Italian Fish Soup

This recipe is excellent for the chilly fall days that are just around the corner. Feel free to make a huge pot of this soup and save it for later! It freezes beautifully.

Ingredients
For soup

• 1 lb cleaned squid, bodies and tentacles separated but kept intact
  
• 1/2 lb large shrimp peeled, leaving tail and first segment of shell intact, and deveined
  
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 cup olive oil
  
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
  
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
  
• 1 cup dry white wine
  
• 4 1/2 cups water
  
• 12 little neck clams scrubbed
  
• 12 mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
  
• 4 cups fish stock or bottled clam juice (32 fl oz)
  
• 2 (14-oz) cans diced tomatoes in juice
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
  
• 1 lb skinless halibut fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

For garlic toasts

• 1 (12-inch) Italian loaf, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1 garlic clove, halved crosswise
  
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  
• Accompaniment: extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

Directions
Rinse squid under cold running water and pat dry. If squid are large, halve ring of tentacles, then cut longer tentacles crosswise into 2-inch pieces. Pull off flaps from squid bodies and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut bodies crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rings. Pat shrimp dry and sprinkle with pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sear shrimp in 2 batches, turning over once, until golden but not cooked through, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer shrimp with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and oregano to pot and sauté, stirring, until golden, about 30 seconds. Add wine and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Stir in clams and cook, covered, over moderately high heat until shells open wide, checking frequently after 6 minutes and transferring as opened with a slotted spoon to bowl with shrimp. (Discard any unopened clams after 8 minutes.) Stir in mussels and cook, covered, over moderately high heat until shells open wide, checking frequently after 3 minutes and transferring as opened with a slotted spoon to bowl with shrimp. (Discard any unopened mussels after 6 minutes.) Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F. Add stock to pot along with remaining 4 cups water, tomatoes with juice, sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes. Make toasts while stock simmers.

Lobster Pasta with Herb Cream Sauce

This recipe is one of my favorite uses of Lobster! Nothing pairs better with lobster than a garlic-cream sauce!

Ingredients

• 3 2 lb live lobsters
  
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
  
• 2 large plum tomatoes, chopped
  
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
  
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  
• 2 fresh tarragon sprigs
  
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
  
• 2 fresh Italian parsley sprigs
  
• 6 cups whipping cream
  
• 1 1/2 pounds fettuccine or linguine

Directions
Bring very large pot of salted water to boil. Add lobsters. Boil until cooked through, about 12 minutes (or cook in batches, if necessary). Using tongs, transfer lobsters to large rimmed baking sheet. Remove meat from tail and claws; place meat in medium bowl. Remove any roe from bodies and place in small bowl. Cover and chill meat and roe (if any). Remove tomalley (liver) from bodies and discard. Reserve bodies and shells. Heat oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Add reserved lobster bodies and shells. Sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add tomato paste; stir 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, wine, vinegar, garlic, tarragon, thyme, and parsley. Add cream; boil 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer just until lobster flavor infuses cream, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Strain sauce into large bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard contents of strainer. (Lobster and sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and chill.) Transfer sauce to heavy large saucepan. Cut lobster meat into bite-size piece. Add to sauce. Gently rewarm over low heat, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain; return pasta to pot. Add sauce; toss over medium-high heat until sauce coats pasta, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to large shallow bowl and serve.
Source:Pasta