shellfish – Page 5 – Oswald Rivera

Category: shellfish (page 5 of 5)

Shrimp Aglio e Olio

January 9, 2015 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

This recipe is about the quickest shrimp dish I know. It could be called a shrimp quick fix. All you need is some shrimp and whatever pasta is available. For this recipe I use whole-wheat linguine. And if you don’t have linguine, spaghetti or macaroni hanging about, you can serve the shrimp over rice.

“Aglio e Olio” means garlic and oil, and by that, we mean olive oil. You just cook the shrimp is oil, add the seasonings and serve over desired pasta, with fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese on the side. . The cooking of the pasta and shrimp take about the same time. Thus you can start by boiling the linguine and, while it’s being cooked, prepare the shrimp. Nothing could be simpler. With bottle of Pinot Grigio or Chianti, and a crusty bread loaf of bread (or garlic bread if you want to fancy it up) you have a delicious, quicky meal perfect for any occasion.

SHRIMP AGLIO E OLIO

3 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more if you like it spicy)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 pound whole-wheat linguine, cooked according to package directions, but reserve 1/4 cup cooking
liquid
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
3. Stir in the shrimp and lemon juice, and cook 4 minutes.
4. Add salt, red pepper flakes, parsley and 1/4 cup cooking liquid from the pasta. Stir to combine.
5. Place cooked linguine in a large bowl or serving platter. Add the shrimp and serve, with the Parmesan or Romano cheese on the side.
Yield: 4 servings.

Camarones en Escabeche – Pickled Shrimp

Pickled shrimp, marinated shrimp, take your pick. In our culture it’s all the same. Escabeche refers to placing cooked (or partially cooked) seafood into a marinade. That’s where the pickling comes in. In Criollo (Puerto Rican cuisine) we pickle fish, usually swordfish or kingfish steaks, and shrimp. In terms of fish steaks, we cook them first in olive oil, and then marinate them. Shrimp follow the same pattern in that we first boil them lightly and then proceed with the marinade.

A basic Criollo marinade consists of olive oil, red onions, garlic, pimento stuffed Spanish olives, oregano, cilantro, and fresh lime juice. We mix it in a bowl, add the par-boiled shrimp and let the thing sit overnight, and that’s it.. In Spain, they do it differently, and that’s the recipe given below. They omit the Spanish olives, oregano, cilantro, and lime juice. In a way, it’s a simpler recipe. The only other difference is that bay leaves, garlic and peppercorns are simmer first, then added to the marinade ingredients. In all cases, par-boiling, followed by marinating gives the shrimp their tender-firm texture. We serve pickled shrimp with steamed rice. That’s the favorite accompaniment. With a bottle of sauvignon blanc or soave, it can’t be beat.

CAMARONES EN ESCABECHE
(Pickled Shrimp)

1 small red onion, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced cosswise
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined (you can leave the tail intact, if desired)

1. In a shallow bowl, mix together the onion, vinegar, oregano, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan or skillet, simmer on low the olive oil, bay leaves, garlic and pepper for 10 minutes. Then set aside until ready to use.
3. In a pan or pot, bring 4 quarts water to a boil. Add shrimp and cook on high heat for 2 minutes.
4. Drain and combine in a bowl (or a zip-lock bag) with the onion mixture along with the oil mixture. Mix well.
5. Store covered bowl (or zip-lock bag) in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight. Discard the bay leaves and serve shrimp cold or at room temperature.
Yield: 4 servings.

Greek Grilled Octopus

June 20, 2014 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

We Puerto Ricans love Octopus. The favored way of preparing it is in octopus salad, where the cooked and
sliced octopus is combined with herbs, garlic and onions and served over steamed rice or in sandwiches—that’s right, octopus sandwiches. Don’t knock it till you try it. In the Mediterranean they’ve been preparing octopus for over a thousand years. The following recipe is grilled octopus – Greek style. It’s innovative in that the octopus is cooked in its own liquid with a wine cork added (supposedly to help in the reduction of the liquid).

I like this recipe because it minimizes the cooking time. The problem with octopus is that if it’s cooked too long it becomes rubbery. In my experience it should have minimal boiling, otherwise you’ll be chewing on rubber. This recipe can be prepared on a grill or, my favorite, seared in skillet and then served. Either way gives you a great, tasty dish. Served over steamed white rice, it’s a memorable meal.

GREEK GRILLED OCTOPUS

1 medium to large octopus, beak and ink-sac removed (most octopi are already cleaned when purchasing)
1/3 cup dry red wine
Balsamic or red wine vinegar
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Fresh or dried Greek oregano
Olive oil
Salt to taste (preferably sea salt)
Juice from half a lemon

1. Wash octopus under cold running water. Then place (with a wine cork) in a pot over high heat and cover.
2. Allow the octopus to boil for 5-8 minutes. Remove the lid and have a look-see if the liquid has been released. The octopus should be almost covered in liquid.
3. Replace the cover and reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes, checking occasionally to see if there’s enough braising liquid. You may add some more water and continue to braise until the octopus is fork-tender.
4. Remove from heat. Add the wine, 3 tablespoons vinegar, and oregano. Allow the octopus to steep until the liquid has cooled or, better still, place in the refrigerator overnight.
5. If you’re grilling the octopus: preheat gas grill to high. You may cut the octopus into pieces now or after it’s been grilled. Take the octopus out of the liquid and place in a bowl, add about 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, a splash of vinegar, oregano and pepper. Salt is optional. Place octopus on a grill and cook about 2-3 minutes on both sides. Remove and place on a serving platter. Drizzle with more olive oil, a squeeze of lemion juice, a good sprinkling of oregano, and a little salt.
6. If you are not grilling and want to prepare it on the kitchen range: take the octopus out of the liquid and place in a bowl. You may cut the octopus into bite-sized pieces at this time. Add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, a splash of vinegar, oregano, pepper and some sea salt, if needed. Heat a skillet or, preferably, a cast-iron pan, and sear the octopus 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet and place on a serving platter. Drizzle with more olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, a sprinkle of oregano and sea salt if desired.
Yield: about 4 servings.

Shrimp Cocktail

June 5, 2013 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

In 1959, Italo Ghelfi, one of the original partners of the Golden Gate Casino, introduced the famous 25¢ shrimp cocktail to the casino and Las Vegas (photo: Welcome to the History of Las Vegas)

In his tome, American Cookery, published in 1972, the famous gourmand, James beard wrote, “There is no first course as popular as a cocktail of shrimp with a large serving of cocktail sauce.” Of course, he was describing the eternal shrimp cocktail, a concoction which was a variation on the “oyster cocktail” created sometime in 1860 by a miner in San Francisco—who accidentally dipped some oysters into ketchup. By the 1900s a cocktail sauce had been created and shrimp, popular in Cajun/Creole cooking, had become the standard in the sauce. By the 1950s every party or gathering had shrimp cocktail as a standby.

Today, shrimp cocktail has become rather passé. Admittedly, not many people make it or order it in restaurants, from what I’ve seen. And that’s sad. A well-made shrimp cocktail is a delight for the palette. I loved it when I was a kid. It made me feel like an adult, partly because of the “cocktail” moniker. Anyway, I still love the dish. Given below is my own humble recipe for this delightful appetizer.

SHRIMP COCKTAIL

For the cocktail sauce:

½ cup chili sauce (I prefer Heinz)

1 cup ketchup

3 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Juice of ½ a lemon

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1 clove garlic, finely minced

For the shrimp:

1 lemon, halved

1 clove garlic, peeled and halved

1 teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

2 pounds large tail-on shrimp in the shell (about 30

1. Prepare the cocktail sauce: in a medium bowl, combine chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and garlic. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Have a large bowl of ice water ready to cool the shrimp. But first, to a large pot of water (about 8-quart), add the lemon, garlic, salt, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Add the shrimp, and when the water returns to a boil, the shrimp should be done (no more than 3 minutes total). They should be a bright pink and curled.

3. Remove with a slotted spoon to the ice water. When they are cool enough to handle (about 2 minutes), peel and remove the vein along the curve of the shrimp, but leaving the tail on. Serve at room temperature, or chilled, in a martini glass filled with cocktail sauce and the shrimp decoratively arranged and looped along the rim of the glass.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings, depending on size of cocktail glass.

Crabmeat Salmorejo Style

September 4, 2011 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

As previously promised on this Blog .. MORE Videos !

Crabmeat Salmorejo Style
Also known as Jueyes Salmorejo

The Picture will take you to the YouTube Video

Please enjoy the Video .. More to come at a later time.

Special Thanks to the Hard Drive Doctor .

Carrucho

March 19, 2011 / Oswald Rivera / 1 Comment

For the Chinese it is an affinity for abalone. For the Italians it’s scungili. We Puerto Ricans call it carrucho. What we are talking about is the flesh found in conch shells. This dish exemplifies the different mindset of different cultures. To most North Americans the conch shell is used solely for ornamentation. To Latinos—as well as people of the Mediterranean and Asia—this mollusk is used for food and ornamentation.

Conch meat cam be found in any Hispanic or Oriental fish market. Most fishmongers order it on request. You can purchase it already cleaned or you can save pennies and do it yourself. The excess film that covers the skin has to be removed. This can be done best under cold running water.

In the Caribbean, caruccho sandwiches are very popular. You can take the dish given below and place it between two slices of bread, or on a roll, on even on a bagel. Or you can serve it with white steamed rice or small red potatoes. It should be noted that the recipe given is from my first cookbook, Puerto Rican Cuisine in America (Avalon Books – Thunders Mouth Press)

CARRUCHO (Conch Meat)

3 pounds conch meat, cleaned
1/4 cup water
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons salt
8 whole black peppercorns
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/4 cup pimento stuffed Spanish olives
1/8 teaspoon sage

1. Place cleaned conch in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup water and lemon juice and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Remove conch meat to a heavy pot or kettle with water to cover. Add salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmered, covered, for 1 hour.
3. Drain and, when cool enough to handle, cut into small bite-sized pieces. Place in a serving bowl or casserole dish.
4. Crush peppercorns, garlic and oregano in a mortar. Mix with vinegar and olive oil. Add to conch meat.
5. Add onions, tomatoes and olives. Sprinkle with sage and toss well.
6. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes; and serve.
Yield: 4 servings

Oswald Rivera

Author, Warrior, and Teacher