Spaghetti With Seafood Velouté

SPAGHETTI WITH SEAFOOD VELOUTé

Steps:

• Prepare all the seafood by first opening the oysters into a sieve over a bowl to catch the juices (see video technique). Trim and slice the salmon into 6 equal-size square chunks. If the scallops are large, cut them in half lengthways. Peel and devein the prawns if needed.
• Place the strained oyster juice and fish stock into a shallow saucepan and bring to a simmer. First add the salmon and poach for 1 min. Add the prawns and oysters (if using large ones) and poach for 1 min more. Add the scallops and poach for 1 min more, then add the oysters (if small) and simmer everything for a final min until just cooked.
• Carefully tip the fish and poaching liquid into a sieve over a large saucepan or bowl, keeping all the salmon chunks intact.
• Heat half the butter in the cleaned shallow pan and add the shallot. Cook very gently for 5 mins until soft but not coloured, then pour in the alcohol and boil until reduced to a few tablespoons. Pour in the poaching liquid and boil down until reduced by half, about 20-25 mins. Stir in the cream and, once more, reduce by half. Turn down to a gentle simmer and whisk in the rest of the butter.
• Gently add the seafood to the sauce, taking care not to break up the salmon. Simmer lightly until heated through, then add most of the herbs, squeeze over the lemon juice and set aside.
• Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling water until just done, about 3-4 mins, then drain well and add back to the pan with a drizzle of olive oil and the rest of the herbs. You are now ready to plate up.
• Use a roasting fork to twirl a neat bundle of spaghetti. Stand the bundle in the middle of a warm large pasta bowl. Alternate the salmon and seafood around the pasta. Spoon the sauce over the seafood, top the pasta with the chervil or parsley sprigs and serve immediately.

SPAGHETTI WITH SEAFOOD VELOUTé (GORDON RAMSAY)

Steps:

• Combine water, bay leave and thyme leaves in a small pot and bring to a boil. Peel and devein the prawns, reserving the prawn heads and shells. Add the prawn heads and shells into the boiling water. Simmer for 15 to 20 minute to extract the flavours of the prawns. Strain the stock into another clean pot.
• Gently rub 1 teaspoon salt into the peeled and deveined prawns and set aside for 10 minutes. Rinse off the salt, pat dry with paper towels and set aside. Skin the salmon fillet (or you can leave it, which was what I did) and slice it into 1½-inch chunks. Season with a little salt and set aside.
• Reheat the stock until it starts to simmer. Add in the salmon chunks and simmer for 1 minute. Add in the prawns and the clams and simmer until the clams are cooked. Remove all the seafood with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Boil a large pot of well-salted water and cook the spaghetti until al-dente, according to package's instructions.
• In a third pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat then add in the onion. Sauté gently until the onion is translucent, then add in the stock. Bring to a simmer and add in the cream and cherry tomatoes. Add in the seafood and season with salt and black pepper (I used very little salt, so remember to do a taste-test before seasoning the sauce!) Bring the sauce to a simmer but take note not to boil it.
• By now your pasta should be cooked - drain well (no need to rinse under cold water). Take a bunch of pasta, twirl and plate it. Spoon the seafood and the sauce over the pasta. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

SPAGHETTI WITH SEAFOOD SAUCE

Steps:

• Peel and chop the shallot and sweat it in 3 Tbsp. olive oil. Add the mixed fish and shellfish and cook for around 5 minutes. Add the cod (you may substitute with another fish, such as monkfish or scorpionfish, or alternatively salmon or swordfish). Add a bit of white wine (around 1/2 cup) and let evaporate. Stir in the tomato passata. Season with salt, bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend everything, reserving some shellfish for decoration.
• Cut the bread into cubes and pan fry in a little bit of very hot oil.
• Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and top the pasta with the sauce, shellfish, bread cubes, ground pepper, and chopped parsley to taste.

SHRIMP VELOUTE

Steps:

• Melt butter in frying pan. Add onion and mushrooms. Saute until onion is soft and clear.
• Stir in flour. Add milk, lemon juice and tomato sauce. Stir over heat until it is boiling and thickens.
• Add shrimp, sour cream, sherry and pinch of garlic powder.
• Turn into 2 quart casserole and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until bubbly hot.
• BAKED RICE: Combine all ingredients together in 2 quart casserole. Cover and bake in 350 over for about 40 minutes or until rice is tender. Fluff with fork and serve.

FISH VELOUTé SAUCE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Heat the fish stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then lower the heat so that the stock just stays hot.
• Meanwhile, in a separate heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the clarified butter over medium heat until it becomes frothy. Don't let it turn brown, though-that'll affect the flavor.
• With a wooden spoon, stir the flour into the melted butter a little bit at a time, until it is fully incorporated into the butter, giving you a pale-yellow-colored paste. This paste is called a roux . Heat the roux for another minute or so to cook off the taste of raw flour.
• Using a wire whisk, slowly add the hot fish stock to the roux, whisking vigorously to make sure it's free of lumps.
• Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the total volume has reduced by about one-third, stirring frequently to make sure the sauce doesn't scorch at the bottom of the pan. Use a ladle to skim off any impurities that rise to the surface.
• The resulting sauce should be smooth and velvety. If it's too thick, whisk in a bit more hot stock until it's just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Remove the sauce from the heat. For an extra smooth consistency, carefully pour the sauce through a wire mesh strainer lined with a piece of cheesecloth .
• Keep the velouté covered until you're ready to use it.
• Enjoy!

VELOUTE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the stock, 1/2 cup at a time. Whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil and reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve.