Grilled Swordfish with Mango Salsa

One of the many sad things about having a small kitchen is not being able to cook fish inside. You can of course, but it will more than likely make your place smell like fish for a week, and while your cat might enjoy this, most people won’t. This is just one more reason I love grills, not to mention the wonderful smoky flavor the grill imparts to the fish. Fish can sometimes be a little finicky on the grill because of its tendency to stick or flake. Swordfish is excellent for grilling because of its meaty “steak”-like quality.  If you happen to be cooking for someone who is not a generally a fish fan (possibly because of texture?) this is a great option. I haven’t met a fish I won’t eat (or at least try…) but not everyone feels that way. This is a great beginner fish both for cooking and for eating.

Mango is in season right now which was the inspiration for the mango salsa topping. Mango salsa is a common pairing with fish; I blame fancy tropical islands I rarely get to visit. I also wanted to pair this with a light salad, and I thought the peppery flavor of the arugula would pair beautifully with the swordfish. This was wonderful, even the boyfriend (the non fish lover) really enjoyed the texture and flavor of the swordfish. It was hearty (while not heavy) and full of excellent complimentary flavors. This recipe will serve four.

Swordfish:

2 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper

Juice of one lemon

2 large swordfish steaks

Salt and Pepper for the steaks before the grill

Mango salsa:

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and diced

½ medium yellow or red onion finely chopped

Approximately 1 cup diced tomatoes, I quartered cherry tomatoes

1 medium jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 small handful of cilantro, chopped

1 avocado, diced

Juice of one lime

1 tsp of honey

½ tsp of salt

Arugula Cous Cous salad:

1 cup pearl cous cous

2 large handfuls of arugula (about 2 cups)

Drizzle of olive oil

Juice of ½ of a lemon

Method:

Marinate the swordfish steaks in olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. The fish needs to marinate for 20 minutes or up to one hour. 20 minutes is perfect timing for making your mango salsa.

Dice, chop, and slice all the fruits and vegetables for salsa. Toss all the ingredients into a medium bowl and top with lime juice and a sprinkling of salt. Cover and let the mango salsa marinate while everything else is prepared.

Prepare the pearl cous cous according to the package. Toss the arugula with the cooked pasta, drizzle with olive oil, and lemon juice. Set aside.

Preheat grill to medium high heat. Oil the grates using your preferred method, I use ½ an onion dipped in oil stabbed with a large fork. Grill the swordfish steaks for approximately 6 minutes on each side or until the fish can be flaked easily with a fork.

To plate this dish, place the arugula cous cous salad on the bottom, layer the swordfish next, and top with the mango salsa.

A few notes:

Pearl cous cous is also known as Israeli cous cous, as you can see it is a much larger shape than traditional cous cous. I am a huge fan of it. It shouldn’t be too hard to find, but if it is, you can use orzo instead.

The honey isn’t a must in the salsa, but i think it helps to bring out the sweetness of the mango and tomato and mellow some of the spiciness of the onion.

-Sue

Grilled Halibut with Marinated Kale

This post is probably going to trick you into believing I eat really really healthy food. Don’t worry, that’s not true. But I have had this twice in the past week because it was so delicious. This is also one of those meals where after you eat it you feel satisfied and a little bit like someone should pat you on the back for choosing to eat this instead of pizza.

Now, let’s talk about kale. I thought for a long time that kale was gross. Turns out- I was wrong. Also, it’s quite possibly the best food for you. I’m fairly sure when you eat it, it will counteract that bowl of ice cream you may or may not have had for breakfast. Well maybe not, but it is crazy good for you.  It’s full of beta-carotene, antioxidants, calcium, iron, fiber, and potassium. It also has almost your entire daily recommended value of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid, and vitamin B6. Seriously, this is what they mean when they say “super food”. It’s also tasty. It’s a hearty crunchy green with slightly bitter citrus taste.  Cat says kale tastes like health and trees. I said that did not sound appealing. Trust me, Cat eats a lot more vegetables than I do and if I like it, you will too.

For today’s dose of kale I paired it with some fish and roasted vegetables. This is a light fresh meal that you can prepare completely on the grill (which is wonderful for people like me who have a tiny kitchen that gets VERY hot in the summer).  The portions in this recipe are for two.

Grilled Halibut with Marinated Kale

Ingredients:

¾ lb halibut

1 bunch kale (green, purple, any kind)

3-4 lemons

1 tsp salt

3 medium cloves of garlic, minced or pressed

10+ cherry tomatoes (yellow or red)

1 can artichokes packed in water, drained

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Olive oil

1 Tbs freshly snipped chives

Method:

The kale needs to marinate for at least an hour, so you will want to make it first. Kale has a tough stem running almost the entire length of the leaf, to remove this make a V-shaped cut and discard the stem.

This is to show you the stem, i tried to lay it out flat but kale is stubborn

Roughly chop the kale into medium to small pieces (kale is hearty, so you will want this to be smaller than a piece of lettuce for a salad). In a large bowl toss the kale with the juice of 2 lemons, 1 tsp of salt, and the minced garlic. Cover and let marinate, stirring occasionally.

Make a foil packet with the tomatoes and artichokes. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

For the fish, on a piece of foil, slice 1 lemon as thinly as possible and place a layer under the fish (skin side down). Generously season the fish with freshly ground pepper, and a sprinkling of salt. Layer the top with the rest of the lemon, and sprinkle with chives. Drizzle everything with olive oil and seal up the package.

With the grill on medium heat cook the vegetable packet for 15 minutes. The fish will also take about 15 minutes, but it depends on the thickness of the fish. To check if the fish is done slice open the foil packet and poke the fish with a fork, if it flakes easily it’s finished.  Remove the lemons and slice the fish into equal portions.

Slice the additional lemon to squeeze over the fish to finish. This is of course optional, I just really love lemon.

To plate this dish, start with a generous portion of the kale, top with a serving of fish, and top the fish with the vegetables.

Healthy deliciousness

A few notes:

You could make this dish with pretty much any type of white fish, I have also done it with sea bass. It would also be delicious with chicken.

I specifically chose tomatoes and artichokes because they provide a little bit of sweetness and acidity that balances nicely with this dish. You can use anything your little heart desires.

This dish can also be prepared without a grill. You can roast the vegetables in a small pie plate and the fish can still be prepared in the foil, just put it on baking sheet.

Don’t be put off by the amount of garlic and lemon with the kale. Even if when you go to mix it, it smells overwhelming. That lovely kale absorbs just the right amount of flavor.

- Sue

Spring Vegetable Risotto

Classifying risotto as a quick and easy dish would be a lie. Here is the silver lining though: yes, risotto takes a full 30 minutes of standing over the stove, but it’s not actually a lot of effort, and the end result looks like you slaved in the kitchen for hours- not a measly 30 minutes. So put all your fears aside and just do it, tackle the risotto! Risotto is the chameleon of the kitchen, you can add practically anything to it, you can add any spices, any type of cheese, any kind of broth- it is endlessly adaptable.

My very lovely boyfriend, whom I adore, does not dig on the veggies as much as I would like, so in the past when I have made risotto I have tried to accommodate that. Well, he was out of town, so I went veggie crazy. In fact, while talking to Cat I had to cut down my list of vegetables I intended to put in this. However, that’s the point- you could add pretty much anything, especially the way I prepare it. In this version I made a basic risotto, roasted a few of the veggies and sautéed a few of them; at the end I mixed them all into the creamy risotto and the result was divine. The vegetables each held their own distinct flavor while the silky cheesy risotto brought everything together. Absolutely to die for.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of asparagus

1 medium yellow squash

1 small head broccoli

½ lb (about 10) mushrooms of your choice

1 jar quartered artichoke hearts in water, drained

½ large yellow onion, diced

3 Tbs olive oil, divided

1 Tbs butter

Salt/pepper/spice blend to taste

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

6-8 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

¾ cup grated parmesan cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 350. Chop the broccoli into small florets. Slice and cube the squash. Cut off the bottom of the asparagus and discard, slice the remaining stalks into 1 inch pieces. In a large roasting pan (or glass baking dish) add the broccoli, squash, and asparagus. Toss with 1 Tbs olive oil, salt, pepper, or spice blend of choice*. Set aside.

Slice mushrooms and drain artichokes. Place in a medium skillet with 1 Tbs (about) olive oil and set on a back burner.

In a medium sauce pan, warm the stock to a simmer. In a cast iron enameled dutch oven (or pot of similar size) add 1 Tbs olive oil, sauté the diced onion until soft. Add 1 Tbs butter, when the butter is melted, add the rice. Lightly toast the rice while stirring for about 1 minute. Adjust the heat to medium, and add ¾ cup wine and stir until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Put the vegetables into the oven, and begin to sauté the mushrooms and artichokes over medium heat. The vegetables will take about 30 minutes to roast while you make the risotto. Once the mushrooms and artichokes are done, keep them warm until the risotto is done.

Over the next 20 to 30 minutes, add the warm broth one cup at a time, allowing each cup to be fully absorbed by the rice before the next addition. It will take approximately 6-8 cups; you will know it’s done when the rice is cooked. Remove from heat and stir in ¾ cup parmesan cheese.

Stir in all the vegetables and serve immediately.

A few notes:

-You could make this with almost any vegetable. Some other suggestions would be: peas, butternut squash, zucchini, roasted cauliflower, carrots or any other vegetables you like.

-This would also be delightful with a bit of goat cheese. You could use ½ cup parmesan and ½ cup goat cheese, or you could prepare as above and add crumbled goat cheese as a topping.

- To make this vegetarian you can absolutely use vegetable broth. I think chicken broth adds more depth of flavor, but whatever you prefer is fine.

- I used my go to spice blend, garlic and herb blend from Frontier Spices. You can use whatever spices you like, or just salt and pepper.

- The wine is optional, it adds a nice additional flavor, but if don’t have wine, or don’t drink wine, you can omit this and still have a delicious risotto.

Pork and Ricotta Meatballs

Awhile back I came across this recipe in Food and Wine. The story mentioned that it was a beloved special run frequently at the restaurant A16 in San Francisco. As a foodie obsessed with the San Francisco food scene, I had to try this. When I was looking over the recipe, I was asking the boyfriend what he thought of some minor changes I thought of making to the recipe, his response was “just follow the damn recipe for once.” He makes a good point. So I did (mostly). Honestly, it was wonderful just as is; the one major thing I did was divide the recipe in half which is the recipe I have posted here. I generally am cooking for two and 24 meatballs seemed like a bit much. The 12 I ended up with seemed like too much…until all the leftovers disappeared the next day.

These pork meatballs were wonderful, they were amazingly moist, flavorful, and the sauce was thick with an earthy sweetness from the tomatoes. The only thing I would change (and is reflected in the recipe below) is extra tomatoes. Once everything cooked down I found myself craving more tomatoes. Granted, I served this as a spaghetti instead of just pork with tomatoes, I still think it would benefit from the extra tomatoes. This recipe is originally modified from Food and Wine.

Pork and Ricotta Meatballs (1/2 recipe)

Ingredients:

¼ lb (2 cups) white bread, crust removed cut into ½ inch dice

¾ lb lean ground pork

1 ½ oz thinly slice pancetta

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2.5 oz ricotta (about ¼ cup)

2 Tbs chopped flat leaf parsley

½ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp fennel seeds, crushed

¼ tsp crushed red pepper

Kosher salt

Two 28-oz cans whole peeled Italian tomatoes (San Marzano if available)

Freshly ground pepper

1 Tbs shredded basil

3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

¼ cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 400.

In a food processor pulse the bread to coarse crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a large bowl. Grind the pancetta to a coarse paste in the food processor (you can also chop it finely, but I find this easier). Add the pork, pancetta, eggs, ricotta, parsley, oregano, fennel seeds, crushed red pepper and ¾ tsp kosher salt.

Mix well. Shape into 12 meatballs. The best tool for this is an ice cream scoop, but your hands will of course work as well. Transfer the meatballs to a medium roasting pan, oiled if it’s not non-stick.

Roast the meatballs in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning once at 15 minutes.

While the meatballs roast dump all the tomatoes into a large bowl and crush lightly with your hands. Mix in the minced garlic, 1 tsp of kosher salt, and a heavy couple grinds of pepper.

The meatballs should be browned. Using a spatula, loosen the meatballs from the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato mixture. Lower the oven temperature to 325 and cook uncovered for about 2 hours until the sauce is thick and the meatballs are very tender. Turn the meatballs once or twice during cooking.

Serve the meatballs over spaghetti (or on their own). Garnish with fresh basil and pecorino romano cheese.

A few notes:

I added garlic to the tomatoes because I love garlic and I felt like it. Feel free to omit it.

The meatball mixture is very wet, do not be surprised by this, just do your best to form them into balls.

In the past I haven’t ground my own bread crumbs. I usually use panko bread crumbs. I think the fresh bread crumbs really added to the moisture of the meatballs, so don’t skip this step.

-Sue

Gluten Free Pasta with Roasted Garlic Goat Cheese Sauce

AND broccoli, peppadew peppers, artichokes and grilled chicken.

Lately I have been trying to eat from my fridge, because so often I end up wasting things after forgetting about them. Such as using half a bunch of asparagus and leaving the rest in the drawer. It’s not always possible to create a meal around ingredients in your fridge- let alone more than one ingredient. This time, however, it managed to work…and work really well!

I had another challenge presented to me during my menu planning; one of my dinner guests was gluten free. Ten years ago this may have presented a bit of an issue, but today there are practically gluten free isles at the market. I had been planning on a pasta dish when I remembered my friend was gluten free. Cat told me she is not a fan of brown rice pasta, she said she thinks it’s too sticky*. I went to Whole Foods to see what other options they had. What they had (along with brown rice) was quinoa pasta.

It was absolutely wonderful…and what I actually mean by that, is it tasted just like regular old pasta. I was seriously impressed. Not to mention the added bonuses of having extra protein, low sodium, and no cholesterol. The price was not overly expensive either, it’s like buying the store brand pasta versus the fancier brand of boxed pasta. I liked this pasta so much I would consider buying this in place of regular pasta.

The plan for this pasta was asparagus,artichokes, peppadew peppers, chicken, and goat cheese cream sauce. As it turns out the boyfriend had already used  the asparagus (and I don’t mean eaten, because he doesn’t do that, he shared it with other friends who were over earlier in the week). Since I had already gone to the store to get the pasta, I looked at what else was available. Broccoli it was. I was not disappointed in the least, the broccoli was perfect (but asparagus would be good too and I would prepare it the same way).

Ingredients:

4 oz goat cheese

1 /4 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream

1/2 tsp salt

1 can artichokes in water (or frozen hearts)

1 medium head of broccoli

1 head garlic

6 peppadew peppers

1 lemon

3-4 chicken breasts

Salt and pepper, for chicken

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400. Chop off about ¼ inch off the top of the entire garlic clove; you want to just expose the cloves. Place the garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle heavily with olive oil, and twist into a little pouch. Place in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the garlic is soft and roasted and smells like heaven (in my world, heaven smells like roasted garlic). While the garlic roasts, make the rest of the dish.

Slice the peppadew peppers into thin strips (or whatever your desired shape is) and set aside. Try not to eat too many of them while you cook everything else.

You will also be roasting the broccoli but it doesn’t take as long as the garlic. To prepare the broccoli chop the head into small florets. Make a foil packet to put the broccoli in**. Drizzle the broccoli with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. The broccoli will take from about 20 minutes depending on how crisp you like your broccoli.

Start a large pot of salted water to boil on the stove for the pasta. In a medium skillet, sauté the drained artichokes and the juice of one lemon over medium heat for about 3 minutes; remove from heat and cover, the steam will help the lemon juice flavor to penetrate.

For the cream sauce, in a small sauce pan over medium low heat combine the yogurt and goat cheese and melt until a thick sauce forms. Add a dash of milk if the sauce seems too thick. By this time the garlic should be roasted. Squeeze the softened cloves directly into the sauce, along with the 1 tsp of salt and whisk to combine. Keep the sauce on low heat while you complete the final steps.

Salt and pepper the chicken and grill. While the chicken is grilling, cook the pasta.  After the past is cooked, and drained, toss the pasta with the goat cheese sauce. Toss the broccoli and the artichokes with the pasta, and top each portion with the sliced chicken and the peppadew peppers.

Absolutely delicious, not to mention gluten free, and healthy. I will be making this often.

A few notes:

My gluten free friend tells me she quite likes rice pasta but apparently there is an art to making it, involving soaking, rinsing and things like that. I will find these things out and share them with you, but until then- I recommend the quinoa pasta.

You could also roast the broccoli in a roasting dish, but I like the foil packets because they lightly steam while they roast (and there is one less dish to wash). Whatever your preference is fine.

-Sue