Seafood Bread
You can substitute other canned seafood for the tuna, or use a combination of seafood such as salmon, crabmeat, clams, and tuna; if the bread is deep enough, you can increase the amount of meat in the recipe.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 8
- 1 10- to 12-inch round loaf of bread
- Extra-virgin olive oil as needed
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more to taste
- 4 large vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
- ½ teaspoon dried basil, crushed
- OPTIONAL: dried red pepper flakes to taste
- 1–2 teaspoons granulated sugar (to taste)
- 2 cups cottage cheese, drained
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
- 2 cans 6-ounce tuna, drained
- 8 ounces fresh button or cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Cut the top off of the loaf of bread. Starting about ½ inch from the outer crust, cut a circle around the loaf, cutting down to about ½ inch from the bottom of the crust; be careful not to pierce it.
Remove the soft bread from the inside of the loaf; use a blender or food processor to make 2 to 3 cups of course breadcrumbs.
Mix 1 cup of the breadcrumbs with a ½ cup of the freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano; set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together the tomatoes, salt, garlic, dried onion, parsley, basil, sugar, and red pepper flakes (if using).
In another bowl, mix the cottage cheese with the egg and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
Use a pastry brush to liberally coat the inside and the outside of the bread with extra-virgin olive oil. Place the bread crust-side down on a baking sheet. Sprinkle freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to taste over the bottom inside of the bread.
Use a slotted spoon to spoon half of the tomato mixture over the top of the grated cheese; avoid getting too much of the tomato juice in this layer. Spread the cottage cheese mixture over the top of the tomatoes, spread the tuna over the cottage cheese mixture, and top the tuna with the mushrooms.
Ladle the remaining tomato mixture and juices over the top of the mushrooms. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over the tomato mixture. Sprinkle the breadcrumb-cheese mixture over the mozzarella, carefully pressing the mixture down over the cheese. Add more breadcrumbs, if desired. Liberally drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over the top of the breadcrumbs.
Bake for 1 hour, or until the breadcrumbs on top are deep brown and the mozzarella cheese underneath is melted and bubbling. Serve immediately.
Seafood Bread Baking Tips
Bread like challah lends a sweet flavor to the Seafood Bread, and because its crust is already soft, it should bake okay if it is just placed on the baking sheet. If you are using bread with an already crusty crust, you may need to wrap the outer crust in foil for the first 45 minutes of the baking time.
