I am so excited to share this recipe with you. In traditional Italian culture, seafood is served for Christmas Eve dinner. Lots and lots of seafood. In our family, we have meat and seafood and we chose this seafood salad as well as our standard…baked clams. I know that Christmas was so last year but this was a special feast for us. And hey…better late than never, right?
I really liked this recipe for several reasons. It incorporated my favorite vegetables, it was fancy and I love steamed clams. Love! In fact my favorite meal is linguine with clam sauce. My family always makes baked clams with bread crumbs, garlic and olive oil but I prefer steamed clams without all the other stuff masking them. This seafood salad is perfect because there are no heavy ingredients covering up the yummy fish and veggies.
This is not necessarily a recipe you’d make on an ordinary…Wednesday. It’s slightly involved and fish is kind of pricey. But this is an excellent recipe for a special occasion. Next Christmas Eve for sure and…this Valentine’s Day perhaps?
Here’s what you’ll need
First prep the veggies
Cook for just a couple minutes. You still want them to be crisp
Whisk together the dressing ingredients; set aside
Start layering all the veggies on a large platter. Ours could have been a little bigger
Now it’s time for the fish. First the cod, then the shrimp and clams
Let the clams open up. It’s like magic!
For a fancy dinner. Loved it!
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
For the Dressing:
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons rosemary, minced
juice from ½ a lemon
3 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled and minced
zest of 1 large lemon
1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
For the Vegetables:
12 ounces green beans, trimmed and halved
6 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/3-inch ovals
4 cups cauliflower, cut into florets
salt, to taste
For the Seafood:
½ cup dry white wine
1 ¼ pounds cod fillets, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 ¼ pounds small clams, scrubbed
1 ¼ pounds extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cooked beet, cut into pieces
lemon wedges
Directions
Start with the dressing. Whisk together vinegar, rosemary, lemon juice, garlic and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
For the vegetables, add enough cold water to a heavy large pot to reach a depth of 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat and add salt. Add the green beans, carrots and cauliflower. Cook until crisp-tender, 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables and place in a bowl to cool. Reserve the water.
For the seafood, add the wine to the vegetable cooking water. Adjust the heat so the liquid is simmering. Add the cod and simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the cod and set aside. Add the clams and shrimp to the pot. Cook the shrimp for 4 to 5 minutes, until cooked through and opaque in the center. Continue cooking clams until they open. Discard any unopened clams.
To assemble the salad, arrange carrots, green beans and cauliflower on a large platter. Arrange the shrimp, clams and cod on top. Drizzle on half of the dressing. Arrange the lemon wedges and beets around the edge of the platter. Serve with remaining dressing on the side.
Source: adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
