Summer is fast approaching,
a season that is heartily embraced by those of us fortunate enough to live
along the coast here in the northeast.
Boat owners eagerly set out on their first expeditions. Sun-worshippers make pilgrimages en masse to
the shorelines. Fisherman cast their
first lines. Best of all, it’s shellfish
season. Coastal living means a steady
diet of fresh locally caught fish and seafood for four to five months.
As with any developed
nation, there are regions within the United States who boast their culinary
gems. Southern states retain bragging
rights to fried foods and barbecue fare.
The southwest may produce the best in Mexican delights this side of the
border. Rivalry does reign, however,
between Chicago and New York when it comes to the best pizza. As a New Yorker, I’ll go down fighting to the
bitter end for my home state. Here in
the northeast, no food group better defines our specialties than that of seafood.
From appetizer plates of Maryland
crab cakes to warming bowls of thick and creamy New England clam chowder,
evening ocean side clam bakes to complete Maine lobster dinners and everything
in between dominates the epicurean scene from Maryland, New Jersey and New
York, across Long Island and all the way up throughout the six New England
states.
Fresh shellfish is even
appreciated in the simplest form known as the bucket of steamers. A great opener to a fish repast, a bucket of
mussels, for example, is simply a bucket, pot or large bowl that gets plopped
down in the middle of the table. The
vessel is piled high with steamed mussels (this is also made with clams) that
have steamed in a pot, often with garlic and butter and perhaps white wine and
herbs. These additional ingredients are
all poured, along with the nectar from the mussels or clams, over the shellfish
before presented to the table. A second,
empty bowl is also strategically placed on the table to serve as the shell
receptacle. Then diners around the table
simply dig in and let the good times roll.
The Maine lobster dinner is
simple as well, and it has summer written all over it. The entrée consists of a whole cooked
lobster, accompanied by steamed mussels, boiled corn on the cob and small
potatoes. In this northern-most state,
lobster is the pride of Maine. On the
to-do list of every tourist who sojourns there is to consume at least one of
these native crustaceans.
Clam chowder originated in
New England as a thick and chunky cream-based soup loaded with clams and
potatoes, plus the usual ingredients of celery and onions. Then New Yorkers had to get their hands in
and substituted a tomato-based broth for the thick cream component and dubbed
their recreation as Manhattan clam chowder.
Well I guess Long Island felt left out of the conjuring pot, but they
took the easy way out in creating their Long Island clam chowder: the soup is
merely a combination of Manhattan clam chowder and New England clam chowder – a
best of both worlds concept. As much as
I enjoy all three of these incarnations, when it comes to seafood soups I still
prefer lobster corn chowder and lobster bisque.
The best lobster bisque I ever ate was at the Carltun Restaurant in
Eisenhower Park. Its texture was the
smoothest, silkiest and creamiest, the flavor was the magic of a chef who did
not in any way hold back on his use of butter, it was the most blissful ecstasy
I have ever experienced in a soup.
For those who love fried
foods, restaurant that reigns supreme is called the Lobster Roll, with
locations on both of the twin forks of Long Island. From their fried blowfish “puffers” to their
pub style fish & chips to a full compliment of various fried gems of the
sea on one platter, their fried fish is superb.
What is a lobster roll anyway, you inner landlubbers ask? Essentially, a lobster roll is a lobster
salad (think tuna salad but swap out the tuna for shredded lobster meat) served
in a long roll.
Fine Italian restaurants
take full advantage of the fresh shellfish that becomes available. Remember, Italy is a boot kicking out into
the Mediterranean, surrounded on three sides by water, and thus the prevalence
of fish and seafood entrees in Italian cooking.
Pastas with pesce, such as succulent shrimps and scallops, whole clams
and mussels and rings of calamari, are always a first choice of mine when
ordering in any Italian trattoria.
On that note, here is an
easy recipe for linguine with clams. It
is quick and easy enough to generate a weekday meal, yet elegant enough to
serve for an occasion meal as well. Keep
a box of linguine, a bottle of white wine reserved for cooking, crushed red
pepper flakes in your spice rack and a jar of sun-dried tomatoes on hand and
all you’ll need to buy on the way home from your busy day are the clams and
some parsley. Add to the shopping list
some fresh Italian bread, the makings for a quick salad and a bottle of Italian
pinot grigio and dinner’s ready to prepare.
Linguine with Clams
Ingredients:
4 ounces dried linguine
3 dozen fresh little neck
clams
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon crushed red
pepper flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1 8-ounce bottle clam
juice
½ cup oil-packed sun-dried
tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped
parsley
Cook the linguine in a
large pot of boiling water until tender.
Rinse off the clams and
scrub any particles of sand off of the shells.
In a stockpot, cook the
onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until translucent. Add the garlic and the red pepper flakes,
sautee and cook for two minutes. Add the
wine and clam juice and bring to a boil. Continue to boil until reduced by
30%. Stir in the sun-dried
tomatoes. Place the clams into the pot,
cover and continue to boil, steaming the clams, for about 5 minutes or until
the clam shells have opened. Drain the
linguine and place into a large serving bowl.
Begin removing the opened clams from the pot and arranging them over the
pasta. Discard any clams that remain
closed after another five minutes. Pour
the contents of the pot over the clams and pasta, sprinkle with the parsley and
serve. Makes 2 servings.
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