbsp. Butter, Sliced the cut up into 42 tiny pieces
Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees. Coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. In a bowl combine the bread crumbs, grated cheese, chopped garlic, chopped parsley, salt, oregano and lemon zest. Mix well and add olive oil.
Coat the bottom of your glass bottom Pyrex dish with some olive oil. I actually use two pans for this. If you do not have a Pyrex you can use a shallow baking pan. Arrange the shrimp in the pan with the tails up. Leave a little space between each shrimp. Fill the butterflied portion of the shrimp with about 1 tsp of bread crumb mixture.
In a measuring cup combine white wine, lemon juice, clam juice and salt and olive oil. Pour the mixture slowly around the perimeter of each shrimp, coating the bottom of the pan. Put a small pat of butter on each shrimp.
Cover with aluminum foil and put shrimp in the oven for about 30 minutes or until they start to turn pink. Remove foil and cook for about another 15 minutes or until shrimp is cooked thru. You can even put shrimp under the broiler to make the bread crumbs extra crispy.
Zuppa di Cozze (Serves 6)
Zuppa di Cozze (aka mussels marinara in most Italian American restaurants), is mussels in a light tomato sauce. It is a dish that I love to make at home because to me it is so much better. But people are often scared to do it on their own, but trust me it is so easy. I like to serve it as a first course with some crusty bread to dip. So delicious!
You can also make this dish as a pasta course, by adding cooked linguini to the mussels! See recipe notes for the details.
Ingredients
½ Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10 Garlic Cloves
½ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
16 oz. Whole Plum Tomatoes - Crush by hand in a bowl
2 lbs. Prince Edward Island Mussels (cleaned)
1 1/2. Tsp. Salt
¾ Cups Pinot Grigio
½ Cup Clam Juice in Bottle
15 Basil Leaves - Chopped
6 tbsp. Butter (optional but highly recommended)
1 Loaf Crusty Italian Bread
Method
Put the olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in a pot and heat on a very low flame until the garlic is cooked through. Mash the garlic with a fork. Raise the heat to medium. Then add the mussels. Season with salt, cover and begin to steam the mussels. About 5 minutes. Add the wine and clam juice. Cover and cook until the shells of the mussels begin to open. Add the tomatoes and incorporate all the ingredients. Add the butter (optional- but I highly recommend it because it gives the sauce great flavor) and basil. Cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with bread
Recipe Note- If you want to make this as a pasta course simply boil 1 pound of linguini. Reserve some of the pasta water (about ¼ Cup). Drain the pasta and combine with the sauce and add in your pasta water. This will serve 4.