Columbus Day feast: The Scottos' branzino, apple cake and more

Serve up dishes that feature a few of the ingredients Columbus had on his ships

Video: Cook like Columbus with prosciutto, tuna, almonds

Closed captioning of: Cook like Columbus with prosciutto, tuna, almonds

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>>> this morning on "today's kitchen," what's on the menu, a columbus day feast. we're preparing a special meal using some of the ingredients that christopher columbus had. guaranteed. okay. here to help us, mary, anthony and an. happy columbus day .

>> thank you.

>> happy columbus day .

>> he sailed with the prosciutto. tonight we invited christopher columbus to come to our restaurant tonight. we went to him on the nina, the pinta and --

>> santa maria .

>> the first thing we did, one of his favorites. it's a polenta with sauteed apples and prosciutto. he loved prosciutto, loved it.

>> good man.

>> now we have a new thing. these cans can be bought in kitchen supply stores or online, and they are sardine cans, and we make this appetizer with raw tuna, okay. and a little salt, garlic, a little pepperoni.

>> that looks good.

>> and some lemon.

>> but you don't serve it raw.

>> wait, wait, wait.

>> i can't wait. look. it's hot oil . whoa!

>> it just cooks it right up in there.

>> you bet.

>> and in two minutes we cover it.

>> yeah.

>> and in two minutes, a merial.

>> oh, my gosh.

>> wow. listen, if you have a lot left over, can you make tuna salad tomorrow.

>> i love it. that's a show stopper. thank you so much.

>> over to anthony. this is your guy.

>> we're on the ship, right, we're rocking back and forth.

>> i'm with you.

>> what we having for dinner, who wants to eat? everybody is fishing, but we have stuff on board so let's start with like a fish stew. so let's use garlic.

>> okay. olive oil , a little olive oil . going to have a little onion on board. marjoram and oregano, a little red pepper. we're going to start with that, really let that cook really well, a little fennel.

>> he was on that ship for five days and it's all fresh.

>> on the ship saying what are we going to do today, you know what i'm saying? then we cook that down. we'll add the tomato. going to add a little white wine .

>> smells good.

>> that's going to reduce. tomato sauce , okay. now, the fish. i don't want to push the fish in the stew because it's going to break up. it's very tender. we're going to use a bronzino. cook this right on top, cover it and almost steam it. a little bit more salt, and a little olive oil . we're going to cover it for 10, 15 minutes . it's going to come up. we're going to serve it like this.

>> beautiful.

>> add a fresh day-old bread or crunchy bread.

>> in 10, 15 minutes , that's it to cook it right through.

>> exactly.

>> that's all it takes.

>> would have been lucky to have that aboard that ship. that's beautiful.

>> all right.

>> what are we working on back here? a brown butter apple cake ?

>> that's right and even christopher columbus knew that butter makes everything taste better, you know, so here we're starting and it's apple season. choose which ever apple you like. we're sauteing it in some brown butter . we want it to soften.

>> you leave the skins on.

>> leave the skins on.

>> and then here we have our mixture of almond flour, regular flour and some sugar.

>> mm-hmm.

>> and now we're just going to add this in. i know it's a tight squeeze.

>> no, no, no, if i could just move you.

>> in other words, get out of my way.

>> on the ship there's not a lot of room.

>> exactly.

>> so we mix this in.

>> okay.

>> now we're going to blend this to together, and once again it's pretty simple, yeah, and then we're going to add our egg whites.

>> okay.

>> we mix it together, vanilla, and then we'll put it in our pie shell.

>> okay.

>> how long do we bake it for?

>> we're going to make it for about 15 minutes at 350.

>> is that how long you blend it, just that fast?

>> it's a little more done.

>> well, you know.

>> i'm not used to --

>> we have all the time in the world.

>> this is truly a holiday.

>> so we are going to just mix this around. we'll bake it for about 15 minutes at 350, and then this is what it shall look like, and we top it off with some caramel sauce.

>> how do you make that?

>> this is very simple. it's just, believe it or not, can water and sugar and heavy cream, so they simple.

>> how christopher columbus would make caramel sauce.

>> i liked to end every meal with it.

>> he's coming to us tonight. he's not cooking.

>> has a reservation, by the way.

>> you know, this is the way it is.

>> okay.

>> and who is eating presen ining polenta?

>> i am.

>> you can't pick it up.

Show transcript

TODAY recipes

updated 10/5/2012 5:14:15 PM ET

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The Scotto family is honoring Columbus Day by preparing a dinner that makes use of some of the ingredients Columbus had on his ships, like prosciutto and almonds. Here, they present creamy polenta with prosciutto and apples, poached big eye tuna, aqua pazza and brown butter apple cake with almonds.

Recipe: Aqua pazza, "fish in crazy water" (on this page) Recipe: Creamy polenta with prosciutto and apples (on this page) Recipe: Poached big eye tuna (on this page) Recipe: Brown butter apple cake with almonds (on this page)

Tarts, crisps and more: 6 recipes to celebrate apple season

Recipe: Aqua pazza, "fish in crazy water"

Courtesy of the Scotto family

Ingredients

2 pounds branzino fillets
4 parsley sprigs, whole and washed
1 sprig marjoram
1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped calabrese chilies (or red pepper flakes)
1 bulb spring onions (or mild scallion)
1/4 cup high quality extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup high quality dry white wine
1/2 cup prepared tomato sauce
1/2 pint grape tomatoes or mixed heirloom cherry tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 slices Ciabatta or crusty Italian bread, rubbed with garlic and oil, toasted

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In large stainless steel sauté pan with fitted lid, heat ¼ cup olive oil until smoking. Add parsley, marjoram, fennel, garlic, chilies and spring onions; briefly sauté for 1 minute then add the fish filets.

3. Add white wine, tomato sauce, grape tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid and place entire pan in preheated oven for approximately 10 minutes.

4. To check fish for doneness, remove pan from oven and remove lid. Fish should feel firm to the touch.

5. Place fish fillets on serving platter. Spoon cooking juices and vegetables over fish fillets with the toasted bread.

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Recipe: Creamy polenta with prosciutto and apples

Courtesy of the Scotto family

Ingredients

For polenta:
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 cups instant polenta
1/2 cup mascarpone
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
For prosciutto and apples:
1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto
2 to 3 Roma Apples, cored, sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/4 stick
1 tablespoon thyme

Preparation

For the polenta:

1. To make the polenta, heat milk and heavy cream in a large pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Slowly add the polenta, stirring constantly for 6 to 7 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed.

2. Remove from heat, stir in mascarpone and Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

For prosciutto and apples:

1. Add butter, thyme and apples in a pan and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees, until the apples are soft and lightly browned.

To assemble:

1. In a bowl, add creamy polenta, top with apples and prosciutto.

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Recipe: Poached big eye tuna

Courtesy of the Scotto family

Ingredients

4 (3 ounce) medallions raw big eye tuna
1 lemon, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 ounce red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, heated till hot
4 canned tins (4 ounce) in size

Preparation

1. Place raw tuna in cans, layer with lemons. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Pour hot oil over tuna, set aside to cook for about 2 minutes and serve.

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Recipe: Brown butter apple cake with almonds

Courtesy of the Scotto family

Ingredients

For cake:
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1 cup 10x granulated sugar
1 ounce vanilla extract
9 ounces brown butter
8 eggs, whites only
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cut into small dice
6 to 8 individual tart shells
Butter to coat tart shells
1/2 cup toasted almonds
For sauce:
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation

For cake:

1. In a heavy bottom sauté pan, melt butter to a lightly brown color. Add apples and sauté for ½ minute or more.

2. In a kitchen aid with the paddle attached, add all dry ingredients and mix completely.

3. Add your melted butter and apple mix to the dry ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Then lower speed and add your egg whites one at a time.

4. Place in individual buttered tart shells. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown.

5. Serve with caramel sauce and praline gelato.

For sauce:

1. Combine the sugar and water in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pot around until the mixture is a deep caramel color and looks like syrup, about 8 minutes.

2. Carefully pour in the cream (it will bubble up) and continue to cook for another minute. Cool to room temperature. Pour over cake just before serving and garnish with toasted almonds.