Tag Archives: seafood

Fish and Seafood

Chupe de Camarones

Chilean shrimp stew

1-1/2 lbs jumbo shrimp in shells
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 lb. whitefish heads and trimmings
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large tomato, chopped
1 tsp. chopped chiles
1/2 tsp oregano
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 quarts water
2 large potatoes, cubed
2 potatoes, halved lengthwise
1 lb. green peas
1/2 cup long grain rice
2 ears of corn, cut in thirds
3 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Clean the shrimp, saving shells. In a casserole, heat the oil. Add onion, shrimp shells, fish trimmings, and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 6 minutes.

Stir in tomato, chile, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook 3 minutes. Add water and diced potatoes. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Pour into a sieve over a bowl and force through with a spoon. Discard the pulp. Return puree to casserole, bring to a boil and add potato halves and rice. Simmer for 25 minutes.

Add peas and corn. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Drop in shrimp and cook 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat eggs. Pour eggs slowly into the stew. Add milk and simmer to heat through. Season and sprinkle with parsley.

Appetizers

Tortillitas de Camaron

Little Shrimp Fritters — Tortillitas de Camarón

  • 1/2 onion, minced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • dash of cayenne
  • 2 T parsley
  • oil for frying
  • 1/2 lb shrimp
  • 1/2 lb flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 2 cups water
  • 4 T white wine

Mix onion and chopped parsley with chopped shrimp. Add flour and baking powder, then stir in water and wine to make a heavy batter. Season with salt and cayenne. Cover and chill in fridge for 3 hours. Heat oil and drop in teaspoonfuls of batter. Fry until golden brown. Drain and serve. hot.

Fish and Seafood

Octopus in its own ink

PULPOS EN SU TINTA

(Recipe from Gabriela Barraza)

Wash octopus with lime juice and rinse well. Cut up and cook. (Emilia, the maid, cooks them for 10 minutes in a pressure cooker without water, and then chops them.)

Finely chop garlic, onion, tomato and parsley. Sauté the onion and garlic lightly, then add tomato and parsley. Allow to cook. Add octopus pieces, a bay leaf and the octopus ink. A bit of red wine may be added.

Personal comment:

I’ve heard that there’s a way to cook octopus very slightly, just to the right point so that it’s tender and juicy–a matter of a few minutes. I’ve never been able to do it. My method of cooking octopus tender is to throw it in a large pot, cover with water, cover the pot and put on the stove for a minimum of two hours. You don’t have to worry about anything except keeping the level of water high enough to cover the carcass. Once a fork glides smoothly into the thickest part of the body, drain and cool. Once it’s cool, remove the fatty parts and the suckers on the tentacles, if you wish (all that can be slid off with your fingers), and chop the now buttery-tender tentacles and body (discarding the hard eyes), and use as desired. By the way, the ink must be removed before boiling!