I have had several requests to publish the recipe for the cataplana that I prepared on CT Style on Monday April 8th:  Here it is.  It is adapted from a recipe the appeared on how2heros.com










The Shoreline Chef
Cataplana Recipe
• 2 lbs. fish fillets, preferably firm, such as rockfish, haddock, monkfish, etc. Use what
is freshest, but avoid oily or red-fleshed fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel.
• 1 link of Portuguese Chorizo
• 12 small clams
• 12 medium shrimp (peeled and deveined)
• 2 large onions, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
• 2 peppers, one red, one orange, seeded and sliced 2"X1/2"
• 3 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 C. white wine
• 1 small bunch cilantro (or you can use 2 T paste)
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper ,red pepper flakes or piri piri to taste
How to make it
• Pour olive oil in heated heavy skillet, add the onions and ¼ link of finely diced chorizo,
saute until soft.
• Add peppers and cook another 5 minutes
• Toss in tomatoes, season with Salt & Pepper and remove from heat.
• In a heavy oven proof stock pot, or Cataplana pot, place a ladleful of vegetable mixture.
• Over it, place a layer of fish, a few shrimp and scallops. The remaining chorizo sliced
into ¼ in rounds. Top with cilantro and pepper flakes (as much or as little as you like)
• Continue layering and end with clams (if used)
• Pour white wine over all and cover with heavy lid
• Place in 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.
Serve in bowls over brown rice and enjoy!!

Gluten free Chicken Shai

This is the exact recipe I prepared on Channel 8's Connecticut Style.

Chicken Shai

4 servings

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced into 1/2-inch thick filets
• 2 tbsp of seasoned Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour ( this is made from soy and  garbanzo beans)
• 1 small onion coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves coarsely chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 (15-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 3 sun dried tomatoes diced
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• Extra lemon, for squeezing
• 1 pound thin Gluten free spaghetti

In a heavy saute pan heat the olive oil over med heat.  Add onion and cook until it is starting to brown.  Lightly dredge the chicken pieces in flour, shake off most of the flour.  Add garlic, chicken and fresh salt and pepper to the pan. Cook for several minutes until chicken is almost cooked through.  While chicken is cooking cook pasta in boiling water until still very al dente. Save 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Add artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, and capers to the chicken and then the wine and lemon juice cook for a minute to get everything hot.  Finish with the butter and then add the almost cooked pasta to the dish.  If there is not enough sauce add some of the reserved pasta water.  Plate the pasta and garnish with minced parsley

Cooking lessons

I recently had an opportunity to work with a couple from Clinton CT that wanted to start eating healthier but still enjoying their favorite dishes. We spent several weeks working to make the lower fat meats like ground turkey, and lean beef and pork, making soups with minimal amount of fat and cholesterol, and introducing fresh herbs and spices into their cooking. We also started using sea salt in all their cooking to manage the sodium.

This was probably one of their favorite low fat and cholesterol  recipes:

Pasta fagioli

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 pound (about 3 slices) pancetta, chopped
• 2 (4 to 6-inch) sprigs rosemary, left intact
• 1 (4 to 6-inch) sprig thyme with several sprigs on it, left intact
• 1 large fresh bay leaf or 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, finely chopped
• 1 rib celery, finely chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans
• 1 cup canned tomato sauce or canned crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups water
• 1 low sodium quart chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups ditalini pasta
• Grated Parmigiano or Romano, for the table
• Crusty bread, for mopping

Directions

Heat a deep pot over medium high heat and add oil and pancetta. Brown the pancetta bits lightly, add herb stems, bay leaf, chopped vegetables, and garlic. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Add beans, tomato sauce, water, and stock to pot and raise heat to high. Bring soup to a rapid boil and add pasta. Reduce heat to medium and cook soup, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes or until pasta is cooked al dente. Rosemary and thyme leaves will separate from stems as soup cooks. Remove herb stems and bay leaf from soup and place pot on table on a trivet. Let soup rest and begin to cool for a few minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and top with lots of grated cheese. Pass crusty bread for bowl mopping.

I want to share with you their thoughts on this experience:

March 2, 2012

We were introduced to Larry in an unusual way; he came to us as a Christmas present from my Daughters and their families. After two heart attacks, the worst being on Christmas Day 2010, my loving children thought we may need a hand preparing heart healthy meals to aid in the healing and prevention process. I will say we were not keen on the idea at first, but when Larry came on the scene that first day we instantly became friends. Larry is a wonderful presence in the kitchen, he is not just a chef, but a very interesting, worldly and intelligent guy to chat with while getting educated on the preparation of, what is to be, our diet for the rest of our lives. Eating healthy is not always fun or tasty and that was Larry’s challenge which he took head on, making healthy eating fun and something enjoyable through good spices and seasonings is Larry’s specialty. Our kids hit this one out of the park, Larry has completed our gifted tour through the kitchen, but we have made a friend for life and will be seeing him again for certain.

David & Ann Marie (Clinton)

 

Thai chicken in red curry

Easy Thai Red Curry with chicken
Recipe from cooking demo @ Salem Free Library
Ingredients:
1. 1# boneless chicken breast cut into thin strips
2. 1 red pepper cut into thin 3” strips
3. 1 yellow pepper cut into thin 3” strips
4. 1 handful fresh green beans cut into 2- 3 “ strips
5. 1 small red onion cut into thin ½ moon sections
6. 1 clove of garlic in slivers
7. small Japanese eggplant cut into small rounds or Thai eggplant cut in half
8. *1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
9. *1 0.4oz can of red curry paste (I use Maesri)
10. *Thai Basil
all these items available @ Asian grocery store
11 2 cups cooked jasmine rice
Heat some vegetable oil in saute pan. When hot throw in chicken strips, salt and pepper to taste, and sauté until golden and just cooked. Remove chicken strips to plate and cover with foil
Place onion, peppers, and garlic in pan and cook until vegetables are cooked tender crisp. Add green beans and coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Next add the red curry paste. Let me warn you this stuff is very, very hot (spicy). If you add 1 tsp it will be mildly spicy. 1 tbsp and it is very hot. If you like it very spicy add ½ the can. Remember you can always add more but you can’t take it back.
Put the chicken back in the pan. Stir the curry paste into the mixture and bring back to a simmer. Add some small leaves of Thai basil.

Serve this over cooked Jasmine rice.

The Shoreline Chef’s Pasta Puttanesca

One of my favorite quick dinners is the infamous pasta puttanesca. It does not mean your mother’s pasta. It is a dinner that can be put together in the time it takes to cook the pasta.
Ingredients: serves 4
1. 1 ½ lbs of dried pasta of your choice. Usually linguine, or spaghetti, but my favorite is Ronzoni perciatelli. It looks like thick spaghetti but has a hole thru the middle.
2. 5 or 6 garlic cloves sliced into very thin slices (like in goodfellas)
3. 1 small onion thinly sliced
4. ½ c pitted kalamata olives chopped up a bit. Not the rubber black ones in the can
5. olive oil ( if I every say evoo please kill me)
6. 1 28oz plus 1 14oz can of diced not crushed tomatoes
7. 3 or 4 anchovy fillets in oil
8. 2 tbsp capers rinsed
9. fresh parsley and fresh basil
10. Red crushed pepper flakes
11. Freshly grated Parmigianino or pecorino Romano cheese.
OK lets go !
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with a hand full of kosher salt. If it seems like to much salt it is the right amount. The salt is absorbed into the pasta and flavors it during the cooking process. When water boils add the pasta and cook it until is still pretty hard in the middle. It is an art to know when it is al dente, but you will learn. If your sauce is not finished when the pasta is al dente dump it in ice water to shocked it cold. Drain and set aside.
2. Lets make the sauce… In a large sauté pan that will eventually hold all the cooked pasta heat up about 4 tbsp of olive oil. When it is hot but not smoking dump in the onion, anchovy, crushed red pepper flakes, and the garlic. Mash everything together, make sure the anchovy get mashed up pretty well. Salt and pepper to taste. Do not let the garlic burn or you will have to throw it out and start again. Be careful with the salt because the capers, anchovies, and the olive are a bit salty.
3. Now throw in the tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon. Turn the heat up and add the capers and chopped olives. Get the whole thing bubbling hot.
4. Now drain the pasta and throw it into the pan. Here is where the magic happens. The pasta is not cooked and it is looking for more liquid to absorb. There is no water in that pot so guess what!! It is going to absorb the delicious tomato sauce right into the pasta itself. Cook this shaking and stirring the pan for a couple of minutes. Taste the pasta. It should cook thru but not mushy. This is how you get the very flavorful pasta dishes in great Italian restaurants
5. Plate this magnificent dish of flavors and hit it with a little fresh chopped parley, a little fresh basil, and some freshly grated pecorino Romano cheese. If you us the stuff in a can… you can’t have any more of my recipes

Fried Camembert cheese A favorite from The Fort (Student Prince) in Springfield Ma.

Fried Camembert:
5” wheel of Camembert cheese
Flour
Seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg
Vegetable oil for frying
1. Place cheese in the freezer for 30 minutes to get it very hard
2. Cut cheese into small wedges at least 8 pieces
3. Mix flour and bread crumbs together
4. Make egg wash with the egg and 2 tbsp of water
5. Dip cheese in egg then into the flour/breadcrumb mixture then back into the egg and then the flour/breadcrumb mixture again. Make sure the cheese is totally covered with the breading
6. Heat oil in deep sauce pan to 350 degrees or until a piece of bread gets brown in about 5 seconds.
7. Place ½ the coated cheese pieces into the oil and fry until the coating is golden brown.
8. Remove cheese with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels or on a rack. repeat with remaining pieces of cheese.
9. Serve with a preserved fruit jam like raspberry or currant