Archive for ‘Fish’

March 18, 2012

Weeknight Wow | Pork Jowl Pasta with Monkfish

We all get stuck in a weeknight routine, I know.  I’ve heard the complaints — “I don’t know what to make and I don’t have the time to make it anyway.”

Maybe all you need is to take something familiar and give it a little tweak.

Enter pork jowls.  In Italian it’s guanciale, and it’s sliced and cured in a manner similar to bacon.  But it’s a deeper, richer almost gamey flavor that brings something different to your weeknight plate.  Fry them up, toss them with some familiar ingredients and you’ll have a pasta that’s delicious on its own.  Add some slices of easily-prepared monkfish and you can serve your loved ones something wonderfully unexpected.

Just be sure to maintain the mystery: don’t tell them how easy it was.

Pork Jowl Pasta with Roasted Monkfish

For the pasta sauce:

1/3 lbs. of sliced pork jowl

Pinch of red pepper flakes

December 5, 2011

Early Winter Heaven | Turbot with Chanterelles and Melted Parsnips

Turbot has become my new favorite fish.  At first blush, it’s light, mild, and delicate.  But a heartbeat later you realize its meaty, dense, and packed with beautiful flavor.  Pair it with this seasonal and politely assertive sauce and you’ll really get your loved one’s attention on a cold December night.  Most importantly, the ingredients are familiar and the techniques are pretty basic.  It’s a can’t miss weeknight meal that’s quick, healthy, satisfying and elegant.  I can hardly believe something so simple could make such an impact.  It’s a beautiful dish.

Turbot is popular on European plates, but lately it seems to be making its presence known in American eateries and grocery stores as well.  If you can’t find it, ask your fishmonger.  The success of this meal is directly related to the quality of the ingredients.  Find the best mushrooms you can.  These were from the Greener Grocer and perfection.  This is a modified version of a dish found in Rick Stein’s Complete Seafood.  You must own this book.

Early Winter Turbot with Chanterelles and Melted Parsnips, serves 2

2/3 to 3/4 of a pound Turbot fillet

3 strips of bacon, thickly sliced

June 3, 2011

Friday Night Grill | Copper River Salmon

I think this stuff is fantastic.

Only available from mid-May to mid-June, this fish tastes nothing like a farm-raised salmon.  This is a fish that’s done some work swimming.  Tonight, Hades seasoned it with salt and pepper and a few drops of olive oil.  He grilled it outside on an oak plank covered with fennel fronds, parsley and tarragon.  A drizzle of tahini dressing (2 T tahini, 2 T olive oil, 1 T balsalmic, 1 T crème fraîche, 1 t lemon juice, pinch of brown sugar and S&P) finished off the fish before serving.   I added a cous cous with orange water, cumin, tomatoes and backyard mint as the side.

We didn’t even break a sweat.

Playlist included Many of Horror, by Biffy Clyro.

May 4, 2011

Ivory Coast via Brussels | Salmon with Saffron Tumeric Cream

I’ll admit to a slight amount of jet lag.  By slight I mean passing out after dinner and waking up at four the next morning.

So I haven’t really blogged dinner in as timely a manner as I’d like; but there you go.

This lovely dish was inspired by a restaurant we happened upon in Brussels the first night we were there.  It was called Hemispheres and it was an ode to the southern hemisphere in all it’s diversity.  From Indian curries to tagines, the menu ran the gamut. The sauce on the salmon was heavenly.  I almost thought there was coconut in it, but it was simply the combination of cream with the deeply yellow colored spices that evoked that sweetness.

This salmon dish could be done in any manner of ways.  In fact, why even use salmon?  Try it with

March 29, 2011

A Classic Revisited | Sea Bass Salad

The birth of this post comes from a piece of bony fish.

I had a lovely piece of sea bass that would have made a gorgeous steak all seared off and pretty, ready for it’s close up.  But darn it if I couldn’t pry loose some stubborn pin bones.  Many people wouldn’t bother with such a thing,  but as it turns out, I have a thing.  I really can’t stand bones in a fish.  I know.  Hush.

So, I poached it instead.

And after its warm bath, the fish easily gave up all those bones just with a bit of light flaking into a bowl.  This salad is wonderful in its traditional forms: on a croissant (from Pistacia Vera?), over a salad of spring greens, on toast (from Omega Bakery?) or, as I did, in lettuce leaves that rolled up into little roulades.  Add in a few strong, non-traditional ingredients (olives, capers, a brunoise of red bell pepper) and you’ve got something that a lady who lunches or a fish phobic person (I’m not fish phobic, I’m bone phobic) will really enjoy.

Sea Bass Salad Roulades, serves 2

2/3 pound sea bass (although salmon would also be just marvelous in this, come to think of it)

6 olives, sliced

1 T red bell pepper, minced

1 T capers, drained

1 green onion, thinly sliced

1 T parsley, finely chopped

2 T olive oil, plus more to taste

1/2 lime, juice and zest

Salt, pepper

4 large lettuce leaves, washed and dried

In a small pot of simmering water add in the fish and cook at a gentle bubble for 10 to 12 minutes or until the fish flakes easily.  Drain and let rest on a paper towel.  While the fish is cooking, combine all other ingredients in a small bowl, except for the lettuce leaves.  Flake in the fish with the dressing, gently stir to incorporate.  Taste for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper or olive oil to taste.  Divide the salad amongst the four lettuce leaves.

Playlist included Second Chance, by PB&J (Peter, Bjorn and John).

March 16, 2011

Irish Cooking | Poached Salmon on Brown Bread

It’s a marvelous, make ahead kind of a lunch.

Poach a bit of salmon the night before, bring along a slice of leftover pint bread, a tiny cup of homemade crème fraîche and add a few thin slices of onion, some fresh dill if you have it, a caper or two if you want.  It is perhaps one of the healthiest things you could take for lunch, plus it’s simple, and tastes luxurious.

PK tip: this assembles in moments.  Pack the salmon along with the dill and onion, but pack separately the crème fraîche and the bread.  Yet another thought: wouldn’t this also make fabulous little quick appetizers?

Your cube mates will be jealous.

 

 

February 28, 2011

Scandinavian Crush | Sole and Vanilla-Scented Rutabaga

The culinary world is in love with Scandinavia.   The tiny, 42-seat restaurant Noma was named the best restaurant in the world last April.  Driven, innovative Marcus Samuelsson is a regular fixture in the Top Chef shows.  The cuisine as a whole has received a makeover of sorts.

I first became acquainted with the basic aspects of it through a great series that was broadcast on PBS several years ago and which lead me to pick up what has become one of my favorite cookbooks Kitchen of Light: The New Scandinavian Cooking.   Author Andreas Viestad gives a wonderful background on the region as well as a bounty of recipes pairing traditional ingredients with new flavor partners.  It is one I reach for on a regular basis during the winter months.

The humble rutabaga prepared in a wide variety of ways makes a regular appearance in Norwegian homes, and I have found that I love it now, as well.  This meal, inspired from Kitchen of Light, takes all of about 20 minutes to make and really only requires two main ingredients, if you exclude a couple of basic pantry staples and a fresh sprig of rosemary.  Give it a try on a night you’re pressed for time.

The rutabaga is prepared the same way you would for mashed potatoes (peel, cube and boil in heavily salted water).  When it is tender, drain (and transfer to a food processor for a silky puree or mash by hand for a bit more rusticity) and add butter, a bit of cream (my preference) or milk, season with a bit more salt and pepper to taste.  While you’re mashing, add in the seeds scraped from a split vanilla pod.

Serve with sole fillets that have been folded in half lengthwise, with a small slit in the top of each for a small bit of fresh rosemary.  Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.  I place them on parchment paper in my pan to prevent sticking.  Depending on the size of the fillets bake at 350 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the fish begins to flake when touched with a fork.

Playlist included I’d Rather Dance With You by Kings of Convenience.

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