Ahoy, Pasta!

I have never been one for canned tune. Actually, that's unfair. I've never really been one for seafood. Period. Regardless if it comes from a can, the freezer, or fresh from the market. But when your husband loves seafood, you try to give it to him now and again.

Frozen shrimp is the easiest. Then I branched out to tilapia and started making fish tacos. While I don't roll my own, I do enjoy sushi and sashimi. And when winter came knocking back in December, it seemed like a good time to cross the final frontier: tuna noodle casserole.

Success! Everyone in the house loved it!

And that got me to thinking, Giada De Laurentiis uses canned tuna in plenty of her pasta recipes. I had dismissed them in the past because I wasn't a fan of canned tuna. And while I don't see myself eating a tuna salad sandwich any time soon, now was as good a time as any to revisit some of Giada's recipes. So I borrowed Weeknights with Giada from my public library and quickly decided "Pirate Pasta" would be the first recipe I would try. I made a few modifications to suite my family's tastes, and it was a big hit. My 5-year-old son even had a second helping! Mama must be doing something right!

Pirate Pasta

Recipe modified from Giada DeLaurentiis
Serves 4 to 8

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pasta (I used rotini)
• 1/2 cup grated pecorino romano cheese, plus more for serving
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for roasting tomatoes
• 1 medium or 1/2 large, red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 10-ounce or 2 5-ounce cans tuna in olive oil, such as Tonnino, drained
• 1/2 cup (about 20) medium olives, pitted and halved (I used black)
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons capers (rinsed and drained, if you prefer)
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, roasted
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• salt and black pepper

Directions:

1. Place tomatoes in an oven-safe dish. Coat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast on the center rack of a 400 degree oven for 15 - 20 minutes.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup pasta water. Pour pasta into a bowl with pecorino romano cheese and toss until coated.
3. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, until onions are translucent.
4. Add the tuna, olives, tomato paste, capers, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Using a wooden spoon, break up the tuna.
5. Add the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a simmer.
6. Add the roasted tomatoes.
7. Pour tuna mixture over pasta. Toss and add pasta water if needed to loose the sauce. Top with basil leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle with cheese if desired.

The Feast of One Fish, Part Deux

If your Christmas Eve celebration is small, and you're looking for something with Italian flare, this dish is it. I made this dish last year in the days leading up to Christmas. This one is more traditional that the cioppino because it does not have meat. (We do not eat meat on Christmas Eve, although pepperoni and salami have both found their way to the antipasto platters.)

This dish had base flavor of sweetness from the tomatoes and cream, but with a hint of heat from the red pepper flakes. The penne was a nice switch from the traditional spaghetti of our Christmas Eve feasts.

This meal is a great way to honor Italian Christmas traditions, but it's wonderful year-round, too.

Penne with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce
Recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis
Makes 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. penne pasta
  
• 1/4 cup olive oil
  
• 1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
  
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
  
• 1 15 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained, roughly dropped
  
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
  
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leat parsley
  
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  
• 1 cup white wine
  
• 1/3 cup clam juice
  
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
  
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and set aside.
   
2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Cooking, stirring frequently until the shrimp turn pink and is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp and set aside.
   
3. Add tomatoes, 1/4 cup basil, 1/4 cup parsley, and the red pepper flakes. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine, clam juice, and heavy cream. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add 1/4 cup Parmesan, the cooked shrimp, the cooked pasta, and the remaining herbs. Toss together until all ingredients are coated. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
   
4. Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and serve immediately.

The Feast of One Fish

Growing up, the Christmas Eve meal was traditional Italian fare, complete with The Feast of the Seven Fishes. Stuffed clams, shrimp cocktail, stuffed calamari, eel, smelts, fried flounder, fried scallops, fried shrimp. It was best to wear pants with an elastic waistband because you were busting at the seams when you finally walked away from the table.

It's a time-honored tradition, and while we don't host Christmas Eve, my husband and I wanted to have it on a smaller scale, just the two of us. When we saw Giada DeLaurentiis make this soup, we knew we had found the dish for our mini-feast.

Admittedly, I was apprehensive at first. Along with the fishes a traditional food on an Italian table is fennel. Served raw with fruits and nuts after the fried fish, it's not one of my favorite foods. I'm not a huge fan of the anise flavor, even though it aids with digestion and Lord knows after eating all that food you need all the help you can get. I almost omitted the fennel from this recipe, but while shopping for the ingredients I decided to trust Giada and include it.

Boy, was I glad I did!

Fennel cooked in soup tastes nothing like raw fennel. I enjoyed the flavor so much I swapped fennel for celery in most soups I make.

Whether you're looking for a new dish to include in your own feast or just a new soup to try this winter, this is one to add to your list to make this season. Make sure you have some crusty bread on hand, though. You'll need it to sop up every delicious drop of this broth.

Shrimp and Sausage Cioppino
Recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis
Total time: 35 minutes
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  
• 1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
  
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
  
• 1 large or 2 small shallots, chopped
  
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon
  
• 1 pound spicy Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
  
• 2 cups white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
  
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
  
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
  
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

Directions:

1. In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the fennel, garlic, shallots, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are slightly softened, about 4 minutes.
   
2. Add the sausage and break into 1/2-inch pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook until brown, about 5 minutes.
   
3. Add the wine and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in the tomato paste, chicken broth, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
   
4. Uncover the pan and add the shrimp, beans, basil, and thyme. Simmer, uncovered, until the shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 4 minutes.
   
5. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Ladle the cioppino into soup bowls and serve with crusty bread.

One-Pan Meal

Something we don't make a lot of in our house, mostly because we don't feel terribly comfortable with that form of protein. We pretty much limit ourselves to shrimp and mussels. We both love clams, and when I saw this recipe in the September issue of Martha Stewart and little neck clams went on sale at my supermarket, I knew we had to add clams to our very short list.

We hit some bumps along the way, though. The bag I picked up at the supermarket had double the amount of clams, so I doubled the whole recipe. It was way too much rice. Next time I would continue to double the the amount of clams, but make the amount of rice the recipe calls for. The original recipe called for 3 oz. dried chorizo. That's impossible to come by in my supermarket, so I used fresh instead.

One thing I did add was the fresh tomatoes. I thought the dish could use some freshness, and I was right. The tomatoes were a nice touch.

But despite the hiccups I would call this meal a success, and I would definitely make it again.

Baked Rice with Chorizo and Clams

Recipe adapted from September 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 8 oz. fresh chorizo, casings removed
  
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
  
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
  
• 1 1/2 chicken stock
  
• 3/4 cup water
  
• 25 littleneck clams, scrubbed well
  
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a large, heavy ovenproof skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium high heat. Stir in oil. Add chorizo, breaking up with potato masher. Cook, stirring often, until edges are browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in onion and garlic. Cook until translucent, about 3 minutes.
   
2. Stir in rice to coat, then wine. Bring to a boil. Cook until skillet is almost dry. Add stock and water. Bring to a boil.
   
3. Transfer skillet to oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Add clams. Bake until clams open and rice absorbs all the liquid, about 10 minutes.
   
4. Remove skillet from oven and add tomatoes. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes before serving.