Part Three : Chapter Ten : Fish and Shellfish Identification

Fish and shellfish were once plentiful and affordable, but with increased popularity and more complicated fishing techniques, the prices of these delicious morsels have skyrocketed. Because of the high demand for these ingredients, many countries have passed laws and regulations regarding the times and methods of legal fishing. Each type of fish, and shellfish, must be cooked in a specific fashion and chefs, both professional and home, must know what those methods are to bring out the best flavors. 

When purchasing seafood, the person helping you should be able to answer any questions you may have about the freshness or origin of each item. I make it a rule to avoid fish departments that have any sort of smell emanating from them, as fresh fish should have little to no odor whatsoever. If a fish department smells a bit off, it's best to avoid it altogether as one bad piece could contaminate many more!

While storing fish in the correct temperatures allows it to keep for several days, it's best to use what you purchase within a day or two to assure it's freshness. If the fish takes on a "fishy" smell, or becomes soft, and doesn't respond to light pressure, you should probably avoid using it. If you are going to use frozen fish, be wary of white frost around the edges, as this is an indicator of freezer burn, and proof that the fish was improperly packaged.

Here's something I didn't know: "The more a fish swims, the darker its flesh will be. Darker fleshed fish have a higher oil content and, therefore, a stronger flavor." I found that extremely interesting! Considering the oil content of a fish before cooking is imperative to deciding on the best course of method to take.

In contrast to fish, shellfish are sold live, shucked, as tails, claws, and legs. When purchasing shellfish that is still alive, you want to see movement when choosing your ingredients. If you are looking at clams, mussels and oysters, you want to see tightly closed shells, and if they are open a bit, they should snap shut upon contact. Something else I learned in this chapter: "Do not allow fresh water to come into direct contact with lobsters and crabs, as it will kill them." That's the last time I put my lobsters in the sink and run a little water over them while they are awaiting dinner preparation.

This chapter spurned quite the conversation between my husband and I. We tend to eat a lot of seafood in general, but the way in which we've cared for shellfish has been wrong to date. I'm glad I have a new guide for tending to these delicate ingredients. I won't be icing my mussels, clams and oysters any longer...and now I know that if I'm to submerge lobsters in water before cooking, it should be salt water, or nothing at all! 

Made-Up Mussels

Wow, this weekend was jam-packed with fun! Today, our last day of the long weekend, was spent in the beautiful weather of early September in Massachusetts. The leaves are beginning to change color, but the sun still beats down and makes for pretty warm days. We decided to get take-out omelets from a local establishment and enjoy them in a park near our home. We even brought Oia's breakfast too...and she sat by the bench, enjoying the weather and a nice outdoor meal with us.

Once we were fed, we drove to meet friends for a hike with them and their dogs. Six miles later, the puppies were exhausted, we were on our last legs, and ready for a nice cool drink! By the time we got home this evening, I wasn't in the mood to make anything elaborate, but I did have a bag of mussels that I really needed to use! I scanned my fridge for what I could make and I came up with a pretty delicious recipe...and I made it up...I didn't crack a single cookbook tonight! This might be the first recipe in what could be MY cookbook! :)

Okay, so, I took the bag of mussels out, discarded the ones that didn't close when tapped, and debearded the rest so they were ready to steam. I minced two garlic cloves and sauteed them in a tablespoon of butter until fragrant, and then added the leftover sausage mixture from those stuffed olives I made yesterday! That was just some sausage, taken out of its casing, with some salt, minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Once the sausage was cooked, I poured in about a cup of white wine and allowed it to come to a boil. Right before I added the mussels, I added a second pat of butter so that as the mussels steamed, the sauce thickened a bit and got a nice sheen to it. After about 5 minutes (or when all your mussels are fully opened), throw in a big handful of baby arugula and allow it to wilt slightly.

I served it over some spinach fettuccine. Just scoop the mussels, along with the broth, over the top of the plain pasta and it will seep throughout the plate to coat the noodles. It was a garlicky plate of goodness, and the red pepper flakes from the sausage mixture went a long way to add a nice kick to the flavors! Dinner in 15 minutes? Totally doable!

Spicy Coconut Curry Steamed Mussels with Mango Couscous

I started the current menu off with a bang tonight, steaming up some mussels in a curry sauce with some delicious couscous! This recipe is from the Top Chef cookbook, and the dish was made by Betty, in Season 2. While the cooking time in this recipe is pretty much under 10 minutes...total...the prep time was a bit more intense...but still, dinner was ready in about 1/2 an hour, so hooray for that!

I gathered some mussels, vegetable oil, ginger, red onion, red curry paste, coconut milk, vegetable stock, limes, ground coriander, salt, black pepper, instant couscous, mango, cognac, sugar, basil, and cilantro, and set up my mise en place, ready to cook for 10 minutes! :) Be forewarned - a lot goes on in the next 10 minutes!

I'm not sure how I didn't notice how awful this picture came out! Sorry!

First things first, I got out a large skillet and added a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Once heated, I added some minced ginger, and a minced red onion and let them cook for about 3 minutes.

I added the curry paste and stirred everything around until the ginger and onion was well coated in the paste. I poured in 1 cup of the vegetable stock and the coconut milk and raised the heat to bring the mixture to a boil.

Meanwhile, I poured two more cups of vegetable stock into another saucepan, and set that to boil as well. With the stock, I poured in some ground coriander, salt and pepper.

Once both pots are boiling, I let the curry mixture reduce for about five minutes. At this point, I added the mussels to the curry mixture, along with the lime zest.

Once the mussels were in, I covered that pot (for 6 minutes), removed the boiling stock from the heat, and poured the couscous in. I stirred that all up and then covered it to sit for 5 minutes.

The last step was to make the topping sauce, which consisted of some sugar, the lime juice, and some cognac. While the couscous was sitting and the mussels were steaming, I boiled these three ingredients together in yet another saucepan.

For me, it took about 6 minutes for the mussels to open, but it could take up to 8 minutes, depending on your mussels, so keep an eye on 'em and don't take 'em out too soon...or too late, for that matter! :) Also, stir the diced mango into your couscous at this point.

Plate your dish by scooping some couscous onto the plate. Top it with some mussels, a few ladlefuls of curry sauce, and the cognac reduction. Sprinkle some chopped basil and cilantro on top and voila...a deliciously spicy meal for a Wednesday evening!

Holy Ingredients, Aquaman!

Well, tonight I decided to make the Seafood Risotto since I picked up some mussels, clams and shrimp at Whole Foods yesterday. This recipe was extremely prep-heavy so this one was a bit time-consuming, I have to say. Although, I think it was worth it, because this was a really refreshing meal! There were so many ingredients, and a lot of twists and turns, so I'm going to summarize here. If you are interested in a more in depth list, with measurements, shoot me an email and I will send it along. Since I've made risotto before, I won't bore you with a step-by-step here!



For this version of the risotto, the recipe called for either making a homemade seafood stock, or using a store-bought one. I bought one, but went the extra mile and simmered it with all the fixings that would have gone into the homemade one, without any of the seafood. I added 3 squished tomatoes, a bay leaf, a parsley sprig and some chopped carrots. I strained the mixture before I started scooping it into the risotto.



Meanwhile, I heated up some oil and butter in a large pan and added chopped celery, onion and garlic (a soffritto, the Italian version of a mire poix) and to that I added chopped fennel, fennel seeds, chili powder and some saffron. From now on, the more I stir the mixture, the more yellow in tint it will become, and that's because of the saffron. While it's red in color, it turns anything you add it to a bright, fresh yellow color.



Once the soffritto was softened, I added the Arborio rice and allowed it to fry a little bit, until the granules had a nice translucent outer coating.



Now, I'm going to skip a bit here - because you know how to make risotto already! It takes patience, many ladles of stock (seafood, in this case) and lots of stirring! But once the risotto was about done, I added a handful of parmesan and seasoned it up with some salt and pepper. The recipe actually calls for leaving the parmesan out (Italians don't think that seafood and cheese mix), but the nutty, salty flavor of the cheese is better than any salt...so I added a little anyway...but definitely not as much as a normal risotto recipe would call for. Once it was all stirred together, I threw in my mussels, clams and shrimp and covered the pot to allow the shellfish to steam.



As the shellfish started to open and the shrimp were turning pink, I added some globs of butter to finish off the risotto and stirred it all up to heat everything through. I also took some of the mussels out of their shells and stirred it directly into the risotto. This eliminated the mess of a bunch of shells at the dinner table, but also got the mussel juice mixed into the risotto adding a bit more briny flavor to the mix...something I love! I also poured some lemon juice and olive oil on top to add to that freshness.



Once plated, I garnished with fennel fronds and some chopped parsley. This was a delicious, comforting meal for a rainy Monday night! The mussels and shrimp were cooked to perfection...but the clams could have used a few more minutes. Next time, I'll throw the clams in first, and follow with the rest as they seem to need a few less minutes to steam.