Patsy's Italian Family Cookbook (23 page)

My grandparents used to serve sticks of chilled fennel to nibble between courses as a palate cleanser—a tradition that deserves to be revived. If you like fennel as much as I do, give this dish a try. The mild licorice flavor is pumped up with a dash of pastis, a French anise-based spirit. Be sure to caramelize the scallops and fennel nicely to bring out their flavors.

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ cup all-purpose flour

20 large sea scallops, about 1½ pounds (see
Note
)

1 fennel bulb, quartered, cored, and cut into ¼-inch dice

1 cup bottled clam juice or water

3 tablespoons pastis (anise-flavored liqueur), such as Pernod or Ricard

¼ cup pine nuts

¼ cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 scallions (white and green parts), finely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Heat ¼ cup of the oil in a large skillet over high heat until the oil is shimmering but not smoking. Spread the flour on a plate. Working in batches, coat the scallops in the flour, shaking off the excess. Add the scallops to the skillet and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides but not fully cooked, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a clean plate.

2.
Pour off any oil in the skillet. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and heat. Stir in the fennel and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel has softened and turned golden brown, 7 to 10 minutes.

3.
Stir in the clam juice, pastis, pine nuts, raisins, and butter and bring to a boil. Return the scallops to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with the scallions and parsley and continue cooking, uncovered, until the scallops are barely opaque in the center when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 1 minute more. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the scallops to a deep platter. Return the skillet to high heat and boil the sauce, stirring often, until it is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the scallops and serve hot.

Sautéed Shrimp with Prosecco Sauce

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Often, at the end of the night, there is a bottle or two of leftover Prosecco with just enough bubbly wine left in them to make a nice sauce for shrimp before we go home. If cooking at home, it’s worthwhile to open one bottle to make the sauce … and another to serve with the shrimp.

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup all-purpose flour

24 extra-jumbo (16/20 count) shrimp, about 1½ pounds, peeled and deveined

6 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup
Chicken Stock
or reduced-sodium store-bought chicken broth

⅔ cup Prosecco, champagne, or any dry sparkling wine

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until very hot but not smoking. Spread the flour on a plate. Coat the shrimp with the flour, shaking off the excess. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook, turning once, until they turn opaque on the outside and are only partially cooked, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the shrimp to a clean plate.

2.
Pour off any oil in the skillet. Add the scallions and butter to the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the scallions have softened, 2 to 3 minutes.

3.
Stir in the stock, Prosecco, and parsley and bring to a boil. Return the shrimp to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the shrimp are opaque at the center when pierced with the tip of a knife, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a deep serving platter.

4.
Increase the heat to high and boil the sauce until it is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over the shrimp and serve immediately.

Pasta and Risotto

Our Tomato Sauce

Basic Egg Pasta

Fettuccine with Arugula Pesto

Linguine with Bacon and Prosciutto

Rigatoni with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

Giovanna’s Penne with Cauliflower and Anchovy Tomato Sauce

Cheese Manicotti

Frittata with Linguine and Meat Sauce

Fettuccine with Parmigiano, Butter, and Sage Sauce

Fusilli with Garlic and Anchovies

Linguine with Lobster Sauce

Spaghetti and Veal Meatballs

Whole Wheat Spaghetti Provençal with Olives and Garlic

Linguine Puttanesca

Rigatoni Quattro Formaggi with Sausage

Linguine with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

Penne with Vodka Sauce

Fusilloni with Veal, Cream, and Tomato Sauce

Penne with Wild Boar Ragù

Risotto Pescatore

Our Tomato Sauce

MAKES ABOUT 7 CUPS

Patsy’s is proud to call itself a “red sauce” restaurant. Our red sauce is as good as it gets: it’s based on the one that my grandmother Concetta used to make in a huge pot on her stove in Forest Hills, Queens. She would often use fresh plum tomatoes, but it is just as good—and easier—when made with high-quality San Marzano canned tomatoes. I suggest making a double batch and freezing some to have ready when you need it. Or just buy a jar of our tomato sauce.

¼ cup olive oil

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, halved

Two 28-ounce cans whole San Marzano tomatoes in juice

2 tablespoons hearty red wine

2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons tomato paste

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, pour the tomatoes and their juices into a large bowl and crush the tomatoes between your fingers until they are in chunks. Pour into the saucepan with the wine and bay leaves and bring to a boil.

2.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook for 35 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and continue simmering until the tomato juices have thickened, about 25 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, basil, and parsley, and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the garlic. (Now you know the secret to our sauce: It has garlic flavor, but no bits of garlic.)

Variation

Fresh Tomato Sauce: Make this when you come across beautiful plum (Roma) tomatoes at the market in the summer. Substitute 4½ pounds of ripe tomatoes for the canned tomatoes. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Using a small sharp knife, cut the stem core out of each tomato. Working in batches, add the tomatoes to the water and blanch just until the skins loosen, about 2 minutes. Using a wire strainer, transfer the tomatoes to a large bowl of cold water. Drain well. Remove the skins. Coarsely chop the tomatoes. Use as directed above.