21/11/2011

Shellfish Olio

Olio? Don't worry! I've not gone all chefy and started inventing odd names for my dishes that sound more grand than the actual food - an Olio is simply a dish of many ingredients; a potpourri, a miscellany ...

Shellfish are an important part of paleo eating, containing all manner of minerals in such great concentrated packs - metals, B-12 and omega-3.

To the kitchen ...

Begin with a very finely chopped onion, garlic and a generous slug of extra virgin olive oil in a large sauté pan. Soften.

Finely slice some mushrooms and courgette. Finely slice! This is our pasta. The mushrooms and courgette will soak up the excess olive oil.

Pour in a can of pre-cooked pomodorino tomatoes. You could use fresh, but the skins will not break down as well as canned. Lightly crush.

Chop in a long sweet red pepper - the actual name of these escape me, but they're much softer than round bell peppers. Okay (days later), I've remembered - Romano Peppers.

Finely slice a chilli and toss into the sauté pan - I used a Scotch Bonnet.

Fragrance with some oregano.

Cook for a few minutes to warm through fully.

In a frying pan, lightly cook the shellfish - sear off squid, warm up prawns and sauté some scallops. Toss into the main sauté pan.

Just before serving, infuse the dish with some finely sliced basil. This will perfume the dish without adding too much flavour.

Serve out into a wide brim bowl and accompany with a glass of Sangiovese.

Bellissimo!