The Best Tips To Recreate Neapolitan Seafood Dishes At Home

There's a reason that Neapolitan seafood is a byword for freshness and succulence. Situated on a bay, Naples is full of thriving fish markets and restaurants serving the catch of the day in exquisite, simple preparations that can't be matched. Chef Jasper J. Mirabile Jr., culinary mastermind behind Kansas City's Jasper's Restaurant and host of Live! From Jasper's Kitchen Radio, spoke with Foodie about home-cooking iconic Neapolitan seafood dinners that do justice to the Italian originals. Chef Mirabile, who previously taught us to repurpose the best-ever steak pizzaiola with leftover meat, always tells us that a good, fundamental treatment is the way to go, and he sticks with that theme when talking fish and shrimp.

He suggests acqua pazza and shrimp fra diavolo as especially adaptable Neapolitan seafood plates to attempt at home. "The shrimp fra diavolo [is] maybe the easiest dish ever if you have a good basic sauce," said Mirabile, continuing: "all you have to do is sauté shrimp and add your sauce [...] it's so versatile you could serve it over risotto or pasta."

They share elements in common, said Mirabile, namely incredibly fresh seafood and simple sauces crafted with love and attention. His recommendations not only made our taste buds sing, but also taught us a few more essential Italian phrases that are useful for dining out.

Flavoring the poaching liquid is a time-honored way to add extra dimension to seafood, and chef Mirabile shares a similar tip when making his acqua pazza — which means "fish in crazy water," by the way! Per Mirabile, with acqua pazza "all you do is add some clam juice or seafood broth along with the fresh seafood and cook it down like a soup."

Sourcing high-quality white fish is essential to a simple dish like acqua pazza. Chef Mirabile didn't specify, but many cooks elect to leave the skin on, but remove the bones and scales. If you stew tomatoes in the broth and serve the entire thing over some crusty baguette, you have yourself a light but hearty dinner.

The Italian portion of shrimp fra diavolo's name means "among the devil," and comes from the spicy sauce in which the seafood is cooked. Chef Mirabile loves it because it is "maybe the easiest dish ever," with only a tomato sauce heavy on the red pepper flakes and some lovingly-sautéed shrimp. Again, because the dish is so basic, the ingredients should ideally be top-notch. The sauce "must be spicy!" chef Mirabile insists. Because you can serve it with so many things, it's another well-rounded plate that tastes amazing and can easily satisfy everyone you call to the table.