Fresh Taccozze Pasta With Sea Bass Recipes

SEA BASS "PUTTANESCA"

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Heat a large flat-bottom saute pan over medium heat. Melt the anchovy fillets in a little of their own oil until heated through, then add the white wine. Add the crushed tomatoes, olives, capers, basil, garlic and crushed red pepper if using. Bring the sauce to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook, covered, for 3 minutes. Add the sea bass on top of the sauce. Cover the pan and poach the fish in the sauce for 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until firm but not overcooked, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly.
• Transfer the fish to a warm plate. Toss the pasta into the sauce to heat and coat evenly. Place the pasta on a serving plate and top with the sea bass. Sprinkle on parsley, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and add grated or shaved cheese. This is one fish dish that can stand up to added cheese.

PAN SEARED CHILEAN SEA BASS WITH WILD MUSHROOM GRITS AND FRESH SPINACH

Steps:

• Season the sea bass with salt and pepper.
• In a large saute pan over medium heat, add the canola oil and heat the oil to a slight smoke. Add 1 sprig of fresh thyme to the saute pan and sear the sea bass skin side down for 3/4 of the cooking time about 7 minutes. This will give the fish a beautiful crisp skin and golden color.
• While the fish is cooking start the grits. In a 2 quart saucepot add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 sprig of fresh thyme. When the butter begins to brown, add the mushrooms and saute until golden. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the grits, add the chicken stock, and reduce to a simmer. When the grits begin to thicken finish with heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of butter. Season with salt and pepper, when ready to serve, remove the thyme sprig. Keep the grits warm on a low temperature.
• Carefully turn the fish over, to finish the other side. Remove the sea bass and hold in a warm place.
• In the same saute pan, on the same temperature, add the spinach. It will quickly wilt. Finish the spinach with the remaining whole butter and season with salt and pepper.
• For presentation, serve this dish in a large soup bowl. Using a ladle, scoop a small amount of grits into the bottom of each bowl. Layer a small amount of spinach on the grits and finish with the sea bass. Garnish with fresh thyme.

FRESH TACCOZZE PASTA WITH SEA BASS

Steps:

• To make the sauce: Pour the olive oil into the big pan, set it over medium heat, and scatter in the onion. Cook, stirring, for 3 or 4 minutes, until it begins to soften. Toss in the potato cubes, stir with the onion, and spread them out in the pan; cook for 5 minutes or so, tumbling them over occasionally, until they start to caramelize and stick to the pan bottom. Clear a space in the pan, and drop in the tomato paste; let it caramelize and toast in the hot spot for a minute, then stir together with the onion and potatoes.
• Drop in the celery and bay leaves, sprinkle on the salt, stir, and get everything sizzling, then pour in the cold water. Stir up the vegetables, cover the pot, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Adjust the heat to keep it bubbling nicely, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until the potatoes start to fall apart and thicken the sauce.
• Drop in the cubes of fish and tomatoes, stir to distribute them, and heat the sauce back to an active simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes or so, until the sea bass is cooked through and the tomatoes have softened and dissolved into the sauce.
• Before cooking the taccozze-right in the sauce itself-I shake the diamond shapes by handfuls in a colander or strainer, removing excess flour. Then I drop all of the pasta at once into the simmering sauce. Stir and lift the taccozze with tongs, separating the flat pieces if they are stuck together. Cover the pan, and bring the sauce to a boil over high heat; cook the taccozze for about 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until al dente. Serve immediately in warm soup bowls.

PUTTANESCA I

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Heat oil in a skillet over low heat; cook garlic in oil until golden. Add sieved tomatoes, and cook 5 minutes. Stir in anchovies, tomato paste, capers, olives, and red pepper flakes. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Toss pasta with sauce, and serve.

FRESH PASTA FOR MALEFANTE & TACCOZZE

Steps:

• To make the pasta dough: Put the flour in the bowl of the food processor, and process for a few seconds to aerate. With the food processor running, pour in the water through the feed tube. Process for about 30 seconds, until a dough forms and gathers on the blade. If the dough does not gather on the blade or process easily, it is too wet or dry. Feel the dough, then work in more flour or ice water, in small amounts, using the processor or kneading by hand.
• Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface, and knead by hand for a minute, until it's smooth, soft, and stretchy. Press it into a disk, wrap well in plastic wrap, and let rest at room temperature for at least 1/2 hour. (You can refrigerate the dough for up to a day, or freeze for a month or more. Defrost in the refrigerator and return to room temperature before rolling.)
• To roll out the dough with a pasta machine: Cut the dough in six equal pieces. Keeping them lightly floured, roll the pieces at progressively thinner settings, gradually stretching them into strips about 2 feet long and as wide as your machine allows, usually about 5 inches. For easier handling, cut each strip in half crosswise, so you have twelve strips about a foot long. Lay them flat on a lightly floured surface, and keep covered with towels.
• To make malefante: One at a time, slice the strips lengthwise into long ribbons, about 1 inch wide or a bit more, using a rotary pasta cutter or a sharp knife and a ruler to guide the blade. You should get four such ribbons from each of the machine-rolled strips. Next cut the ribbons crosswise into 2 1/2-inch-long segments, the malefante. Sprinkle and toss the cut pieces liberally with flour, and lay them out flat, not touching, in one layer on floured baking sheets. Leave the malefante uncovered, to air-dry at room temperature, until you cook them.
• To make taccozze: One at a time, slice the strips lengthwise into long ribbons, about 1 1/2 inches wide, using a rotary pasta cutter or a sharp knife and a ruler to guide the blade. Next, cut across the ribbons with parallel diagonal slices, spaced 1 1/2 inches apart, forming diamond-shaped taccozze. Sprinkle and toss the cut pieces liberally with flour, and lay them out flat, not touching, in one layer on floured baking sheets. Leave the taccozze uncovered, to air-dry at room temperature, until you cook them.