Oven Crisped Fish

What was your favorite moment in Thursday's presidential debate? I have two: one when poor Barack (his hair looks much more grey than when the campaign began, don't you agree?) called John "Tom".  The other would have to be when John/Tom (aka man-who-looks-he-is-stuffed-with-iron-filings) was talking about health care. Rather than say individuals and their family 'members' he started to say individuals and their 'deceased'. Klassy, John/Tom, way to convey that soft, human side that has been so elusive thus far.

Debate dinner was crispy fish. I used tilapia, but any flat fish would do the trick. Leftovers would be great in a pita with a tangy tartar sauce and shaved green cabbage. 

Oven Crisped Fish

Ingredients:

cooking spray

1 lb flat fish (such as tilapia), patted dry with paper towels

4TB whole wheat flour

1 egg beaten

1 c panko bread crumbs

1/2 c finely grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 450.  Place a baking rack on a baking sheet, and spray rack with cooking spray. Set aside.

Set up three large, shallow bowls.  Place the flour in the first bowl, and season liberally with salt and pepper.  Pour the beaten egg into the second bowl.  Place the panko in the last bowl. Place bowls side by side. 

Take each fish filet and dust both sides with flour, then place in egg mixture, then dredge in panko to coat thoroughly.  Place on baking sheet, and sprinkle with cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 20 minutes, or until fish flakes easily.  For a very crispy outside, turn oven to broil for last 3-4 minutes.  Serves 4. 

Oven Roasted Tilapia with Baby Portobello Sauce

Sweet 31.  Yeah, I've never cared much for my birthday, but the reality is, damn. I am in my 30s now. And not so fired up about it.  Before you go concluding that I am a vain, crazed woman, please allow me to clarify. It's not a fear of wrinkles.  It's just that I have so much crap I want to do in my life that I am a bit panicked by the prospect of cramming it all into the next 60 years. How is one lifetime ever enough?? 

Sigh.  But, at least things are pretty amazing while you are trying to cram it all in. 

This was breakfast one day on our break from the world.  Divine. Not too much cooking occurred while we were away, because honestly, how much can you cook white wine and Cambozola ?

While I was busy not cooking, I read a lot, and also watched copious amounts of Robert DeNiro movies. That wasn't so much by design, more just what the Netflix overlord decreed for the week.  Consequently, by mid-week, my tough guy accent was pretty appalling.  Husband was a good sport about it.  The accent and me waking up at five a.m. expecting a home invasion. 

I arrived back home to find the garden in somewhat of a stage of mutiny.  My god forsaken tomatoes seem to have taken the summer off.  The beans and eggplant however luckily got the memo that their only job in life is to grow, and have been complying. 

Here are some very festive squash: 

Oven Roasted Tilapia with Baby Portobello Sauce

Ingredients: 

cooking spray

1 lb Tilapia

1TB olive oil 

1/4 white onion, chopped

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 lb baby portobello mushrooms, quartered

1 TB tomato paste

red wine vinegar 

red pepper flakes 

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: 

Season both sides of tilapia filets with salt and pepper.  Spray a foil-lined baking sheet with cooking spray and then arrange the tilapia on the sheet.  Roast tilapia in a preheated 450 oven for about 8 minutes, or until fish flakes easily.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic, and saute until soft.  Turn heat down to medium-low and add mushrooms to skillet. Saute for five-ten minutes, until mushrooms have released liquid and are soft.  If needed, add small amounts of water to mushroom mixture to prevent it from sticking to skillet while sauteing.  

Remove skillet from heat.  Add tomato paste and a splash of red wine vinegar to the mixture and stir to combine.  Season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste. Serve tilapia with mushroom sauce on top.  Serves 2.  

Fish Tacos with Cabbage Slaw

This past Saturday was pretty close to an ideal day for me. The weather was sublime, and I knew that at the end of the day a cooking session and some close friends were waiting for me.  

To up the fun-stakes even more, in the middle of the day my friend, (we'll call her "the hostess", shall we?) brought me some bounty from her CSA on her way out of town. I desperately want to make pickled everything, but am terrified of losing a limb or a nose in the process. Canning seems so savage, so frontier, so Little House on the Prairie. Which is of course why I am attracted to it. Just haven't gotten up the spine or the implements to try it out. These lemon cucumbers are so festive though, they cry out for preservation. What would you do with them?

In any event, Saturday's menu was fish tacos with a cabbage slaw.  I served the tacos with a spinach salad and corn on the cob. Simple, seasonal, and very satisfying. 

The fish part of the tacos was farm-raised tilapia that I had marinated in lime juice, cumin and chopped serrano peppers. If you marinate the fish for too long, it starts to cook in the acid of the juice. About 20 minutes is adequate.  I threw the fish on a grill pan, and that was that.  

The tacos themselves were corn tortillas, warmed in a skillet until blistering slightly. They can then be set aside and wrapped in a napkin while they wait their turn.  If you're not a fan of spicy food, please reduce the chile in the recipe or you may find yourself with a seared palate. 

Cabbage Slaw

Ingredients: 

3/4 head purple cabbage, sliced thinly using a mandoline

1/2 head green cabbage, sliced thinly using a mandoline

1 serrano chile, seeds removed, finely chopped

8 spring onions, white and some green parts, chopped

juice of 2 limes

1- 1 1/2 cups yogurt 

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Combine purple and green cabbage, chile, onion and lime juice in a large bowl.  Add yogurt, and toss to coat.  Refrigerate for at least an hour before eating to allow flavors to combine.  Prior to serving*, season with salt and pepper. Serves 4. 

* Add the salt immediately prior to serving.  If you salt the slaw before that, it will draw water out of the cabbage and your lovely salad will become a soup. 

Salmon with Lemon Basil Dressing

I never thought I'd be saying this so soon after my lovely friend fell ill, but she is doing tremendously. I feel incredibly blessed. Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts and emails!

Life continues. This salmon was a kick-off to the weekend, otherwise known as Thursday in my house. Don't get hostile on me, it's only on occasion, with my flex schedule. And this Friday (like most) I did have to work. (I know, shed a teeny, tiny tear for me. )

Salmon can break the bank if you're buying the more environmentally friendly and sustainable wild-caught versions, but it's so tasty. I generally lean towards a sharp dijon sauce to cut the substantial fat content in salmon, but my garden is growing basil like its life depends on it. So, basil with lemon dressing it was.

Simply grill or pan grill the salmon filets, to the doneness that you desire. Heat a pan that you've sprayed with nonstick spray over medium-high heat. There's no need to use extra oil when cooking salmon, unless you prefer to. Season the non-skin side, and cook skin side down for about 3-5 minutes. Flip salmon and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

I like to take it off the stove while it's still a little translucent and pink in the center, and let it finish cooking on the plate. Salmon is very forgiving-- it's hard to overcook because it's so fatty. But a perfectly cooked piece of salmon is sublime, in my book. Total cooking time for 1-inch thick filets is normally 6-10 minutes.

This very simple dressing would also be delicious on salads, tofu or more mild fish.

Lemon Basil Dressing

Ingredients:

2 handfuls of basil

juice of 1 lemon

1 TB extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a food processor, chop basil until coursely chopped. Add lemon juice and olive oil, and combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon over salmon before serving. Sauce serves 4 portions of salmon.

Romesco

Is not the same as Romanesco. Googling Romanesco will not lead you to the type of red pepper, almond and bread based Spanish sauce that you want to make. If you also have the inept form of the internet that does not read your mind, Google Romeso for recipes. Romanesco, by the by, is a sassy kind of cauliflower that looks like a flower. Intriguing, but no Romesco.

Friday night we had roasted farm raised tilapia with Romesco, and a side of roasted potatoes, fennel and string beans for good measure. It was enjoyed by all.

In the face of the Whole Paycheck fish counter, I often become sort of debilitated. I try to bring my chart of which fish is OK to eat if you don't want to be a bad citizen of earth, but even with that as a guide, buying raw materials for dinner is occasionally daunting. I saw several kinds of fish that weren't on the chart... butterfish being one. It looked gorgeous-- firm and lush, but clearly from a large fish. Since returning from the store, I've spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out whether or not butterfish is sustainably fished... to no avail. Does anyone have more information than I do?

In addition to butterfish, there was wild Pacific Halibut. I know that Atlantic Halibut is a no-no, but my chart didn't say whether all Pacific Halibut was OK, or just wild-caught, or just farmed.... etc. So I came home with farmed tilapia. For the record, I now know that wild Pacific Halibut is a safe choice.

Turning our attention to the Romesco! It was divine. Very fresh and clean. We were having a pregnant guest, so I wanted to give baby lots of vegetables. Online, I found oodles of recipes, and then sort of made my own. Here it is:

Romesco

Ingredients:

8-10 garlic cloves

1 piece day(s)-old white or french bread, roughly chopped

1 c raw almonds 

1-2 red peppers, chopped

1 large roasted red pepper, in oil or water, chopped

1 can crushed tomatoes, well drained

3 TB olive oil

Splash of soy sauce

1 TB sweet paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Toast garlic, bread, and almonds. Combine in food processor until the crumbs are small. Do not over-process. Add all remaining ingredients to food processor. Pulse until roughly combined, leaving the sauce fairly chunky. Enjoy! (Note: the sauce is even better the next day, so consider making it a day in advance). Enough for 4 servings.