Holiday Hacienda at Home Recipes
Holiday Recipes
FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES
Cioppino + Winter Chicories with Anchovy Vinaigrette + Oysters with Verjus Mignonette
Cioppino
Serves 6-8
For the Fish Broth:
3 tablespoons, olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced
1 stalk celery, roughly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 head of fennel, tops separated from bulb (reserve the bulb)
1 leek, dark green tops separated (reserve the white and light green sections)
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 head of garlic (halved crosswise)
1 bay leaf
1 pound fish bones, rinsed
6 cups water
1 bunch of parsley stems, reserve leaves
Small bundle of thyme
For the Cioppino:
1 1/2 cups white wine, plus a splash for the clams
2 pounds manilla clams, rinsed
1 yellow onion, diced
Reserved fennel bulb, diced
Reserved leek, rinsed and diced
5 cloves of garlic, sliced, plus more for rubbing on toast
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons chili flakes
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, roughly chopped
4 cups fish stock
Salt as needed
2 live Dungeness crab
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
1 1/2 – 2 pounds northern halibut, cut into 2 to 3 oz portions
1/2 pound of scallops
Black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup of picked parsley
1 loaf sourdough bread
Fish Broth:
Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a deep stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot, fennel tops, and leek tops and sweat on low until the vegetables soften but don’t take on any color. Add the fennel seed, black pepper, halved head of garlic, and bay leaf and sauté for a few minutes to allow them to get aromatic. Add the fish bones, water, parsley springs and thyme and turn the heat to high. Once the water is simmering, turn the heat down to low, and cook for 30 minutes, skimming the foam that rises to the top every few minutes. After 30 minutes, pour the broth through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. Set the broth aside until you bring the cioppino together.
Build the Cioppino:
Use a sauté pan with a tight fitting lid to steam the clams. Add a splash of water, a splash of the wine along with the cleaned clams to the pan and set over medium heat, lid on. Cook until the shells pop open, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove clams from the pot and set aside, discarding any that have not opened. Reserve the liquid to add into the cioppino later.
Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a large sauce pot along with the diced onion, fennel bulb, reserved leek, sliced garlic and a generous pinch of salt and pepper and sauté over low heat until tender. Add the oregano, chili flakes and tomato paste and sauté for a few minutes. Add the wine and cook over medium heat until the wine has reduced by half. Next, pour in the chopped tomatoes and their juices, 4 cups of fish stock and the clam juice and bring this mixture to a low simmer. Cook the cioppino base for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt or chill flake, as needed.
While the broth is simmering, cook the crabs. Bring a large stock pot of water to a boil. Delicately place in the crabs, and cook for 13 minutes. Use tongs to remove them from the pot and place them on a sheet tray to cool. To clean them, hold the crab in the palm of one hand, sitting upright. Use your other hand to lift up the back of the top shell, and lift it toward the front of the crab. Discard the top shell and use your hands to remove the gills, and any other inner bits. Holding the underside of the two sets of legs in each hand, fold the crab in half, upward to break it into two pieces. Remove any other inner bits and dunk each half in cold water to clean it. Now you have two halves. Break each half, in half again so you’ve quartered the crab, and set aside.
Season the shrimp, halibut and scallops with salt and pepper.
Once you’re ready to assemble the cioppino, bring the broth to a simmer. Add the shrimp directly to the broth to cook. Put a cast iron over high heat and once the pan is hot, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Use the pan to sear the scallops on both sides before adding them to the cioppino. Repeat the same process with the halibut. Both the halibut and scallops will finish cooking in the broth. Searing the halibut and scallops before adding them to the broth gives added texture, color and flavor. Add the steamed clams to the pot to reheat as well as the crab for a few minutes.
Grill slices of sourdough bread, and generously rub them with garlic. To serve the cioppino, ladle some broth into each bowl, and tuck in pieces of scallop, halibut, shrimp, crab, clams and sourdough bread. Top with parsley and a drizzle of good olive oil.
Winter Chicories with Anchovy Vinaigrette
1 clove of garlic, sliced
3 anchovy filets
Salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Black pepper
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 heads mixed chicories
Parmesan for shaving
To make the vinaigrette, combine the garlic, anchovy and salt in a mortar and pestle and pound to a paste. Mix in the dijon and black pepper. Add the vinegar and let the dressing sit and macerate for 5 minutes. Mix in the olive oil. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt or vinegar as needed.
To make the salad, in a bowl, season the chicories with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Spoon over a portion of the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing as needed. Top with freshly shaved Parmesan.
Oysters with Verjus Mignonette
1 dozen raw oysters, shucked
Verjus Mignonette
1 small shallot, diced
1/2 cup verjus
Freshly ground black pepper
Wedged lemons for serving
Place the diced shallot into a small bowl. Cover with the verjus and a few cracks of black pepper. Serve with a small spoon and enjoy spooned over fresh oysters with a squeeze of lemon.