Linguine with Seafood in Parchment

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Linguine ai Frutti di Mare al Cartoccio

Linquine ai Frutti di Mare al Cartocci - 1

Yes, everyone, it’s Christmas Eve and, as many of you who’ve been with me for at least one Christmas already know, it’s a night of great anticipation and luscious seafood for many of us Italians. In fact, more than a few households will celebrate tonight with the Feast of the Seven Fishes. In the past, I shared a rather tongue-in-cheek story of the origins of this Feast but, instead of sending you there, I thought I’d reprint it for you here. What’s this? You already know the tale? Well, just skip the paragraph that follows and head straight to the video. That should keep you occupied until the others catch up. So, here is one version of how the Feast of the Seven Fishes came about …

Prior to the changes brought by Vatican Council II in the 1960′s, Christmas Eve was a “fast & abstain” day, meaning only 1 main meal could be consumed and no meat was to be eaten all day. For most Catholics around the World, it was a day of contemplation and that one meal was nothing special. With Christmas coming within hours, all eyes — and appetites — were focused on the big day — and dinner — soon to come. Not so the Italians.  If tomorrow’s a big holiday and today you can only have one meal, why not make that meal special? And so they did. Can’t have any meat? No problem. With Italy being both peninsula and island, fish was very often more readily available than many meat products. And so it became a seafood banquet. Wait a minute! The Church may frown upon so grand a celebration on the eve of the birth of the Christ Child. Again, no problem. They made a point of serving seven fish, each one representing one of the Seven Sacraments of the Christian Faith. In one masterstroke, their seafood feast became an Act of Faith. What priest, bishop, or even Pope would dare interfere with these devout Catholics as they used the day’s only meal to commemorate the Seven Sacraments? (The fact that the clergy themselves were probably dining on an even more spectacular seafood supper didn’t hurt “the cause” either.) And so the Feast of the Seven Fishes was born and survives to this day wherever Italians call home.

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OK then. Is everybody here? Let’s continue …

I first saw this dish prepared almost 20 years ago. An Italian chef, Nick Stellino, hosted a cooking show on PBS. That one episode not only showed me how to cook seafood pasta, Pasta dei Frutti di Mare, but it introduced me to the wonders of using parchment paper to envelope a dish. Since then, although I’ve made this dish a few times, I’ve made seafood pasta often and baked fish and/or vegetables in parchment or foil even more frequently.

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Now, this one dish will give you 5 of the 7 fish needed for your feast. Please resist the urge to go for broke and add 2 more fish to the pot. All that will do is muddle the flavors or, worse yet depending on the seafood chosen, completely overpower the others. If you’re looking for suggestions, how about oysters on a half-shell, a nice octopus salad, a small salad with seared tuna, or a bit of baccalà salad. (A serving of baccalà in some fashion being the overwhelming choice of many Italian families.) Still not happy? Then do what I once did. Late one Christmas Eve afternoon, I was among the horde in a grocery store when I realized I was 2 fish shy of the required 7 for my own little feast. Not willing to spend any more time in the store while I weighed options, I went to the sushi counter and picked up a spicy tuna roll, before heading to the deli section to get a jar of pickled herring.  Fish are fish, after all.

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Speaking for my Zia and the rest of the Bartolini Clan,

We wish you a very Merry Christmas!

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Frutti di Mare - Crudo

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Linguine with Seafood in Parchment Recipe

yield: 3 servings (See Notes)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 lb (225 g) fresh linguine, spaghetti, or tagliatelle — dried pasta may be substituted
  • 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced or grated, divided
  • 4 tbsp chopped parsley, divided
  • 2 tbsp basil, chopped
  • 1 small can (14.5 oz; 400 g) diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 c white wine, divided
  • 1/2 cup clam juice or shrimp stock (see Notes)
  • 1 tsp dried marjoram (2 tsp if fresh)
  • 6 mussels, (see Notes)
  • 6 cherry-stone or manila clams, (see Notes)
  • 6 scallops, cut in half (see Notes)
  • 9 shrimp (see Notes)
  • 3 calamari (see Notes)
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • chopped parsley and basil for garnish

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Seeking (en)closure.
All wrapped up.
Surprise!

(Click any photo to enlarge)

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Directions

  1. At least 30 minutes before you are to begin preparing the sauce, place the clams in a bowl filled with cold water. Change the water at least once and be sure to brush the clam shells before cooking them.
  2. Prepare a simple tomato sauce:
    1. Place 2 tbsp olive oil in a small sauce pan over med-heat. Once hot, add the onion, the red pepper flakes, season with salt & pepper, and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.
    2. Add 2 cloves of garlic and 2 tbsp of parsley, stir, and continue to sauté for another minute or so.
    3. Add 1/4 c wine, the tomatoes, 1 tbsp basil, season with marjoram, salt & pepper, and bring to a boil before lowering heat to a simmer.
    4. Allow to simmer until sauce has deepened in color and thickened, about 30 to 40 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if necessary.
    5. Put aside 1/2 cup for the recipe and reserve the rest for another day.
  3. Pre-heat oven to 375˚ F (190˚ C).
  4. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta until 2 minutes before the package indicates it will be al dente. (See Notes)
  5. In a large, deep fry pan with a lid, add remaining olive oil over med-high heat. Add remaining oil, garlic, and parsley to the pan and sauté until fragrant, about a minute or so. Add the clams and mussels, cover the pan, and sauté for 2 minutes.
  6. Add the squid, shrimp, scallops, clam juice, tomato sauce, and the remaining basil and wine to the pan. Cover, increase the heat to high, and boil the ingredients for about 2 more minutes.
  7. Using a slotted spoon, remove the seafood from the pan, and place in a covered bowl. Reduce the sauce by half,
  8. By now, the pasta should be drained. Add it to the boiling sauce, stir to evenly coat, and sauté for a minute.
  9. Add the reserved seafood to the pan, mix, and heat till warmed throughout. At this point, discard any shellfish that have yet to open.
  10. Meanwhile, take a large piece of parchment paper — or aluminum foil — fold in half and place on a large serving platter.
  11. When the seafood and pasta are ready, place them along the fold of the parchment paper. Garnish with parsley and basil. Working quickly, use interlocking folds to join the top and bottom halves of the parchment paper. (See Notes)
  12. Alternately:
    1. Use separate sheets of folded parchment paper, one per serving.
    2. Split the pasta and seafood evenly among the sheets. Garnish with parsley and basil. Fold each, as indicated in Step 11 above.
  13. Place the parchment packet(s) on a baking sheet and place in the middle of a pre-heated oven.
  14. Bake for 5 minutes and remove to a large serving platter or individual plates. Do not pierce the parchment until at the table.
  15. Serve immediately and watch as your dinner guests open their parchment presents and get a whiff of that steam. This is why you go through the trouble of putting seafood pasta in parchment.
  16. Do not serve with grated cheese for it will overpower rather than enhance most of the dish’s seafood components.

Inspired by Nick Stellino, “Cucina Amore”, Pasta al Cartoccio di Mare

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Linquine ai Frutti di Mare al Cartocci - 2

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Notes

To store the fresh seafood

If you are to prepare this on Christmas Eve, the last place you want to be that afternoon is standing in line at the fishmonger. Fresh seafood will easily keep in your fridge for 24 hours if treated properly. I would not recommend storing beyond 24 hours.

  • Remove the clams and mussels from their packaging and place in a colander. Cover with damp — not sopping wet — paper towels. Place the colander in a bowl in which some ice as been set. Do not use so much ice that it will immerse any of the colander’s contents when it melts or the mollusks may drown. Place the bowl with colander into your refrigerator until needed.
  • Leave the shrimp, squid, and mussels in their packaging and store in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Do not freeze.

To prepare the seafood:

  • The Clams: At least 30 minutes before they are to be used in the recipe, place in a bowl of cold water and soak. (Some believe adding a couple tbsp of corn meal to the water will cause the clams to eliminate any sediment.) Change the water at least once before the clams are needed. Just before use, scrub clean the shells with a small brush. Discard any that are open and that won’t close on their own power.
  • The Mussels: Before use, remove the beard (a thread mass on one side) and use a brush to clean the shells. Discard any that are open and that won’t close on their own power.
  • The Shrimp: remove the shell including the tail section, if desired. Save the shells to be used to make shrimp stock. Use a sharp paring knife to slit the top of each shrimp. This will reveal a dark-colored vein that should be removed.
  • The Scallops: these may be sold with a muscle attached to one side. It is about an inch long and /14 inch wide. This should be removed as it is tough and unpalatable.
  • The Squid: Use a sharp knife to cut each tube, creating rings that are a half-inch wide. If using the tentacles, cut them in half or quarters.

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Cutting Linguine by Machine
Cutting Linguine by Hand

Homemade Linguine Cut Two Ways

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You may find it easier to enclose your seafood in aluminum foil rather than parchment paper. The choice is yours to make.

Do not forget — as I did — to add a garnish of parsley and basil to each packet just before you seal them. Their presence adds to the aroma upon tearing the parchment.

Timing is everything with this dish. The seafood cannot be kept waiting for the pasta to be cooked lest it become tough and rubbery. If you feel that you cannot properly time the dishes together, go ahead and cook the pasta so that it finishes within a few minutes of starting the sauce. Pasta should be cooked about 2 minutes shy of al dente, as indicated on the package’s instructions. Drain the pasta, return it to the now-empty pot, coat very lightly with olive oil, and cover until needed.

You needn’t be an origami expert to fold and seal the parchment packets. That’s why the gods gave us staplers and don’t be afraid to use one.

As written, this recipe will give you 3 nice servings. If you wish, it will yield 4 primo piatto-sized servings, though you may want to adjust the amounts of seafood used.

The keen-eyed among you may have noticed that there seemed to be more seafood in the photos than was required by the recipe. You’d be correct. I usually buy a couple extra clams and mussels to account for any that may be spoiled and must be discarded. Not knowing that I had already done so, the fishmonger added a couple more, for the same reason. When I joked that the scallops looked “bad”, he agreed and added another 2 scallops to their previously weighed container. He then added 2 shrimp and another squid to their respective containers. This is how you earn life-long customers.

If you like, you can skip the parchment packets altogether and use this recipe to prepare a very good frutti di mare pasta. To do so, follow the recipe but cook the pasta for another minute before draining. Place the drained pasta into the sauce, as before, but cook it for only a minute before adding the seafood. Stir to combine, heat everything through, and serve immediately. Garnish with chopped parsley and basil.

This dish does not make good leftovers. None of the seafood will re-heat well at all. Try to prepare just enough to ensure your dinner guests are satisfied without having anything left on the serving platter.

As you may have noticed, I used a pastry brush to lightly coat the sealed parchment before placing it in the oven. There was no discernible effect to the parchment paper by doing this. Perhaps it’s because the oven temp was relatively low and the packet was in the oven so briefly. Whatever the reason, I won’t do it again for this recipe and excluded it from the recipe’s directions.

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It’s déjà vu all over again …

Zuppa Inglese - 1No series looking back at my family’s traditional Christmas dishes would be complete without including our recipe for Zuppa Inglesi. This highly anticipated dessert consisted of lady fingers that were “lightly flavored” with alcohol before being covered in lemon-flavored custard. There’s even an alcohol-free version so that no one seated at the table need go without. You can take a look at the recipe for this family favorite just by clicking HERE.

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Coming New Year’s Eve to a monitor near you …

Two Cellos and a Cherry

Booze

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193 thoughts on “Linguine with Seafood in Parchment”

  1. Your Christmas Eve tradition is a truly delicious one, and cooked in the parchment is very appealing. You put so much time and effort into creating a truly memorable meal and that it carries such familial tradition and importance makes it an even greater gift for those who share it with you! Food at this time of year is so infused with meaning and memory, and I’m so glad you share about your own history. Now I hope you can take a little break in the kitchen before moving on to the New Year’s events, but you have my curiosity piqued–Booze! The dessert looks fantastic, too, although I may not be able to eat any more sweets for a little while. The sugar switch was turned on and no one came along and turned it off for me. I had little choice but to keep indulging…hahaha! I can’t keep going at this pace without very serious repercussions, however. Now on to Happy New Year, John. I hope it will be!

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    • Thank you so much, Debra. Christmas is such a special time and my family really did go all out when it came to our meals. Very often the dining tables of both families were swelled with guests and all could not believe the food set before them. Although mine is not at all a modern kitchen, it’s still twice the size of Mom’s, as is my fridge. Yet, she was able to prepare and serve all of these dishes. The miracle of the loaves and fishes pales in comparison. 🙂
      This week, I’ve the recipe of 3 liqueurs to share. Each takes time to make but you’ll have plenty of time to prepare them for next New Year’s. 🙂

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  4. That looks like the perfect meal & I think I’ll go with it very soon. Thanks for the tip about stapling the parchment – head smack – never even thought of it but what a perfect solution since I usually end up fighting with the parchment until I’ve made a big mess of things.
    Christmas Eve was a grazing party and although we tried to come up with the 7 fishes, we fell short and started claiming that artichokes hearts looked enough like fish to count. I made lobster risotto for the main dish. I think we may have also cheated by claiming half the cherrystones were used for clams casino & the other half for half shell slurping., plain shrimp & coconut shrimp…let’s see, even with the artichokes we fell short didn’t we?

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  7. As you know, I don’t eat fish so for me Xmas Eve is still a day of fast! 😉
    What a great dish! My family would have loved it!
    My parents, who cooked the whole Xmas Eve dinner, are huge fans of the parchment paper cooking method. They say that the flavors “stay in the envelope”. 🙂
    I hope you and your zia had a wonderful Xmas celebration and I wish you both and Max a peaceful and successful New Year!
    Love,
    Francesca Xx

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  8. Thanks for following my food blog. I’m so happy that I have discovered yours! I live on Vancouer Island off the west coast of Canada, so I have ready access to wonderful fresh seafood and cook with it frequently. I absolutely cannot wait to make this fabulous dish!

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  9. John, what a gorgeous and refreshing change from the dishes I’m used to seeing at this time of year, truly a feast for the eyes and the tastebuds! I absolutely loved reading about the history of the seafood tradition for Italians at Christmas, and your take on it was highly entertaining. Sadly, I’m a landlocked Canadian, but I’ll figure a way to use frozen fish and seafood to give this a whirl in the new year, because it positively begs to be tried. A very merry Christmas to you and yours, and all the best in 2014!

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  10. What a sumptious looking dish! Warmest Christmas greetings to you and Zia — late, but ’tis the season to slow down a bit! Looking forward to all your kitchen has to offer in the new year.

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  11. Sorry I got here a few days too late – you know how it’s been! I hope you had a wonderful couple of days, we thought of you and toasted you and ZIa 🙂 Wonderful recipe and I so agree with not putting too much into it. I’m contributing to a New Year’s Eve supper and I think it will involve a scaled own version of this beautiful dish. Buon Anno if we don’t “speak” before, Un abraccio x

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  12. How’d I miss that story? Love it! And not waiting until next Christmas to do this. I do my mother’s seafood pasta – never have done it in parchment – this will be a fun new way for me. Adding some sushi – very sage advice. Grand posting. Happy 2014! May it bring you all sweet things.

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  16. That looks particularly delicious. I’ve always been interested in doing a 7 fishes feast, but have never gotten around to it. (And, if truth be told, I’m not much of a fish cook.) We did have a Vietnamese version at a restaurant in NYC a few Christmas Eves ago and it was really fun. Hope you had a lovely holiday.

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  18. What a gorgeous dinner for Christmas Eve.. but I think it would be heavenly on New Year’s Eve! These little packets are so delicate and pretty, I can imagine a guest being served one on a beautiful table set for New Year’s. I don’t think we’re doing a special evening this year, but I’ll keep this in mind for our next dinner party! And.. bring on the booze:D I hope you and your family had the most wonderful of Christmases and I hope you are enjoying a lovely Christmas holiday!! xx Barb

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  19. Bonjourno John! This is a 7 fish pack of wonder. A wonderful way to celebrate Christmas eve or any time you want to impress your guests. Your fish monger was very good to you as your selection of seafood looks very fresh. Of course any dish with your homemade pasta is already top notch. Wishing you a very safe and happy new year celebration. Take care, BAM

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  20. Amazing post as always John. Yum, we had seafood at Christmas also and it’s gorgeous to see how you’ve cooked it en papilotte, amazing! We made fresh egg noodles with a pasta machine last weekend. So much better than purchased noodles or pasta. Made me think… who invented the pasta machine first? Italians or the Chinese? I’ve read a bit about Marco Polo but I need to do a bit more research I think! 🙂 Hope that you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. Happy New Year to the Bartolini’s for next week!! Thanks for being a wonderful blogging friend this year John 🙂

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  24. More picture-perfect edibles from you, John–a grand and fitting way to enjoy the holidays indeed. Hope Christmas was superb and that 2014 will be filled with every good thing for you and your loved ones. Joy, peace and infinitely satisfying food all through the year! Cin Cin!
    Kathryn

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  25. Wow, John that is quite the feast and such a great tradition that Italians love to do! I totally remember how I used to cook my fish and even chicken wrapped in foil….so moist and juicy and tender. I laughed when you said nobody needs to be an origami expert when folding the parchment paper. 🙂
    I’m sure everybody thoroughly enjoyed your feast. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a happy new year! 🙂

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  28. It’s so nice to be here this evening and catching up. I have to say that I’m having flashbacks to my childhood in NY when many an aunt was busy in the kitchen on Christmas Eve preparing squid and the other fishes. Cooking the fish in parchment is brilliant and I’m glad you mentioned omitting the cheese (that would surely ruin the beautiful flavors of the fish). I have to print out your post for my little Momma as I’m sure she’ll get a kick out of reading it and will probably share a few family “kitchen stories” I’ve not heard.

    Best wishes to you and yours in the coming new year!
    Allison

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  29. I love the way the Italians were clever enough to out wit the Vatican! Your recipe is an absolute feast. Loved the idea of the parchment it is an early Christmas present of seafood all wrapped up ready to be opened. Another recipe I am noting down to use. The video clip was so lovely too.

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  31. Great post, John. I love the idea of pasta in parchment–and I laughed thinking of your rounding up all seven fishes. Tuna roll and pickled herring it is! Happy New Year and thanks for all of your good cooking and stories this past one. Ken

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  32. I loved the story of how seafood dinner on Christmas Eve came about… because for years and years, for no other reason that it felt right, we have been having Christmas Eve seafood dinner. We eat seafood all year, but somehow that meal is the most special and memorable. That said, this year although we dined simply and deliciously on local fresh ‘sand’ prawns the taste of which took me back to my childhood, and Bloody Mary oyster shooters, your seafood with linguine – indeed there does look to be more seafood than pasta – would be lovely also. I may have to, as I did with your baked ham, make it an occasion during the cooler months 🙂

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  33. Catching up with you at last, John and salivating over this fragrant seafood feast!

    By the way, I found some buratta, when I was down in Melbourne and served it (with a Marcella Hazan tomato sauce with onion) for a special treat on ‘Boxing Day’ – to great acclaim, thank you very much!

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  36. Hi John! I stopped by my favorite Chicago food blogger to see if you had posted about oysters before. This was the closest I found! 🙂 Do you have any suggestions of where to buy fresh live oysters in the area?

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    • Hey, Susan! Good to hear from you. I get much of my seafood at the FISHGUY market at 4423 N. Elston. Just last week they advertised a sale on oysters. I would suggest getting on their email list to learn of their weekly specials. Recently, they’ve had fresh morels, porcini, and assorted wild mushrooms, soft shell crabs, ramps, etc.

      You could also try Eataly on Ohio St. They aren’t cheap but you can get free parking for an hour, 3 hours free if you spend $. In that neighborhood, free parking is a great deal! They have a great selection of seafood and it’s where I get my squid ink. They’ve got restaurants on the 2nd floor where you can grab a bite.

      I hope this helps. Give FISHGUY a call, 773-283-7400. You may get lucky and the oyster sale is still going. If you do not see what you’re looking for, be sure to ask. They’ve plenty in the “back”. They, also, have a few tables set up for lunch. I hear the lobster rolls are good, tho I’ve not eaten there yet. Good luck!

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