Feast of the Seven Fishes (Italian and Beyond!)

FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES (ITALIAN AND BEYOND!)

It’s only a few days to Christmas and time to commit to a decision on what to make for your holiday dinner (if you haven't already!). The thought of turkey makes you cringe, with good reason….so what else is there to make? In my house, the go-to for Christmas dinner is always a plump, juicy roast (think standing rib roast or rack of lamb), but this year I am inspired by the ‘Feast of the Seven Fishes’, which is a traditional Italian celebration on Christmas Eve. This meal typically consists of 7 seafood and fish dishes but I've seen some families have upwards of 10! I'm sticking to 3 or 4, thank you. After enduring a 3 day food coma from Thanksgiving, the thought of an array of light seafood dishes for Christmas sounds delicious and not overly filling (not to mention getting a kick start on that New Year's resolution of eating healthy!).

FIRST COURSE: EASY APPETIZER

I like to have a couple simple snacks ready for when guests arrive. Everyone always arrives hungry and ready to eat, and this means they can snack and stay out of the kitchen! ;) Small bites or spreads are best for this feast since there are many more courses to come, so try to keep it simple and easy to make ahead! I love this Peruvian Clams à la Parmesana recipe that's in my cookbook. I learned about these in Lima, clams with a little chili paste, garlic and pisco and then topped with buttery-parmesan breadcrumbs. You can assemble them ahead of time and pop them in when guests arrive - they only take 3 minutes under the broiler! These Quinoa-Crusted Shrimp are another great, healthy option.

SECOND COURSE: RAW BAR OR SEAFOOD SALAD

For me, nothing beats a great raw bar to truly showcase the flavors of the sea. Stone crabs, cooked lobster, or gorgeous jumbo shrimp served with a flavorful cocktail or tarator sauce are showstoppers. Pair with a seasonal salad (think: fennel, mache, oranges and pomegranate) with a bit of balsamic and oil.

THIRD COURSE: HEARTY, WHOLE FISH

This course and the next should be the big dishes, the ones that showcase the entire meal. A whole fish, such as red snapper or striped bass would be perfect here with a couple side dishes to go along. A whole fish doesn't have to be daunting, and salt-crusting is the perfect technique! Take 4 cups kosher salt plus 8 egg whites and thoroughly mix together. Make a bed on the baking pan with the salt mixture, lay the fish on top and add a thick coating on top, patting down to seal it all around. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes at 400° F. Crack open the salt layer with a spoon and peel back the skin for the most tender, flavorful (not salty I swear!) fish you've had. Serve with your favorite chili-garlic sauce, chermoula or a lemon-basil vinaigrette.

FOURTH COURSE: PASTA OR, IN MY CASE, PAELLA!

If we were creating a traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes, this course would showcase a pasta dish. But, since the feast is just a guideline to this epic meal, I am choosing to replace the pasta with a delicious seafood paella recipe. The key to a great paella is the rice! You can use short grain rice but if you can find it, bomba rice is what most fine-dining restaurants use and is the traditional rice for this dish. And remember, you want that crunchy rice on the bottom of the pan….that’s the best part!

FIFTH COURSE: SOUP OR SEAFOOD STEW

Yes, can you believe it? We are still eating! If you have room after consuming the previous courses, take it down a notch with a warm brothy seafood or fish soup. This recipe for Ginger Crab is nothing short of amazing and is the type of food I grew up eating - food particular to the East Coast of Africa that blends all that's amazing about African, Indian and Arab foods.

FINALLY: PALATE CLEANSER + DESSERT!

Ok, so I’m combining the last two courses because I just don’t think I can eat anymore at this point! A great palate cleanser could be a simple citrus sorbet or semifreddo. The traditional dessert with this feast is an array of Italian cookies, but since we are skipping the sixth course, I’ve decided to do a decadent South African Cape Malva pudding, a moist, butter-y cake with caramelized edges steeped in a warm brandy sauce. Done!

Enjoy!

Scallops with Spiced–Brown Butter Cassava Purée

So in a few weeks I’m headed down to St. Lucia to do a little cooking. Last time I was down there, it was a bit of a blur because I was perfecting this rum punch recipe. This time, I’m all business! Usually, I travel to learn about the food and cooking of a place, but I’m actually going to partnerwith a local restaurant to do some exciting things with their menu. The fact that it’s at one of the most beautiful resorts in the world (in my opinion!) makes me pretty much one of the luckiest ladies out there, and the fact that the menu is based on South Asian / Indian and West Indian influences couldn’t suit my background and passions more. Here is a sneak peak at one of the dishes I’m developing for them.

Scallops, brown butter and spices work together really well, particularly with a nice root purée. The island has incredible local seafood as well as produce – cassava is a local vegetable that’s starchy and takes on flavor beautifully. I cook it here much like I would heavenly, creamy mashed potatoes and infuse it with signature South Asian spices like cumin and coriander. I may change my mind and mix it with a bit of potato or use dasheen (taro root) instead, but I really did like the way this one came out so I wanted to share.

I am in absolute love with my ricer for making purées of root vegetables, and it really helps create that creamy, silky texture. The spices make the cassava pop, and the nutty brown butter pairs with sweet scallops in such a lovely way. I love to get a nice crust on the scallops, and secretly I cooked them in the same pan in which I made the brown butter for some extra flavor. This is an easy weeknight meal but is certainly entertainment worthy. You can absolutely substitute potatoes or even cauliflower here (adjusting cooking times of course) if cassava isn’t readily available. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 quart chicken stock

3 cups water

2 cassavas, approx. 1 ¾ lbs peeled, chopped cassava

½ tsp kosher salt

1 stick + 2 tbsps unsalted butter

¾ tsp turmeric

1 ½ tsps cumin

1 ½ tsps coriander

¾ tsp white pepper

large pinch cinnamon

large pinch cayenne

2 cups heavy cream

16 large, dry sea scallops, muscle removed

vegetable oil

kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

Procedure

In a stockpot, bring stock, water, cassava and salt up to a boil and lower to a simmer. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until cassava is tender and breaks very easily with a fork. Drain, pass through a ricer (or use a potato masher) and put back into a large saucepan. Place saucepan on low heat, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes to dry out the cassava thoroughly.

In a small skillet, melt 1 stick of butter over medium-high heat. Add spices and continue cooking butter until it browns and becomes fragrant in a hazelnut kind of way.

Whisk browned, spiced butter and heavy cream into cassava and heat through. At this point you can serve like this or push it through a mesh sieve to get an even finer texture. To keep warm, hold purée in a double boiler (i.e. in a bowl over simmering water).

For the scallops, you want to develop a nice, deep color on them. Thoroughly dry the scallops before cooking and season generously with salt and freshly ground pepper. If they are wet, they won’t caramelize and will sort of steam in the pan. Also, if you crowd the pan, they will also steam, so work in batches if necessary.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add vegetable oil to just coat the bottom of the pan. When it’s just about to smoke, add the scallops, dragging a little so that the side gets coated in olive oil. Cook for about two minutes and add a tablespoon or so of the butter. Let cook for another minute or so and then flip. They should have a nice brown crust on them. At this point, I turn the heat down just a tad. Let them cook on this side for another three minutes or so until they are cooked to your desired level. I like mine so that the middle third looks a bit translucent and the top and bottom thirds are opaque, but remember different-sized scallops will take differing cooking times.

Serve scallops immediately with a side of the cassava purée and some chopped herbs if you desire.

Mini Gumbo Pot Pies (Take 2)

A few months back, I put up a recipe for mini seafood gumbo pot pies, spicy little pescatarian pots of joy that were topped with puff pastry crust. After visiting New Orleans, I decided to revisit this recipe and tweak it here and there. I learned so much on my trip and got a serious lesson in NOLA cooking from my friend, Gwendolyn Scott, who owns her own catering company out there. We caught the whole thing on film and wrapped it into my first webisode of Exotic Table, which I’ll post a little later this week! (All of the pics here are from the video.)

That NOLA smoked sausage is just irresistible, so you know I had to throw a little andouille in…I also made some changes to my “holy Trinity” ratio (holy Trinity is Louisiana’s catch phrase for onions, celery and peppers, which are key to their cooking) and added in a lot more okra to help thicken up my gumbo.

Thick, rich, spicy and hearty, but elegant enough to serve to dinner guests – little mini gumbo pot pies are a fun twist on an old favorite. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 8 10-ounce ramekins

1 stick unsalted butter

¾ cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsps butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 green pepper, finely chopped

1 celery, finely chopped

1 fresno, finely chopped

1 (1/2 lb) andouille sausage, diced

4 or 5 garlic cloves, minced

Creole seasoning (recipe follows, a little over 4 tbsps)*

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups sliced okra

1/3 cup peas

½ cup heavy cream

2 dried bay leaves

½ cup sliced green onion

small handful of cilantro, finely chopped

small handful of parsley, finely chopped

1 lb mixed seafood (lump crab, rock or small shrimp, bay or small scallops, shelled lobster)**

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

lemon juice to taste

1 egg (beaten with a bit of cream or water)

2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed according to package directions

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400° F.

I like to start by making the roux since it takes some time to develop color. That is, melt butter in a heavy bottomed cast-iron pan (large enough) or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk. Continue to whisk at very frequent intervals (semi-constantly) for 15 to 20 minutes until the mixture has turned a deep chocolate brown. Be careful not to burn.

In a separate skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat and add onions and a bit of salt (to draw out the moisture). Cook for about 2 minutes and add peppers, celery. Cook for another 5 minutes, and push to veggies one side. Crank up the heat, and brown the sausage in that side of the pan. When browned, add minced garlic and creoled seasoning, mix in the veggies, and let cook for about 30 seconds to a minute until fragrant. Remove from heat, and, if the roux is ready (good timing!), add directly to the roux.

To the cooked roux, add the chicken stock and whisk to fully incorporate. Add the onion mixture as discussed, okra, peas, heavy cream, and bay leaves. Make sure none of the roux is stuck to the bottom or in the crevices of the pot. Bring mixture up to a boil and lower to a simmer for 20 minutes. You want it to thicken up, so leave it partially covered.

On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to about 1/8th of an inch thick. Using pastry cutters or a glass that’s larger than the diameter of your ramekins, cut out 8 circles. Make sure they are large enough to fit over top the ramekins.

To the gumbo, add the green onions, chopped herbs, and seafood. Adjust seasonings at this point, adding salt, pepper and a shot or two of lemon juice, if needed. Ladle gumbo evenly into ramekins.

Brush the tops of the ramekins on the outside with the egg wash. Place puff pastry circles on top, crimp to your desired effect, and brush entirely with the egg wash. Use a knife to make slits into the top to let the steam escape. Place ramekins on baking sheets and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is brown and crusty.

*Creole Seasoning:

1 tsps onion powder

2 tsps garlic powder

1 tsps dried oregano leaves

3/4 tsp dried sweet basil

1 tsps dried thyme leaves

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp white pepper

¼ tsp cayenne pepper (whatever you can stand!)

½ tsp celery seed

2 tsps sweet paprika

½ tsp ground mustard

**For the seafood, I like to use small pieces for a few reasons. (1) The seafood has to fit into the ramekins with room for all of the other great stuff, and (2) I only put the seafood in right before it goes into the oven – small pieces will cook perfectly (without overcooking) and pre-cooked items, like crab, don’t turn to mush. If you are using larger shrimp or decide to do this in a casserole dish rather than individual ramekins, adjust your cooking time accordingly.

Smoked Herring Croquettes

One of the infinitely amazing things about living in New York City is the rich food culture and history we have. There are grocers or markets or shops to cover every ethnic cuisine, and, if you are a boutique food shopper like me, there is so much pleasure to be derived from sourcing ingredients, exploring shops, and developing your “go-to’s”.

If you live in the city and haven’t been to the Lower East Side institution, Russ and Daughters, you are missing out on some world famous smoked salmon and one of the best sources for Eastern European Jewish foods. The shop has been around since 1914, and they have everything from hand-rolled bagels and spreads to caviar and halvah.

This is another recipe I developed for the event I’m cooking for in April. Smoked herring is eaten throughout the Caribbean, and Russ and Daughters has some lovely, really woodsy fillets. I was inspired by a Haitian dish that has smoked herring in a Creole sauce to create these crisp and fluffy croquettes. I’m still working on a recipe for a Creole ketchup of sorts to dip these into so look out for that, but these would be delicious with an aioli, a mustard-based sauce, or just by themselves.

I love using beautiful Yukon gold potatoes in croquettes like these. You get all of the flavor of the smoked herring, which is pretty intense (warning: use gloves when handling the herring unless you want your hands to smell like them for days…), but the potatoes lend a pillowy lightness. You can bread them in Panko if you like, but I went for old-school Progresso plain breadcrumbs to get the texture I wanted. Crispness followed by a delicate bite, smoky, salty, a touch of heat…these are fantastic as hors d’oeuvres but could be made bigger or flatter into a cake and pan-fried for a great appetizer or entrée. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 2 dozen croquettes

2 medium-sized Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered

2 smoked herring fillets*

2-3 tbsps unsalted butter

1 shallot, finely diced

½ habanero, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 green onion, finely minced

1 ½ tbsps cilantro, finely chopped

1 egg yolk

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 egg, beaten

½ cup plain breadcrumbs

Frying oil

Procedure

In a saucepan or small pot, cover potatoes with cold water by 1 inch. Bring up to a boil and boil, uncovered, for 20 minutes until very tender. Drain and set aside.

In another medium-sized saucepan, bring water up to a simmer. Add herring filets and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, just until cooked through. Remove and drain / dry off thoroughly. Flake into a bowl and set aside.

Heat a small sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add butter. Once foam subsides, add diced shallot, habanero and a pinch of salt to draw out the moisture. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until shallot is translucent. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute and remove from heat.

In a bowl, mash potatoes. Add flaked herring, shallot mixture, minced green onion, chopped cilantro and egg yolk. Combine thoroughly and season to taste.

To form the croquettes, I like to use a small ice cream scoop or medium melon baller to get uniform pieces. Then, I use my hands to shape them into balls.

Set up a breading station with a bowl each for the egg and breadcrumbs. Dip croquettes in the egg and then coat with breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess.

In a dutch oven or pot, heat 3 to 4 inches of oil to 360° F. Carefully, drop croquettes into the oil, working in batches. Fry until a deep golden brown and remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve warm with dipping sauce of your choice.

*The smoked herring fillets I got were deboned for the most part (except for a few pin bones). They also were not extremely salty. If you are using salt-crusted or salt-cured smoked herring, you want to soak the herring in several changes of boiling water to remove some of the saltiness. Again, use gloves when handling unless you want to smell like smoky fish for days…

Spicy Seafood Gumbo Pot Pie

Pot pie is one of those winter comfort foods that is really unmatched. A warm, creamy, thick (typically, chicken) soup-like interior with delicious vegetables topped or, better, encased in crusty, buttery pastry dough. It really wasn’t something I ate regularly growing up and always felt like such a treat.

I was trying to come up with a way to get the soul satisfaction of a pot pie but with a little more kick to it. I didn’t feel like going WAY spiced – say, with a Thai or Indian base – and yet I wanted something more. Gumbo immediately popped into mind, and that was it! All of those Creole spices, that rich thickness…gumbo pot pie was born.

I decided to go with all seafood because I actually created this recipe for some pescatarian friends of mine, but feel free to add some andouille (yum!) or whatever you like in there. I also cook the roux for this to a milk chocolate color (time saving…) though I know people who cook their roux for at least an hour and a half to get that super dark chocolate look. Finally, I make these individual-sized for fun and only put the pastry on top to keep it easy and, perhaps, slightly healthier. The gumbo is rich, spicy, hearty and has some heat to it (depending on your hot sauce and cayenne doses) and tastes amazing with bites of the pastry dough…Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 12 8–ounce round ramekins

1 stick unsalted butter

¾ cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsps butter

3 cups chopped onion, small dice (approximately 2 medium onions)

1 cup chopped bell or small sweet pepper, small dice (approximately 4 or 5 small sweet peppers)

¾ cup chopped celery

Creole seasoning (recipe follows, a little over 4 tbsps)*

4 or 5 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup sliced okra

½ cup peas

6 cups of chicken, seafood or vegetable stock

a few dashes of Worcestershire

a few dashes of hot sauce

2 bay leaves

½ cup sliced green onion

small handful of cilantro, finely chopped

small handful of parsley, finely chopped

½ cup heavy cream

1 ¾ lbs mixed seafood (lump crab, rock or small shrimp, bay or small scallops, shelled lobster)**

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

lemon juice to taste

1 egg (beaten with a bit of cream or water)

2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed according to package directions

Procedure

Preheat oven to 400° F.

In a separate skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat and add onions and a bit of salt (to draw out the moisture). Cook for about 2 minutes and add peppers, celery and creole seasoning. Cook for another 5 minutes, add minced garlic and let cook for about 30 seconds to a minute until fragrant. Remove from heat, and, if the roux is ready (good timing!), add directly to the roux.

To the cooked roux, add the onion mixture as discussed, okra, peas, stock, Worcestershire, hot sauce and bay leaves. Make sure none of the roux is stuck to the bottom or in the crevices of the pot. Bring mixture up to a boil and lower to a simmer for 20 minutes. You want it to thicken up, so leave it uncovered.

On a floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to about 1/8th of an inch thick. Using pastry cutters or a glass that’s larger than the diameter of your ramekins, cut out 12 circles. I like to poke holes now while it’s on a flat surface, so use a fork to poke little holes or a knife to make a few slits in each circle.

To the gumbo, add the green onions, chopped herbs, seafood and heavy cream. Adjust seasonings at this point, adding salt, pepper and a shot or two of lemon juice, if needed. Ladle gumbo evenly into ramekins.

Brush the tops of the ramekins on the outside with the beaten egg. Place puff pastry circles on top, crimp to your desired effect, and brush entirely with the egg wash. Place ramekins on baking sheets and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is brown and crusty.

*Creole Seasoning:

1 ½ tsps onion powder

1 ½ tsps garlic powder

1 ½ tsps dried oregano leaves

1 tsp dried sweet basil

1 ½ tsps dried thyme leaves

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp white pepper

¼ – ½ tsp cayenne pepper (whatever you can stand!)

½ tsp celery seed

1 tbsp sweet paprika

½ tsp ground mustard

Scallops with Thai Citrus Salad

It’s amazing the difference a year makes. I was actually in Thailand last winter and had the most beautiful pomelo salad, the inspiration for this recipe. A pomelo is a huge, grapefruit-like fruit that is found all over Southeast Asia. It’s sweet and lacks any of the bitterness typical of a grapefruit. Pomelos have a thick, spongy pith, and the fruit shreds into segments easily, which makes it perfect for a salad. When I got back, I had a hard time sourcing one, and then, lo and behold, a few weeks ago, I found them in Chelsea Market and on Fresh Direct! They are a beautiful fruit, so I’m so happy they are becoming more accessible.

When I was in Bangkok, I had the opportunity to spend the day at Face Bangkok, a cool, open-air restaurant compound with a swanky bar, a Thai restaurant, an Indian restaurant, and even a spa on site! The restaurant is part of a larger group that has branches in Jakarta, Beijing and Pudong, and is fantastic (if you happen to be visiting Bangkok) for a nice night out or drinks soaking up the chic scenery. I did a bit of intensive Thai cooking there, and this is my version of one dish that I learned.

This salad has a few different flavors and textures that I think work really well with a beautifully-caramelized, sweet scallop (as well as on its own!). If you can’t find a pomelo, delicious mandarins (satsumas are my fave) that are in season right now would work really well with all of the tangy and salty flavors. The peanuts and toasted coconut provide a great texture, a little umami from the fish sauce, sweetness and tartness from the tart lime juice – it’s light and refreshing and perfect to break up winter’s heavy dishes and take in some seasonal citrus. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 as a main course or 6 for a starter

Salad:

¾ cup dried, unsweetened coconut (chips or shredded)

¾ cup peanuts, toasted and crushed

3 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

½ shallot, finely minced

1 cup pomelo, segmented*

8-10 mint leaves, chiffonade

Citronette:

juice of 1 ½ limes

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsps sugar

pinch of cayenne

1 ½ tsps fish sauce

1 ½ tbsps extra virgin olive oil

Scallops:

3 tbsps olive oil

2 lbs jumbo sea scallops

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 tbsp butter

Procedure

In a skillet over medium heat, add the dried coconut and toast until the color is deep and golden. This process happens fairly quickly, so keep your eye on it. Add to a bowl along with the crushed peanuts, scallions, shallot and pomelo (and any juice that resulted from segmenting the pomelo).

For the dressing, combine the lime juice, sugar, salt and cayenne and whisk to dissolve thoroughly. Add the fish sauce and then slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil whisking to combine. Toss salad with dressing, add mint, and season to taste.

For the scallops, you want to develop a nice deep color on them. Thoroughly dry the scallops before cooking and season generously with salt and pepper. If they are wet, they won’t caramelize and will sort of steam in the pan. Also, if you crowd the pan, they will also steam, so work in batches if necessary.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. When it’s just about to smoke, add the scallops, dragging a little so that the side gets coated in olive oil. Cook for about two minutes and add the butter. Let cook for another minute or so and then flip. They should have a nice brown crust on them. At this point, I turn the heat down just a tad. Let them cook on this side for another three minutes or so until they are cooked to your desired level. I like mine so that the middle third looks a bit translucent and the top and bottom thirds are opaque, but remember different-sized scallops will take differing cooking times. This is what I use to cook jumbo or U10-sized scallops.

Serve scallops hot with the cool salad spooned over top.

*The pomelo is a pretty unique fruit. To segment, I like to cut off as much of the rind and pith as possible. Then, I take out the larger, membrane-enclosed segments (much like a grapefruit or orange) and slip a pairing knife under the membrane. Once this is peeled away, the inner fruit shreds into little pieces. I like to do this over a bowl and catch all of the residual juice, which adds great flavor to the salad.

Spicy Mussels with a Kokum-Coconut Broth

This Goa trip I just took has inspired a host of recipes – the fresh ingredients, bright flavors and colors, interesting cultural mix. I seriously have to restrain myself to prevent all of my recipes from being monopolized by this cuisine. This dish is one I was dreaming about after I made traditional Goan fish curry during my first few days there – an elegant take on mussels using a popular Konkani ingredient, kokum.

I posted about kokum before I left for my trip, but it’s effectively the dried rind of a local plum-like fruit. It adds acidity and tartness to dishes there. It’s often interchanged with fresh tamarind, so you could add a touch of that here instead if you happen to have it on hand. You won’t get the same flavor, but I’ll bet it’s still delicious.

I love how cheap mussels are. I average about 1 pound per person for a main, and at $3 a pound, there’s not a better deal. They work incredibly well for entertaining – cheap yet elegant.

The combination of coconut and kokum was really popular in Goan dishes, though they tend to use freshly grated coconut. A lot of their dishes also had this beautiful balance of tart, creaminess from the coconut, and a bit of sweetness from jaggery, which is unrefined cane or palm sugar. Coconut milk is a lot easier to work with, so I used that here, and I used honey instead of sugar because I love the flavor.

The resulting broth is warmly spiced, with heat from the chili, acidity and tartness from the kokum and wine, and tempered by the creamy coconut milk. A splash of fresh lemon juice and cilantro add brightness, and the dish is surprisingly light. I toasted up some slices of a crunchy, French loaf with olive oil and a bit of salt and used it to sop up the sauce. Decadent. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Makes 2 to 4 servings

2 lbs fresh mussels, scrubbed and beards removed*

3 tbsps butter

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 finger chili, halved and split

½ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground black pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup white wine

1 can coconut milk

1 ½ tsps honey

1 to 3 pieces of kokum (depending on the strength/souring quality of the kokum)

1 handful cilantro, finely chopped

Salt to taste

2 scallions, green and light green parts only, thinly sliced

squeeze of lemon juice

Procedure

Heat a medium-sized pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add butter and when foam subsides, add shallots and a pinch of salt to draw out the moisture. Cook for a minute or two and add in the chili and ground spices. When shallots are translucent, add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds or so or until it’s fragrant.

Add white wine and reduce until very little is left. Add coconut milk, honey, kokum pieces, and 2 tablespoons of the cilantro. Some kokum is extremely sour, so start with 1 piece and increase up to 3 depending on how tart you’d like your broth. Bring mixture up to a boil and lower to a simmer. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half. Taste and adjust seasoning at this point.

Throw in the mussels and scallions. Bring temperature up to a simmer again, and cook covered for a few minutes until mussels open. Mine took somewhere between 3 and 4 minutes – you don’t want to overcook.

Squeeze fresh lemon juice over mussels, transfer to a bowl, and sprinkle remaining cilantro on top. Serve hot with big pieces of toasted, crusty bread.

*I think a key to making delicious mussels is thoroughly cleaning them. I like to scrape around the outside of each mussel with a pairing knife, removing any debris and hairy parts (beard). Prepare an ice- cold bowl of water and add sea salt until the water tastes pretty salty. Rinse off mussels, place in salt water, and refrigerate for a minimum of a half hour. The mussels will release a lot of their sand and grit this way. Remember to rinse again before cooking and discard any open mussels.

Open-Faced Soft-Shell Crab Sandwich

I have a mild obsession with crab, and I’m pretty sure it all started around the age of 5.

I went on a mini crabbing expedition of sorts with my family in the Arabian Sea. It was a day trip really – out on the water on this creaky boat, where we caught these beautiful, huge blue crabs. Thrilling. They were cooked right there on the spot with a ton of spices and butter. I remember breaking them apart, yanking out the soft, sweet flesh, and sopping up the buttery spices with naan. It was a vivid taste memory I will never forget.

I felt like I was in heaven…until around 6 hours later when I became the sickest ever. I literally thought I was going to die. Who knows what was in that water. But I must really love crab because, unlike tequila, the experience never deterred me from future consumption.

Right now, I’m loving soft-shell crab season, which goes from April to October/November. Walking through Chelsea Market, I stopped by The Lobster Place, and they had live ones (frozen ones don’t compare). So I nabbed them, and, though I obviously can clean them, my heart couldn’t take it. I turned my head while they snipped off the eyes, gills, and aprons. At one restaurant, I had to mercilessly rip the claws off of around 150 langoustines in one sitting while they tried to scurry away…it’s hypocritical, and I’m likely in karmic trouble, but I avoid the killing part wherever I can.

The inspiration for this dish is the infamous Singapore black pepper crab. I wanted the peppery flavor without the soy and oyster sauces, so I lightened this with a little white wine and stock and mellowed with some cream to make a thin, sauce that gets spooned over (and absorbed into) thick brioche. Rather than typically deep-frying the soft shells, I kept the crab a little lighter by dredging in a seasoned flour and shallow frying. With the sweetly caramelized onions, the spicy chilies and black pepper, the creamy sauce over crunchy, buttery bread and, of course, the crispy crab on top, this is more meal than sandwich. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 6 open-faced sandwiches

Crabs:

½ dozen soft-shell crabs, cleaned, rinsed, and dried

2/3 cups rice flour

1/3 cup cornstarch

2 tsps salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 ½ tsps onion powder

2 ½ tsps garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

Oil

Butter

Topping:

3 to 4 tbsps of butter

6 to 8 curry leaves

4 small or 3 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

1 green chili, minced (you choose based on your heat tolerance: poblano, jalapeno, Serrano, thai)

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1 ½ tsps black pepper

1/3 cup white wine

1/3 cup vegetable or seafood stock

¼ cup cream

Handful of cilantro, finely chopped

Salt and lemon juice to taste

6 pieces of thick-cut bread, preferably brioche, toasted and kept warm in 200° F oven

Procedure

Preheat oven to 200° F.

In a large bowl, sift together rice flour and cornstarch, and add salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and paprika. Make sure the crabs are dry, and dredge in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess.

Heat a ½“ of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a few tablespoons of butter for taste. When the oil is hot and shimmering, place crabs in the skillet undersides up. Cook for about 2 minutes until that side crisps, and then flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove and place on a rack on a baking sheet. Keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.

A few things: 1) There will still be some residual moisture in the crabs so be careful. When they are wet, they pop and sputter. 2) Don’t overcrowd the pan – fry in batches if you must. Steamed, crowded crab is yucky.

Turn the heat down to medium low, and pour off the excess oil from the skillet. Add a few tablespoons of fresh butter. Add in the curry leaves and onions, and cook on medium-low. You want to caramelize the onions slowly to bring out their natural sweetness, not brown them. Stir frequently to make sure cooking is even.

After 10 minutes, add in the chilies, garlic, scallions (reserving some for garnish), and black pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes or so. Deglaze the pan by adding the white wine and scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine is almost completely reduced. Add in the stock and cream and reduce by half. Add cilantro (again, reserving some for garnish) and salt and lemon juice to taste.

Serve by placing a piece of warm, toasted brioche on a plate or in a bowl. Spoon onions with sauce over the bread, and place a crispy soft-shell crab on top. Garnish with scallions and cilantro.

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