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Times of the Islands Magazine

Recipes We Love - See What’s Cooking in SWFL (November/December 2021)

St. Augustine Stew 

RestaurantThe Claw Bar

Serves 1 

Sofrito (stew base) 

  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil 
  • 2 cups ripe tomatoes, chopped 
  • ½ cup onion, diced 
  • ¼ cup peppadew peppers, chopped 
  • 4 cloves garlic, sliced 
  • 1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped 
  • 1 teaspoon datil pepper sriracha 
  • 2 cups crab stock 
  • 6 ounces stew base 
  • Fish tips 
  • 2 shrimp 
  • Lobster pieces 
  • 3 mussels 
  • 4 ounces cured pork belly 
  • Halved cherry tomatoes 
  • Salt and pepper to taste 
  • Lump crab meat, garnish 
  • Green scallions, garnish 

Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large sauté pan until simmering. Add tomatoes, onion, peppadews, garlic, and rosemary. Cook for about 5 minutes or until ingredients start to give a nice brown color on the edges of the pan. Remove from heat and puree in blender.  

(Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Add the datil pepper sriracha and mix well. Stir in crab stock. Set aside to cool.  

Heat a large saucepan and add another 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss in fish tips, shrimp, and lobster, sautéing for 3 minutes before adding mussels, cured pork belly, and cherry tomatoes. Keep sautéing for about 4 minutes or until the mussels pop open. Slowly add 6 ounces of sofrito. Let simmer for 4 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve with rice. Garnish with lump crab meat and green scallions.  

221 9th Street SouthNaples; 239-231-3912, theclawbar.com  

 


Pappardelle Margherita 

RestaurantCielo 

Serves 4 

  • ½ tablespoon olive oil 
  • 8 each baby heirloom tomato halves 
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, minced 
  • 1 tablespoon white wine 
  • 2 ounces vegetable stock 
  • 2 tablespoons cold butter, cubed 
  • ¼ cup baby arugula 
  • 1 teaspoon fresh basil, chiffonade 
  • 1-2 ounces burrata 

*Pappardelle pasta 

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour 
  • 1 teaspoon salt 
  • 3 egg yolks 
  • 1 whole egg 
  • 1/3-½  cup water 

In mixer bowl, mix flour and salt. Add egg yolks, whole egg, and 1/3 cup of water. Mix on low speed with the dough hook until it forms a ball. (If dough is too dry, mix in enough water to make dough easy to handle. If dough is too sticky, mix in enough flour to make dough easy to handle.) 

Divide dough into four equal parts. On lightly floured surface, roll one-fourth of dough at a time into rectangle 1/8-inch thick (keep remaining dough covered). Loosely fold rectangle lengthwise into thirds. Cut crosswise into ½-inch strips. Unfold and gently shake out strips. Gently arrange in a single layer on lightly floured towels; let stand for at least 30 minutes or until dry. 

Blanch in boiling salted water till al dente. Set aside. 

Heat olive oil in a sauté pan. Add in tomatoes and garlic and toss a couple of times. Deglaze with white wine. Add in vegetable stock and bring to boil. Remove from flame, add in butter and swirl until the butter is melted and the sauce has thickened. Toss in the reserved pasta, arugula, and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Top with the burrata. 

*You can find already-made pappardelle at your local grocery store. May add shrimp. 

1244 Periwinkle WaySanibel; 239-472-5555cielo-sanibel.com  

 


Apple Pie Cocktail 

ABC Fine Liquors 

Serves 1  

  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon 
  • ½ teaspoon sugar 
  • Honey 
  • 1½ ounces Cooper's Mark Apple Bourbon 
  • 1 ounce cinnamon whisky 
  • 4 ounces ginger beer
  • Apple slices 
  • Cinnamon stick 

Combine cinnamon and sugar. Run honey around the rim of your glass and dip it into the cinnamon and sugar mix. Add ice and combine bourbon, whisky, and ginger beer. Stir gently and garnish with apple slices and cinnamon stick. 

 


Bolognese 

RestaurantColleoni's

Serves 1 

  • 5 pounds ground meat, equal mix of veal, beef, sausage 
  • 2 medium yellow onions 
  • 2 large carrots  
  • 1 head of celery 
  • ½ cup garlic 
  • ½ bottle cabernet sauvignon  
  • 2 cans Italian tomatoes 
  • 3 ounces tomato paste 
  • 4 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped 
  • ¾ ounce kosher salt 
  • ¼ ounce ground black pepper 

Brown meat and strain fat. Brown veggies and garlic. Combine meat and vegetables and deglaze the pan with red wine, reduce the wine, and add tomatoes and tomato paste. Next, add herbs and seasonings. Simmer on low for two hours, stirring occasionally.  

12731 McGregor Blvd.Fort Myers; 239-208-3114, colleonis.com  

 


Tommy G&T 

Serves 1 

  • 1 piece lemon peel 
  • 1 thin cucumber wheel 
  • 1 fresh raspberry 
  • 5 juniper berries or pink peppercorns  
  • 2 ounces gin 
  • 5-7 ounces tonic water 
  • Dash of grapefruit bitters 
  • Edible flowers for garnish (optional) 

Put the lemon peel, cucumber, raspberry, and juniper berries in a wineglass. Fill the glass with ice. Add the gin, then the tonic water, pouring each down the inside of the glass. Add the bitters and stir gently once or twice. Garnish with flower and cheers.  

Coconut Point, 23150 Fashion Dr. Suite 101, Estero; 239-947-2203, tommybahama.com