Pendleton - Simply shellfish--no bones about it!: easy recipes for everyday shellfish with side dishes to match

When I told people the subject of the cookbook I was working onshellfisheyes widened, and friends oooh-ed and offered to be my tasters. Shellfish is the cream of the ocean crop. Just the mention of a lobster dinner or grilled shrimp makes us think of luxurious, indulgent special occasions. Best of all, all seafood is incredibly healthy. As we try to incorporate more fish into our everyday diets, it is important not to overlook the vast possibilities in the shellfish category.

There is no need to wait for a celebration to enjoy clams, mussels, oysters, lobster, scallops, shrimp, squid, and crab. They are low in fat and full of protein, minerals, and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Their varied rich, sweet, briny, nutty flavors lend themselves to simple preparations, and they are the fastest cooking protein around. For an easy weeknight meal there is nothing faster or more satisfying than a bowl of glistening black mussels in a steaming, briny broth with a good bread and green salad on the side.

Shellfish are commonly broken down into several groups: mollusks, gastropods, crustaceans, bivalves, and cephalopods. A mollusk is any marine animal with no vertebrae. A gastropod is a mollusk housed in a single shell, such as a conch or snail. A crustacean is an anthropod with a segmented body, exoskeleton, and paired, jointed limbs. Lobsters, crabs, shrimp, and crawfish are all crustaceans. A bivalve is a mollusk that lives inside two hinged shells. Clams, mussels, oysters, and scallops are all bivalves. Cephalopods, such as squid and octopus, have conical heads, either eight or ten tentacles, and they all produce ink. While they do not technically have a shell, squid are considered shellfish because of their internal quill, which resembles a thin, clear, flexible plastic.

In this book I have dealt with the most common shellfish: shrimp, crab, scallops, clams and mussels, oysters, lobsters, and squid. The techniques are simple, and flavors are borrowed from cuisines around the world. Most of the recipes can be completed in under thirty minutes, and when a recipe can be made completely or partially ahead of time it is clearly noted. Once you are familiar with the basics, they can be applied to any shellfish you come across. If you are lucky enough to find sweet and creamy Long Island bay scallops in their brief summer season, you can treat them like any other kind of scallop and use them in the recipes in this book. Or if cockles are at your local market, try steaming them like larger hard-shelled clams or mussels. Freshwater prawns, langoustines, or any other unusual crustacean can be substituted for shrimp or lobster. Just remember to adjust the cooking time; little clams and scallops take less time to cook than their larger cousins. Each shellfish recipe lists suggestions for side dishes to make a meal, and references those recipes found in the Sides, Vegetables, and Salads chapter.

As always, look for the freshest fish, get to know your fish seller or seafood market manager, and ask questions. Seafood people love to talk seafood, and if they dont, find a new one. But, most important, have fun, experiment, cook with confidence, and eat well!

the flavor in the shell

I n todays skinless, boneless convenience foodobsessed world, we have forgotten how much flavor that skin and those bones can impart. When it comes to chicken, I often dont have the time or energy to make stock and will reach for a can. But when making a shellfish soup or bisque there are few substitutes for the rich essence of lobster, crab, or shrimp, which comes from coaxing the amplitude of flavor left behind in their shells. Some stocks are time consuming and better left to restaurant kitchens, where they can roast veal bones and vegetables and simmer them slowly for 8 hours or more. However, shellfish stock is easy and quick. Simmer lobster, shrimp, or crab shells for 30 minutes and you have the base for another fabulous meal. Use the stock right away or freeze for another time.

The shells from 2 to 4 pounds of lobster, shrimp, or crab (cooked or raw)

3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

1 bay leaf

2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped

1 carrot, coarsely chopped

1 onion, quartered

Chop or break the shells into small pieces. In a large pot, cook the shells in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, for 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cover with cold water (or cooking liquid). Bring the water to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Strain the stock through a fine sieve, discard the solids, and return the stock to the pot. Simmer until it is reduced to 3 cups and let cool.

The stock can be refrigerated for up to 48 hours or frozen for up to 6 months.

with rock shrimp and crawfish

It is difficult to know what kind of shrimp you are buying and where they are from, since there are so many types of shrimp and so many countries that harvest them. Three-quarters of the shrimp consumed in the United States is imported and most of that is farm raised. Shrimp are rarely available fresh (meaning never been frozen) because shrimpers usually behead and freeze them while at sea. In fact, I recommend buying shrimp frozen so that you can have control over thawing them rather than the supermarket or fish store. If you do not see frozen shrimp displayed, just ask. There are usually more in the back.

purchasing

Individually frozen shrimp should not have large amounts of frost around them or dry-looking white spots. This implies thawing and refreezing, and freezer burn. Shrimp frozen in blocks of ice are usually immune to this problem, but they are not as convenient to use.

If there is a sale on thawed shrimp in a display case, ask if you can buy them still frozen. Thawed shrimp should look firm and intact, without any dark spots. Use thawed shrimp within 48 hours.

sizes

The only real standard for shrimp size is count per pound. Any reference to medium, large, jumbo, etc., is purely subjective. One stores large is another stores jumbo and the larger the shrimp, the higher the price. I do not specify sizes in recipes where it does not matter.

to devein or not to devein?

Sometimes I do, sometimes I dont. Sorry to be so vague, but it depends on the shrimp. I have had farm-raised shrimp so clean I cant even find the digestive tract on the rounded side. Others are big and gritty (though this is rarely the case). Make a shallow slit down the backs of a few shrimp, remove the vein, and see what you think. Slitting shrimp down the back has other advantages. It is easier to see if the shrimp is cooked through by looking into the cut, it is attractive, and it provides more surface area for sauces and marinades.

rock shrimp and crawfish

In this chapter, shrimp is called for in every recipe; size is specified only when necessary. Peeled rock shrimp can be substituted, as can crayfish in the shell or peeled tails, depending on preference.