Spadellata di frutti di Pesce, Big Pot of Seafood

With

Silvia Colloca

Italian seafood pan-bake on a prawn-head reduction with cherry tomatoes and white wine.

SERVES

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About this recipe

Silvia Colloca's big pan of mixed seafood built on a reduction made from prawn heads and shells, then everything finished together with cherry tomatoes and white wine. Italian coastal cooking, the prawn stock doing all the heavy lifting. Bread alongside for the broth.

The prawn-shell reduction is the technique that pulls this past a competent seafood stew into something memorable. Where most home cooks discard the prawn shells and heads, the proper Italian coastal approach is to brown them hard in oil with garlic, shallot and celery, then reduce with white wine and cherry tomatoes into a deep, orange-tinted base that carries forward into the rest of the dish.

The shells release calcium and the heads release the hepatopancreatic juice (the prawn's umami factory) into the cooking liquid; nothing else replicates the depth this single step adds. Use the technique even when the rest of the dish is just a simple pasta or risotto; the prawn-shell stock is liquid gold.

The sequence of adding the different seafood matters. Mussels and clams (the slowest to open) go in first under a tight lid for three to four minutes; the squid (which goes from tender to rubbery in seconds) joins for the final two minutes only; the prawn flesh (already shelled, the bodies waiting) added in the last minute with a final splash of the reduction stock. Everything that's still raw should cook from the steam in the pan rather than from prolonged direct heat. Bread for the broth; a glass of cold Vermentino; eat communally from the pan in the middle of the table.

Ingredients

- For Prawn Reduction:

- 30ml extra virgin olive oil

- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

- 1 Shallot, roughly chopped

- 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped

- 100 ml white wine

- 100 gr of cherry tomatoes, halved

- heads & tails of 12 prawns

- For Seafood:

- 30ml extra virgin olive oil

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

- 2 tbs finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves, plus extra leaves to serve

- 1 teaspoon of chillie flakes, or 1 thinly sliced red chillie

- 100 ml white wine

- 400 gr of cherry tomatoes, halved

- 300g skinless ling or barramundi fillet, pin-boned, cut into 3cm pieces

- 12 green prawns, peeled (tails intact), deveined

- 12 scallops, roe removed

- 1 kg mussels, de-bearded, scrubbed

- 1/2 kg vongole, rinsed

- Thick slices of grilled sourdough to serve

- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling on top

Method

1. Begin by making your prawn reduction. Heat oil in a large saucepan with a lid over medium-high heat. Add 2 garlic cloves, shallots celery and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, until fragrant. Turn the heat to high and add in your prawn heads and tails. Add 100 gr cherry tomatoes, stir through then pour in 100 ml wine and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the wine has evaporated. Cook on medium to low hear for 20 minutes, stir occasionally. Crush the heads with your spoon to help release the goodness.

2. Strain your prawn reduction and discard the prawn heads, tails and vegetables. Put liquid to the side.

3. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Add remaining parsley, chili and minced garlic, cook, stirring, for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add remaining cherry tomatoes and stir. Add in remaining wine and your prawn reduction you strained earlier, cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the wine has evaporated. Add fish and prawns, and cook for 1 minute, then add remaining seafood, cover and cook, shaking pot once or twice, for a further 6-7 minutes, until the mussels and vongole have opened and seafood is cooked through. Remove from heat. Add the reserved parsley leaves and bring the pot to the table, with a big serving spoon and lots of grilled sourdough.

4. Sponsors:

5. Monini Classico Extra Virgin Olive Oil

6. Clorox – SNAP Lock (Mention)

Silvia Colloca

Silvia Colloca is a Roman-born cook, opera singer and cookbook author who has spent the last decade documenting the regional cooking of Italy from her home in Sydney. She fronts Silvia’s Masterclass, working through the country one mother-recipe at a time. Her style is patient: fresh pasta by hand, long-rise focaccia, sauces built slow.