Fettuccine Alla Buranella

Our family has learned to honor synchronicity…when things seem to be falling into place, we go with the flow. I had some recipe magic last week that just made my day! Our friends were coming to dinner to plan our May trip to Italy, and of course an Italian menu was called for. I went to an old accordion folder that I’ve had since early in my marriage (38 years!) in search of a vaguely remembered recipe…and came upon a yellowed, ancient looking photocopied page from an unknown cookbook. The intro said this recipe was from the chef of the Royal Danieli Hotel in Venice, and was named for one of the islands in the Venetian Lagoon. I had no idea where it came from, but it sounded delicious and most importantly, could be made ahead of time.

I have a wonderful memory of a martini on the rooftop deck of the Danieli Hotel, and lucky Brittany spent two nights of her honeymoon there! So I knew I was meant to take a chance on this recipe and I was so right. This is comfort food at its best; rich and special and a bit of a labor of love, but that’s what this site is all about. (I will note some shortcuts later.) I became kind of obsessed with figuring out the origin of the recipe and how I came to stumble upon it so many years later. As futile as it sounds, I tried googling “Fettuccine Alla Buranella”  and- Bingo!  It took me to Amazon.com where a reader had commented that this was her favorite recipe in an amazing cookbook called A Treasury of Great Recipes by Vincent and Mary Price; now out of print but available used…hardback for over $100!

The other comments convinced me that I had to have this book…one woman said she has over 800 cookbooks, and this is the best! Another said her parents were given this book with the purchase of a refrigerator in 1964 in Boulder Colorado, and used it for all their holiday dinners. Vincent Price, besides being the master of horror movies was also a true gourmet, and traveled the world with his wife dining in the all the finest  restaurants. I found a used copy for $30 and cannot wait for it to arrive…I promise to share our favorites with you.

Fettuccine Alla Buranella

8 oz. thin egg noodles

1 Tbs. butter

4 filets of sole (3/4 lb.) I used orange roughy, which was fine

2 Tbs. butter

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup fish stock

1/2 tsp. salt

The white part of one small leek, chopped

1 cup light cream (half & half)

1/2 cup bechamel sauce

1/2tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 lb. shrimp

6 Tbs. parmesan cheese

4 Tbs. butter, melted

Cook the noodles in boiling salted water for 8 minutes, or until just tender. Drain, rinse, cool slightly and stir in 1Tbs. butter.  Set aside.

Cut the fish into 3/4 inch squares.  Heat 2 Tbs. butter in a skillet, add the fish pieces, 1/3 cup dry white wine, 1/2 cup fish stock, 1/2 tsp. salt, and the finely chopped leek.  Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer the fish for 3 minutes . Remove fish and cook liquid remaining in skillet until it is reduced by half.

Add 1 cup light cream, 1/2 cup bechamel sauce, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is smooth and glossy but not too thick.  Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp. lemon juice.  Strain through fine sieve (I didn’t bother with this.)

Poach 1/2 lb. shrimp im simmering water for 5 minutes.  Drain, remove shells and backbones, chop and stir into fish filets.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In the bottom of a 2 quart casserole put 1/4 of the the noodles. Cover them with 1/3 of the fish mixture and sprinkle with 1 Tbs. grated Parmesan, 1/4 of the sauce and 1 Tbs. of melted butter.  Repeat twice, top with remaining noodles, add remaining sauce, sprinkle with 3 Tbs. Parmesan and the remaining melted butter.  ( Don’t worry if you lose track of how many layers…just make sure you end with noodles, sauce and cheese on top. ) I couldn’t bring myself to add all the melted butter to this already rich dish, and we didn’t miss it.  Bake in the hot oven for 10 to 15 minutes unitl lightly browned.  Or if made in advance, refrigerate and then bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30  minutes until bubbling.

Short cuts: Unlike the Danieli restaurant kitchen, we don’t have sous chefs with simmering pots of fish stock and bechamel sauce. I had no qualms about purchasing a box of fish stock, and then making a white sauce for the bechamel (melt 1/2 Tbs. of butter in a small pan, add 1Tbs. of flour, and cook stirring for a minute or two. Remove from the heat and  slowly whisk in milk or cream until thickened and most lumps have disappeared, you only need 1/2 cup).  Purchase already cooked  large shrimp to save another step.

The recipe says serves 4. I had hoped  for leftovers, but as you can see; no such luck.  I  really need to exercise more…