Wild Turkey Surpriiise!
No, this isn't one of those meals Bugs Bunny prepared for the Tasmanian Devil (dynamite-stuffed turkey, to be exact). It's just what I call those maskipaps meals--recreating leftovers or odds and ends using whatever ingredients are available.
So there was leftover crab from the crab relleno I made the other day. Turns out I had leftover clams, mussels, prawns and squid from the paella as well (they couldn't fit into the paella anymore). There was obviously a meal in there, waiting to be made. :-) Too bad I was out of taba ng talangka (aligue or crab "roe")--that would have made for a really tasty seafood dish. But much as I wanted to run over to Violex at Farmer's Market to grab a bottle of fresh, pure aligue, I just steeled myself and looked at what was in the cupboards and fridge to see what I could use.
A can of crushed tomatoes made me think that maybe a seafood dish cooked a la sopa de mariscos could probably work. That, plus lots of garlic, some onions, bell peppers, a little sugar and lemon juice. Not bad. You don't have to steam your seafood in white wine as I did, but I must say it enhances the flavor by a few notches. My food styling and photography skills have yet to be honed to perfection. You'll just have to trust me when I say that this dish tasted really good. :-)
Seafood Medley
about a kilo of assorted seafood (crabs, clams, mussels, squid, prawns or shrimp, fish, scallops)
white wine (or water with sea salt)
olive oil
1 head of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
about 1/2 can crushed tomatoes
about1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
enough water to make a sauce (not soup)
some lemon or calamansi juice
salt and pepper to taste
flat-leaf parsley, chopped
toasted garlic bits
1) Steam seafood in white wine or water with sea salt. Once cooked, set aside.
2) Heat oil. Saute garlic and onion until soft.
3) Add bell pepper. Saute until soft.
4) Add tomatoes, sugar and water. (The sauce should only have a hint of sweetness.) Simmer to blend flavors.
5) Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, as needed.
6) Add the cooked seafood and stir slightly to cover seafood in sauce. Cover and allow to cook for one minute.
7) Transfer to a platter. Garnish with chopped parsley and toasted garlic bits. Serve with hot, steamed rice.
posted by Foodfarer | 8/13/2006 12:45:00 PM
3 Comments:
Looks good, sound interesting. The dish looks chunky, which is great. For a minute there, I thought it was going to be something like a turducken - one of those ghastly American inventions where someone stuffed a chicken in a duck in a turkey.
It's always fun to dig around the fridge and see what you can come up with. Last Saturday, my nephew and niece came over to swim, I grabbed whatever was in the fridge: A yellow bell pepper, pitted black olives, capers. I roasted the pepper, and stir-fried everything in olive oil and garlic. I toasted some leftover bread, cut them into squares, and instant canapes!
As for photographing food, you have to either use indirect flash or diffuse the flash. Try putting bond paper or thick tracing paper in front of the flash. The image may look darker though if there's no compensation.
Yeah I should try that. For now, it's just simple point-and-click with an amateur's eye and a mid-sized digital cam. And in today's almost non-stop rain, it has to be done quick too before the ants get to the food first. :D
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Post a Comment
<< Home