 |
| Oregon, 2016 |
The Meal Plan:
Sat (L)leftovers (S)brats and leftover beans
Sun (L) brats and beans (S) cod
Mon (yoga)cod
Tues - Cuban burgers
Wed (yoga/Legion mtg)- burgers
Thurs - Greens with walnuts and Parmesan
Fri - Greens with walnuts and an Parmesan
Lunches - Salmon pasta salad
Pan-Seared Fish with Basil Oil & Cherry Tomato Vinaigrette (Eating Well, April 2021) gluten free I've been on a bit of a fish-kick lately and we try (and mostly don't succeed) to have fish once a week. I think I'm doing pretty good when its once a month. Part of the issue is, not the best selection of fish in my corner of the world. We do have whitefish and lake trout, and I enjoy a good whitefish. Lake trout can be very hit or miss - if it's out of Lake Superior, it can be too strongly flavored for my taste buds.
But I digress. I made a fish dish, I used cod (I LOVE cod), and managed to stink up the house. The dish was outstanding. It's easy, it comes together very quickly, and I love the combination of basil and tomatoes. In the recipe notes below it suggests to double the basil oil if you have extra basil. Do it! I've been enjoying the basil infused oil over lightly toasted sourdough bread. Highly recommend this dish!
Recipe as written serves 6, I used less fish (but not less tomatoes) for 4 servings.
 |
| Photo from eatingwell.com |
¾ cup fresh basil stems and leaves, divided
2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
½ teaspoon ground pepper, divided
2 pounds skin-on halibut or salmon, cut into 6 pieces
(I used 1 1/2 lbs cod)
Separate basil leaves from stems. Chop the leaves and set aside. Heat the stems, garlic and oil in a small saucepan over medium heat just until you start to see bubbles form around the stems and garlic. Remove from heat and let steep for 20 minutes. Strain into a small bowl (discard the stems and garlic).
Cut half the cherry tomatoes in half. Heat 1 tablespoon of the basil oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the halved and whole cherry tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the skins blister and the tomatoes soften, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in 1/4 cup chopped basil, 1/4 cup basil oil, vinegar, shallot, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; gently stir to combine.
Wipe the pan clean. Gently pat fish dry and season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the basil oil in the pan over medium heat. Add half the fish, skinned-side down. Cook until a little more than halfway cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook until the flesh is opaque, 2 to 4 minutes more. Repeat with the remaining fish and 1 tablespoon basil oil. Serve the fish with the cherry tomato vinaigrette and sprinkled with the remaining chopped basil.
Recipe Note: If you have a lot of basil, double the oil for this pan-seared fish recipe. It doesn’t take any more time to make and it’s delicious whisked into dressings, drizzled over grilled vegetables and used to make garlic bread. The same technique works well for lots of other herbs, too—think: tarragon, parsley, chives.
Cuban Burgers (Milk Street Tuesday Nights) Regular burgers are kicked up a notch with the addition of smoked paprika, cumin, and a spicy mayo made from mayonnaise, hot sauce, mustard and cayenne pepper. Recipe was a tich putzy with some "hands off" burger care - freezing the meat for 20 minutes and folding in the spices before forming into patties. I was using bear meat and followed the directions out of curiosity. Mmm, putzy. I think if care is taken to not over squish the meat, burgers will be just fine.
I served these on large English muffins with a sprinkling of cotija Mexican cheese. Recipe made four patties, which was two meals for two of us without any sides I would make these again, except maybe skip the freezing bit.
Greens with Walnuts and Parmesan (Milk Street Tuesday Nights) vegetarian option
Tuesday Nights has been languishing on my shelf. With busy weekday schedules combined with overly warm temps, I decided I needed to pull out this under utilized resource.
This was the first one that caught my eye. I could use some local, hydroponically raised greens (Superior Fresh or Ravol), fried pancetta is delicious (and could be skipped for a vegetarian option), and I had everything else. Well, except for the sherry vinegar. It seems everything is calling for sherry vinegar these days and well, I just don't have it. I subbed either cider, red wine or white wine. I forget which.
Anyhow, since this was going to be two meals for us, I made half a recipe. I did learn that pancetta is really smokey when frying and I literally - smoked up the house. Thankfully it doesn't stink like fish does, but still, not desirable. You do need to have everything mise e place as assembly is very quick. I took the recipes suggestion and put a poached egg on top for a little extra protein. I prefer the clean taste of poaching over a fried egg. I used arugula the first supper, and a mixed spicy greens for the second supper. I also cooked the pancetta in a cast iron pan on the grill for the second round.
This was fantastic and I can see returning to this later this summer. Highly recommended.
Serves 6
12 oz mixed bitter greens (12 cups) torn, at room temp (I used 2 "clam shells")
2 tbsp cider, red wine, white wine or sherry vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
6 oz thinly sliced pancetta (chopped) (I skipped the chopping and left in strips)
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, shaved (about 1/2 cup)
optional - fried or poached egg
Recipe Notes: Don't let the dressing cool before adding to the greens. It's consistency is best when warm and the heat slightly softens the sturdy greens. In addition, make sure the greens are not cold when adding the dressing or the dressing will firm up.
Place the greens in a large bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, which together the vinegar, mustard and salt.
Prepare egg, if including.
In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook the pancetta, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta to a paper towel lined plate. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet, then return to medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add the oil and vinegar mixture, whisking to combine. Let sit 30 seconds to warm through.
Combine the warm dressing, walnuts, and greens. Season with pepper and toss. Divide amongst plates and top each portion with the crispy pancetta, Parmesan and egg (if adding.)
No comments:
Post a Comment