{Recipe} Italian-American Christmas Eve: Mom a la Mode’s Zuppa di Pesce

So this isn’t that post that gives you the history of “The Seven Fishes” or why Italian-Americans hold Christmas Eve as the feast of all feasts when it comes to seafood.  That post can be found here.

You’ve come to the right place, however, if you are looking for a recipe that I hold near and dear to my heart, that incorporates four of the seven fishes into one scrumptious dish.

If I may be so bold — my Zuppa di Pesce rocks.

It might be because it’s made with love – with each Tuttorosso tomato (my FAVORITE brand of canned tomatoes) gently crushed by hand.

Or because the dish is teeming with elegant simplicity — a symphony of shellfish and piping hot pasta, enhanced by glistening olive oil, crisp white wine, crushed tomatoes and fragrant garlic and onions.

Or because it’s just plain GOOD!

You might want to bookmark this page, PIN it or add it to your recipe file for a later date.

Here’s why:  I find Zuppa di Pesce to be a real crowd pleaser at dinner parties, and is also a perfect dish in the summertime (particularly at the Shore, when you have access to freshly caught seafood).

When complemented with a glass (or bottle!) of Pinot Grigio and hot, buttery garlic bread (used to soak up those delicious juices at the bottom of your bowl), Zuppa di Pesce has a funny way of predominating the dinner table –heads tend to be hunkered over their dishes, with the glorious sounds of slurping [linguine], dunking [bread] and clinking [clam  & mussel shells] taking over, bypassing any type of conversation for at least a few minutes.

Hey, I told you it was a symphonic meal!

And here’s a little stocking stuffer for the foodies out there. The folks at Tuttorosso are so thrilled that mom a la mode loves their canned tomato products, and they are offering my readers a chance to win a special Tuttorosso Gift Pack.  Learn more and Enter to win here:.a Rafflecopter giveaway  {SORRY – GIVEAWAY IS OVER}

If you are feasting on seven fishes this Christmas Eve, I’d love to know more about what you’re serving and/or what your family’s traditions are like. Please share in the comments below.

Buon Natale! Mangia, Mangia!

oxox

– mom a la mode

Mom a la mode’s Zuppa di Pesce ©

(serves 8 people)

Ingredients:

2-3 cans Italian plum tomatoes (I like the Tuttorosso brand best)

3-4 cloves garlic, smashed

1 small onion, finely chopped

4-5 Basil leaves, thinly sliced

Olive Oil

2 lbs. Linguini

¼ cup white wine

Chopped fresh parsley

2 lbs. Medium uncooked, shrimp (peeled/cleaned)

1 lb. Bay scallops

2 dozen Littleneck Clams, rinsed in cold water and dried

1.5 lbs. Mussels, rinsed and de-bearded

Red Pepper Flakes for fun

Salt

Pepper

1 TBSP Sugar

Steps:

Get your pasta water going while you start to make your sauce.

Have a large bowl ready, and start to hand-crush each tomato and place into bowl.

In an extra-large skillet or Le Creuset-like pot, add olive oil to coat the bottom of pan.  When hot, add chopped onion and cook until opaque, approximately 3 minutes.  Add smashed garlic, and sauté.  Watch your heat – lower gas so that onion and garlic do not burn. Add crushed tomatoes, wine, basil, a dash of salt, pepper, sugar and some red pepper flakes for a kick of heat.  Stir together, lower gas and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Have your seafood out of the fridge, pat dry and sprinkle shrimp and scallops with a little salt and pepper.  Add seafood to sauce and stir frequently but gently.  Seafood in sauce should cook on low heat approximately 15-20 minutes.  Seafood sauce is done when shells are opened and shrimp are pink and opaque.  Check pasta water – once at a full boil, add linguine cook about 10 minutes for al dente.  Strain pasta once done and put in extra-large pasta bowl.  Ladle out seafood sauce over pasta carefully and sprinkle chopped parsley for garnish.  Enjoy!

{The recipe in this post is an original recipe of Mom a la Mode’s. Please feel free to share with others, but kindly include credit to Mom a la Mode (http://momalamode.net) if printing, posting via social media, sharing electronically, etc. While I was not compensated monetarily for this post, I did receive a complimentary Gift Pack for review purposes from Tuttorosso.  As always, all opinions expressed in this post are solely mine.}

All photos are courtesy of Alison Hein of MixerUpper.com.  Check out her food blog today!