The Modern Nonna Ultimate Seafood Feast

This recipe is quite awesome, but I recommend that you use 1 1/2-2 times the seafood! I have half left over and will add more seafood and serve it over fresh tagliatelle I will make. Recipe as written on Instagram by The Modern Nonna:

A divine seafood dish, absolutely perfect in a beautiful white wine tomato sauce and incredibly delicious with crusty bread. You can use any seafood you love for this dish and I will give you all of the tips in my notes. This recipe makes 4-6 portions but feel free to add as much seafood as you like. You will need: 
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3 tablespoons olive oil 
1 finely diced onion 
1 finely diced celery stalk 
6 cloves of minced garlic 
salt, pepper, dry oregano to taste 
1/2 cup white wine — I used Sav Blanc
2.5 cups tomato sauce 
2 cups water, fish stock, or veggie stock (I used veggie stock)
1 bay leaf 
1 piece of any white fish or salmon that’s cubed 
12 pasta clams or any small clams that were washed and scrubbed 
8 jumbo tiger shrimp peeled and deveined 
6 large scallops 
parsley or basil for garnish 
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Please note: you can use cod, halibut, salmon, or any fish or seafood you love. You can use muscles or crab too. Any tomato sauce works just chose something cleaner —our homemade one only has salt tomatoes and basil in it. If any of the clams don’t open, throw those out as they are an indication that they are bad. 
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In a skillet with high sides or in a pot add the olive oil and let it heat up on medium heat. Sauté the onions, celery, and garlic for a few minutes until translucent. Add salt pepper and dry oregano to taste and you can taste and adjust later. Add the white wine and let it reduce for about a minute or two. Stir in the tomato sauce and water, or you can even use fish stock or veggie stock as well for more flavor. Add a bayleaf, let it come to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and let it second until your desired consistency. Mine was perfect after an hour. After the sauce has reduced add the fish, washed and scrubbed clams and let it boil for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and scallops and let them go until the clams open, which should take another 3-4 minutes. Garnish with parsley and enjoy with crusty bread or pasta. 
 

Pancho's Black Bean Soup

Ten years ago we went on a cruise trip to Mexico. On a stop in Cozumel, we shopped at a gift store named Pancho's that also had a cantina in the back (amazing food!). This recipe appears on the inside of a matchbook from the restaurant, and it is worth making!

1 1/2  lbs cooked black beans (1 lb uncooked bag), or two 14 oz cans

1 1/4 tsp ground bay leaves

1/4 tsp ground oregano

1/4 tsp ground cumin

2 minced garlic cloves

1 chopped jalapeno pepper

1/2 white onion, finely chopped

1 3/4 oz dry sherry

3 tbs olive oil

4 cans beef consommé

Mash beans slightly. In pot over medium heat, place olive oil, add onion, bay leaf, oregano, jalapeno pepper, garlic, cumin, and cook briefly until onion turns golden. Add consommé, stir, and add black beans. Bring pot to a gentle boil, stirring frequently to prevent the beans from sticking on the bottom. Add sherry slowly as you stir, salt and pepper to taste, and turn off heat. Garnish with a side plate of diced tomatoes and onions. Serve with garlic buttered and toasted French roll.

Fish Tacos with Slaw and Avocado Crema

This recipe appeared in a local publication and is a recipe from The Local, a Charlottesville VA restaurant.

2 ripe avocados 

4 oz chevre’ goat cheese 

Juice of 2 or more limes 

1 ½ tsp cumin 

2 c finely shredded cabbage, red or green 

½ red pepper, diced 

1 jalapeno pepper, minced 

1 small red onion, thinly sliced 

½ c cilantro leaves 

2 tbs apple cider vinegar 

Extra-virgin olive oil 

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 

1 ½ lbs mild white flaky fish (rockfish, cod or tilapia) 

Favorite cumin-heavy spice mix (Tajin or Cajun) 

12-18 corn tortillas 

 

Make avocado crema: Blend avocado, goat cheese, lime juice, 2 tbs water and ¾ tsp cumin until smooth. Add a little more water if it is too thick, and more lime juice if needed. 

 

Make the slaw: In a large bowl, combine cabbage, peppers, onion, cilantro, cider vinegar, 2 tbs olive oil, ¾ tsp cumin. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and refrigerate at least 30 min, or up to 1 day. 

 

Drizzle fish with olive oil, and season with spice mix. Grill or pan fry fish, turning over once, 3-4 min per side. 

 

Wrap tortillas in foil and warm them on a grill, or in a 250-degree oven for about 5 min. To serve, arrange bite sized chunks of fish, slaw, and crema on each warm tortilla. Serve immediately.