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Sole Francese
Sole Francese was a constant on my dad’s menu and has always been a popular Italian-American favorite. Who can resist a golden egg-battered fillet smothered in a lemon butter wine sauce? The majority of the recipes here on ItalianChef.com were on the menu at my father’s restaurant or came from him when he was still…
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Pasta al Tonno (Pasta with Tuna)
Pasta al Tonno is the ultimate Italian pantry meal. A can of tuna, some garlic, olive oil, parsley, and a box of penne – that’s all you need. This is the kind of pasta you make on a busy weeknight when you haven’t had time to shop but still want something that tastes like a…
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Christmas Eve | Pasta | Popular | Seafood
Linguine Frutti Di Mare (Seafood Linguine)
If you are looking for a show stopping main course for your Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes Dinner, or any special occasion, look no further. This selection of fresh seafood in a delicious, light tomato sauce served over linguine will please any seafood lover. This classic Italian seafood pasta brings together the best…
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Christmas Eve | Fish | Holidays | Seafood
Insalata Frutta di Mare
This refreshing Italian Seafood Salad (Insalata Frutta di Mare) features tender calamari, shrimp, and scungilli tossed in a bright lemon and olive oil dressing. It’s a classic antipasto that lets the quality of the seafood shine through with minimal fuss. The simple dressing of fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and parsley enhances the…
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Fried Calamari
Fried Calamari has become ubiquitous, I see people ordering it everywhere from pizza places, to the local sports bar alongside a plate of Buffalo Wings. It perturbs me to see the dish lowered down to the level of deep fried bar food. Sometime I even catch myself raising an eyebrow when I see it on…
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Sarde a Beccafico (Sicilian Stuffed Sardines)
Sarde a Beccafico is a traditional Sicilian dish of butterflied sardines stuffed with a sweet and savory mixture of bread crumbs, pine nuts, currants, anchovies, garlic and parsley. Baked in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil and squeeze of lemon, it truly is a taste of Sicily. Back in 2001 I went to…
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Christmas Eve | Fish | Seafood
Italian Christmas Eve Dinner
It is a tradition with many Southern Italian families to celebrate Christmas Eve with an elaborate fish banquet, Il Cenone di Vigilia. Sometimes referred to as The Feast of the Seven Fishes, not everybody sticks to exactly seven; some go up to 11 or 12, predominantly shellfish. This tradition actually started out as a gesture…
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Sole Piccata
Sole Piccata is a good example of a light and tasty seafood dish that is easy to prepare. When my father made sole (or chicken) piccata at his restaurant he didn’t typically put capers in it, but many chefs do. I am a big caper fan, especially with fish, so I like to include them…
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Fish | Italian Grill | Recipes | Seafood | Sicilian
Swordfish Sandwiches
Summer weather is finally hitting us here in Connecticut, and when it’s this hot I like to keep my cooking as simple as possible, preferably outside on the grill, while still maximizing flavor. These Swordfish Sandwiches certainly check off all of the boxes. Perfectly grilled swordfish steaks on crusty Italian bread with peppery arugula and…
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Italian Grill | Recipes | Seafood | Sicilian
Grilled Swordfish with Breadcrumbs
I have been fascinated by this Sicilian technique of coating marinated swordfish in breadcrumbs and grilling it ever since I first saw it in the book Coming Home to Sicily by Fabrizia Lanza. So, now that the warmer spring weather has finally hit, what better time to feature it? I made some small tweaks to her recipe, including…
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Christmas Eve | Fish | Popular | Recipes | Seafood
Red Snapper Livornese
Fragrant and flavorful with olives, capers and a light tomato sauce, Red Snapper Livornese is a seafood lover’s dream and may even make a few converts. A wonderfully pungent dish from Livorno on the western coast of Tuscany, Red Snapper Livornese, was a mainstay on my Father’s menu and one of the first recipes I…
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Pesce all’Acqua Pazza
I first had this dish at a small restaurant in Positano on the Amalfi Coast called O’Capurale and was blown away by how flavorful yet light it was. Pesce all’Acqua Pazza means Fish in Crazy Water. Many American interpretations of this dish seem to take this translation extremely literal. They really accentuate the “crazy”, using…
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Seared Tuna with Sweet and Sour Cipollini Onions
Whenever possible I like to feature Sicilian inspired dishes here for a couple of reasons. First, my family is Sicilian in origin. Although my parents met here in America, both of their families are from the same town in Sicily, Francavilla di Sicilia. Second, and more importantly, Sicilian cooking is awesome and unique! In it you can…
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Fish | Italian Grill | Recipes | Seafood | Sicilian
Swordfish Sicilian Style
Swordfish Sicilian Style is kind of a deceiving name for this dish, considering that swordfish is prepared so many different ways in Sicily. Dishes like Stuffed Swordfish Rolls and Swordfish coated in breadcrumbs and grilled are also very typically Sicilian just to name a couple. But, this tasty lemon, oil, garlic and white wine sauce just never fails to…
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Clams Oreganato
Clams Oreganato. Baked Clams. Stuffed Clams. No matter what you call them, they are a great starter for your Christmas Eve fish dinner. It is very important that the stuffing stays moist and does not become dried out. If the bread crumb mixture feels too dry, you may have to add a little more oil,…
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Clams and Mussels Posillipo
You don’t see mussels and/or clams Posillipo on too many menus anymore, which is really a shame because it is a great dish. Foodie “purists” will claim that dishes such as this are not really Italian but Italian-American inventions. I am pretty sure that in Naples, which Posillipo is a neighborhood in, you will find…
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Seafood Risotto
This recipe actually comes from my friend Michael who prides himself on his risotto skills. He feels the error that most people make when cooking risotto is that they go overboard on the stirring and end up with a gummy blob. Risotto is supposed to be creamy with distinct grains of rice not a mushy…
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Linguini White Clam Sauce
If the idea of shelling more than a dozen clams doesn’t appeal to you, ask them to shell them for you at your favorite fish market. Just make sure they pack them with their juices when they give them to you. Serves 4 3/4 cup of olive oil 4 cloves of Garlic chopped 1 and…
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Shrimp Scampi
I am extremely allergic to shellfish, which would not be a problem if had this condition my whole life and I really didn’t know what I was missing out on. Unfortunately, this is not the case; I developed it as an adult, long after Shrimp and Lobster were entrenched near the top of my favorite…
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Shrimp Oreganato
This recipe is a very tasty shrimp dish, the key to which is making sure that it stays moist and does not become dried out. If the bread crumb mixture feels too dry, you may have to add a little more oil, use your judgement. Serves 4 2 cups bread crumbs 1/4 cup olive oil…
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Pesce alla Paolo
Recently, we went down to visit my parents in New York. I needed to stock up on some essentials to bring back home to Connecticut, so my Father and I took a drive down to Arthur Avenue, the Little Italy section of the Bronx, to do some shopping. While there we stopped at Randazzo’s Fish…
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Linguine with Blue Crab Sauce
From Italian Family Dining: Recipes, Menus, and Memories of Meals with a Great American Food Family (Rodale Books, 2005) We serve this pasta every Christmas Eve, as part of the Cena della Vigilia feast. The recipe comes from Edward’s godfather, Tomasso, an Italian fellow who worked in the Pennsylvania coal mines. He never spoke English, and sent…
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Le Migliori Polpette di Tonno
From Jamie’s Italy (Hyperion, 2006) Just about everyone I know is a fan of meatballs, so I thought I’d give you a recipe for these, as they are something a little different. I’ve seen them made in Sicily in the same way, using a mixture of swordfish and tuna ? not canned tuna though. These have…
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Codfish with Brocoletti di Rape
From Italian Family Dining: Recipes, Menus, and Memories of Meals with a Great American Food Family (Rodale Books, 2005) This is one of our favorite dishes, and we eat it frequently during the winter. You can substitute any large, whitefish, like striped bass, for the cod. You can also substitute chunks of fish, like monkfish. Serves 4…
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Seared Tuna With Sweet-Sour Onions
From Seafood alla Siciliana: Recipes and Stories from a Living Tradition (Lake Isle Press, 2009) Here’s another variation on the agrodolce theme, based loosely on a recipe from Charly, chef of Taormina’s Vicolo Stretto restaurant. With red onion crowning each tuna steak, it looks pretty and makes an especially nice warm-weather dish, served at room temperature–like…
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Mussel Soup
From Sicily: Culinary Crossroads (Italy’s Food Culture) (Oronzo Editions, LLC, 2008) Mussels have several other dialect names in Sicily–cozzi, cozzi niura, arcella, catacozzula, anapinnula–to name a few. The mussels that have been grown for centuries at Ganzirri, an inlet just outside Messina are much renowned. 4-1/2 pounds fresh mussels in their shells 1 medium onion, chopped 1…
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Stuffed Lobster
This recipe comes from my Cousin Sal and the dish is the centerpiece of his traditional Christmas Eve meal with his family. Chopping up the meat from the claws and including it in the stuffing is a really nice touch. Serves 4 2 lobsters, 1 1/2 – 2 pounds each 1 cup bread crumbs 2…
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Spaghetti with Tuna and Anchovies
From Italian Family Dining: Recipes, Menus, and Memories of Meals with a Great American Food FamilyItalian Family Dining (Rodale Books, 2005) We tested this recipe with a very fine canned tomato called Vaegri — indeed, the best we ever tasted beside our own homemade. We buy it at Tino’s Deli in the Bronx. We prefer fresh or…
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Spaghetti Alla Rosinella
From Cucina Napoletana: 100 Recipes from Italy’s Most Vibrant City (Interlink Books, 2008) In this typical pasta dish from the Posillipo district of Naples, the most is made of the fresh seafood available along the coast of Campania. Posillipo, situated at the western end of the Bay of Naples and leading down to the water, is one…
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Broiled Stuffed Squid
From The Silver SpoonThe Silver Spoon (Phaidon Press Ltd, 2005) Serves 4 4 squid, cleaned 1 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprig, plus extra to garnish 1/2 garlic clove 1 cup bread crumbs olive oil, for drizzling and brushing salt and pepper lemon wedges, to garnish Preheat the broiler to hot. Chop the squid tentacles with the parsley and…
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Black Bass With Sicilian-Style Pesto
From Urban Italian: Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food (Bloomsbury USA, 2008) For years, I thought Sicilian Pesto was some weird, made-up American sun-dried-tomato abomination. It wasn’t until my first trip to Sicily that I discovered that pesto alla Siciliano was actually Italian–and more to the point, that there was a reason to…
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Aromatic Salmon Steamed In Foil
From Seafood alla Siciliana: Recipes and Stories from a Living Tradition (Lake Isle Press, 2009) A fish from Northern Waters, salmon appeared in Sicilian markets only in the aftermath of globalization. It is a convenient and delicious option for American cooks, however, and takes very well to Sicilian flavors. Seasoned couscous goes well with this dish. Serves…
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Pan Seared Tuna with Rosemary Oil
In 2005 Sandy and I took a two week trip to Italy. We started in Venice and worked our way down through Tuscany, Rome and The Amalfi Coast to Sicily. We were married less than two years at the time and didn’t have children yet, so it was the perfect time in our lives for…
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Italian Grill | Recipes | Seafood | Sicilian
Involtini di Pesce Spada
The last time I visited Sicily just about every restaurant I went to had a variation of these typically Sicilian stuffed swordfish rolls on the menu. This is one version of the dish, it can also be found with a stuffing that contains currants and pine nuts. I’m a big olive and caper fan so…
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Christmas Eve Menu 2009
With Christmas less than two weeks away this is a good time to encourage anybody who is interested in having a traditional Southern Italian all fish Christmas Eve Dinner to check out our Feast of the Seven Fishes menu. We first published this menu, with dishes like the Fried Calamari pictured above, on The Italian Chef…
