Southern Comfort (26 page)

Preheat the broiler.

To make the shrimp stock, place the shrimp shells in a saucepan and cover with the water. Place on medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Decrease the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, skimming off and discarding any scum from the surface. Strain the shrimp broth into a bowl and reserve.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil over high heat. Have a small bowl of ice water on the side. Once it has reached a boil, drop in the tomato and cook for about 30 seconds. Remove the tomato from the boiling water and place in the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Once the tomato is cool, remove it from the ice water and the peel off the tomato skin and discard it. Cut the tomato into quarters and remove the seeds, discarding them. Chop the tomato flesh finely and reserve.

In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the diced fennel, carrot, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occassionally. Add the flour and
stir, cooking for 1 minute longer. Whisk in the white wine and 2 cups of the shrimp stock and continue whisking until a thick sauce is formed. Add the salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, chopped tomato, fennel fronds, parsley, and diced shrimp and continue cooking until the shrimp are just cooked, about 3 minutes.

Pour the mixture into an 1½-inch-deep ovenproof casserole dish. Mix the bread crumbs with the Parmesan cheese and spread evenly on top of the casserole.

Place under the broiler on the top shelf, watching closely and turning if needed, until the top is golden brown, about 1 minute.

Serve immediately.

To prepare the calamari, be sure your grill (or grill pan) is clean and nicely oiled. Preheat the grill (or grill pan) until hot.

Clean the calamari by separating the head from the body. Cut the eyes off of the tentacles and remove the cartilage beak, discarding the eyes and beak. Reserve the tentacles until later.

Remove any membrane from the outside of the body. Using your fingers, pull all of the cartilage out from the inside of the body as well and discard. Chill the bodies and tentacles until you’ve prepared the stuffing.

To make the stuffing, fill a bowl with ice water and have nearby. In a large saucepan, bring 4 quarts of water with ¼ cup of kosher salt to a boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add the collard green leaves (no stems) and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer the collard greens to the ice water bath to cool. Once they are cool, squeeze the excess water from the greens and chop finely.

In a large bowl, mix together the chopped collards, cornbread, 1 tablespoon of the garlic, pancetta, 1 teaspoon of the sea salt, ½ teaspoon of the black pepper, 3 tablespoons of the melted butter, Parmesan cheese, half of the lemon juice, and half of the lemon zest. Work the stuffing together with your hands until it starts to come together when squeezed.

Fill each body of calamari two-thirds full of stuffing. Pin the open end closed with a toothpick. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining melted butter with the remaining salt, pepper, garlic, the thyme leaves, and the red pepper flakes to make a butter for basting.

To grill the calamari, place the stuffed bodies on the preheated grill away from the hot spot. Grill, with the cover of the grill closed, for 1 minute on all sides. After the calamari has been on the grill for approximately 5 minutes and has nice grill marks, add the tentacles to the grill. Brush all of the calamari lightly with the garlic butter, cover the grill, and grill for 1 minute more. Remove the calamari from the grill to a platter.

When the calamari are cool enough to handle, remove the toothpicks and slice the bodies into 1-inch-thick rings. Spoon the remaining garlic butter over the calamari and serve.