I know Christmas is over, but I am still thinking about the Christmas Eve dinner. What can I say, I liked how it turned out. It is a custom in Croatia (where I come from) to make seafood for Christmas Eve dinner. It has to do with the whole idea of fasting before Christmas Day, although I don't really consider it a fast when eating delicacies from the sea. However, this tradition allows you to structure an entire meal around seafood. There are many ways to go about planning the menu.
Last year, since we had company for Christmas Eve, I made a three course all seafood dinner. I started off with Bacalar in bianco (mashed cod with garlic, potato, olive oil and parsley) and assortment of crackers. Then we had shrimp risotto with cream and saffron. And as a last course, we had brodetto (white fish cooked in tomato and wine sauce) with polenta.
This year, since it was just the three of us and I didn't want to deal with leftovers, I made a small shrimp cocktail as an appetizer. I followed it with leek potato soup (a very simple soup with wonderful flavor from The Silver Spoon). And finally as my pièce de résistance, I had grilled branzino a la Croata, and chard and potato salad. Magnifico! Now all this may seem complicated, but in fact these are all very simple dishes. Read below.
Shrimp Cocktail:
Mix equal quantities of mayo and yogurt. Add a handful of chopped parsley, and freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt and black pepper to taste. Mix well, chill and serve with boiled shrimp tails. Done.
Branzino a la Croata:
This dish is best done on a grill, but since I don't have one, the second best is to use a grill pan. You can also bake it, but I have not tried it that way. Buy a whole branzino, with the head if you don't mind it, because it makes for a dramatic entrance. My little one was so fascinated with the head and kept insisting that the head should be placed on her plate. Ask your fishmonger to clean the scales and the guts, and then you are all set. Once you are ready to prepare the fish, rinse it in cold water, pat dry it with paper towels. Salt the fish well, and then chop up a handful of parsley, add to it a sprig of rosemary (not chopped) and a bay leaf (not chopped), a chopped clove of garlic and a teaspoon or three of lemon juice. Tuck all that stuff into the stomach cavity of the fish and kind of press it closed. Meanwhile, heat up the grill (pan) to pretty hot. When you are ready to grill the fish, coat both side of the fish with olive oil, and then plop it on the grill (pan). Feel free to brush the fish with olive oil during grilling, and press on it so you get the grill marks. Let it grill about 5 minutes, on each side, and make sure you flip it gently. Then let it grill 2-3 minutes each side, and by then the fish should be pretty much cooked (it will start falling apart). Beware of the fish bones while your enjoy the fish!
Chard and Potato Salad:
To make it a truly authentic Croatian dish, this recipe calls for Swiss chard, but I could not find Swiss chard, so I got red chard instead. Wash the leaves of the chard (1 bouquet) and trim them from the stem, then chop them into 2cm ribbons. Peel 2-3 medium yellow potatoes (I like Yukon Gold), and cut them into cubes, 1-2cm overall. Place all that goodness into a pot of lightly salted water and bring it to boil, cover and simmer on lower heat for about 20 minutes. It's all right for potatoes to be really soft, and chard as well. After 20 minutes, with a slotted spoon, take out potatoes and chard, making sure that some of the cooking liquid makes into the bowl as well. Once all the chard and potatoes are in the bowl, use salt and pepper to taste, then add to it a spoonful of good quality extra-virgin olive oil. I love Spanish olive oil because it is green and fragrant and it tastes like Croatian olive oil, which I have not found in the States.
And that's it. Serve this meal with some nice white wine. We really like Vouvray because it is slightly sweet. Dobar tek!
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