Alfred Portale's Gotham Bar and Grill Cookbook - Hardcover

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Penne with Manila Clams and Chorizo Sauce

One of the most exciting developments in American cuisine has been the incorporation of international influences into our nation's culinary consciousness--a fitting reflection of our melting-pot heritage.  This recipe is a good example of a Portuguese-influenced dish (a departure for me), as well as an illustration of how to turn a culinary experience into the inspiration for a new dish of your own.

In the mid-1980s, I spent time vacationing in the Algarve, the coastal fishing region in the south of Portugal.  Just about every night, we sat down to eat at a dockside restaurant on the pier that served simple grilled fish and an immensely satisfying native dish called cataplana, a garlicky pork and clam stew served in a hinged copper cooking vessel.  The wait staff would deliver this sealed to the table and open it like a giant clam shell, releasing a burst of steam emanating the rich aromas of seafood and spices.

It occurred to me that this ingenious combination of pork and clams, brimming with spicy, bold flavors, would make a fun and unconventional pasta sauce.  To accompany it, I settled on penne; with its ridged surface and short length, it makes an ideal vehicle for the sauce and its size complements the pieces of chorizo and seafood, allowing each mouthful to include morsels of all three.

Makes 6 appetizer or 4 main-course servings

Thinking Ahead: The sauce may be made in the morning before the day of final preparation, covered, and refrigerated.

Clams:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
2 cups dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
5 dozen Manila or 3 dozen littleneck clams, well scrubbed

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion, celery, garlic, and parsley.  Cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened, about 3 minutes.  Add the wine and peppercorns.  Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the wine is reduced by approximately one third, about 10 minutes.  Add the clams and cover.  Cook until the clams open, 3 to 5 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the clams to a small bowl.  When cool enough to handle, remove the meat, discarding the shells, and set the meat aside.  Let the clam broth stand for 10 minutes, then decant it through a wire strainer into another bowl, leaving any sand behind.  Set the clam broth aside.

Chorizo Sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces chorizo or other spicy smoked sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 medium celery rib, cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 (28-ounce) can imported Italian plum tomatoes, chopped, with their juice
2 ounces smoked ham, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 sprig thyme
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the chorizo and cook, stirring often, until the sausage is lightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Add the onion, carrot, and celery and reduce the heat to medium-low.  Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened but not browned, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.  Add the reserved clam broth, the tomatoes with their juice, the ham, thyme, bay leaf, and crushed red pepper; bring to a simmer.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer until reduced by about one fourth, approximately 40 minutes.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Assembly:

1 pound dried penne
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, about 9 minutes.  Drain well and transfer to a warmed serving bowl.

If necessary, reheat the sauce.  Just before serving, add the clams.  Pour the sauce over the pasta, add the parsley and basil, and toss well.  Serve in individual soup bowls.


Whole Roast Red Snapper with Tomatoes, Lemon, and Thyme

This fish dish--quick, delicious, and presented whole--makes an impact.  It requires just 15 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking time.  The ingredients are simple.  Just prep the fish, place it in the oven, and--presto!--it actually makes its own colorful sauce, replete with Provençal flavors.

I learned this recipe on my first day working in Michel Guérard's three-star restaurant in France.  Toward the end of the morning's preparation, the chef stunned me when he handed me a whole snapper and casually told me to prepare lunch for him and the entire staff.  Lunch for the whole staff .  .  .  at Guérard's restaurant?  I was, to say the least, terrified.  When I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, a young French chef showed me the simple preparation for this dish, as well as his method for boning cooked fish.  I've made my own adjustments over the years, but this still remains very much as he taught me.  The recipe was tested with a 6-pound snapper, but you may also make it with a group of smaller fish, cooking them in the same pan.


Makes 4 to 6 servings

1 (6-pound) whole red snapper, cleaned and scaled
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper
3/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup peeled, seeded, and chopped ripe tomatoes (or use canned tomatoes if ripe are not available)
1 small lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed
1 tablespoon coarsely cracked coriander seeds
4 sprigs thyme
4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley; plus 2 tablespoons chopped, for garnish
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400° F.  Lightly oil the bottom of a roasting pan large enough to hold the whole fish.  (If necessary, trim the fins with scissors to get a better fit.)  Rinse the red snapper inside and out with cold running water and pat it dry with paper towels.  Slash 4 X's about 1/4 inch deep into the thickest parts on both sides of the fish to ensure even cooking.  Season well with salt and pepper.  Place the fish in the roasting pan, and scatter a few of the shallots and garlic in the cavity.

Strew the tomatoes, lemon, the remaining shallots and garlic, the coriander seeds, thyme and parsley sprigs over the fish, and drizzle with olive oil.  Cover with aluminum foil.

Roast until the fish is cooked, 35 to 40 minutes.  To test the fish for doneness, make a small incision near the head.  It should be just opaque near the bone.  Using 2 large metal spatulas, transfer the fish to a warmed serving platter.  Spoon the vegetable garnish over the fish, sprinkle with the chopped parsley, and present the whole fish at the table.

To serve, use a long, thin-bladed knife to cut vertically through the top fillet to the backbone.  Make an incision down the backbone, and remove the back and dorsal fins.  Use a large fork to lift off the 2 portions of the top fillet and place on warmed dinner plates.  Lift off the bone structure and head and discard.  Cut the bottom fillet in half horizontally.  Transfer to dinner plates.  Serve with the vegetables.

Variations: Substitute a whole wild striped bass for the red...