Fish – Page 3 – Writing With My Mouth Full

Salmon-Cucumber Summer Salad

I very rarely cook with salmon because there are always more exciting fish in the market, but my goal is to not use the oven this summer and I could only think of making a salmon salad to keep the kitchen cool. Kirby cucumbers are always good for this sort of salad because theyâ€™re fresh, crispy and sturdy enough when chopped and mixed in with other ingredients.

I originally made this without any carbohydrates, but after the first taste, it needed something heftier so I could make it an entire meal in itself. I found a leftover bag of Trader Joeâ€™s mixed grains in the pantry and added that to the salad after a couple of minutesâ€™ boil. For this recipe, feel free to use the same or any other grain available that wonâ€™t take too much of your time to cook and fluff.

Ingredients:
1 salmon fish fillet, patted dry with a paper towel
2 cups of mixed grains like barley and/or orzo
1 Kirby cucumber, sliced thinly
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
2 sprigs scallions, chopped
2 sprigs parsley, finely chopped
juice from lemon
oil, salt, pepper

1. Using a non-stick skillet, heat some oil. Sprinkle both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper. When the pan is smoking a little bit, lower the fire and add the salmon. Cook for 6 minutes without moving it and gently turn over using a spatula. Cook the other side for 5 minutes. Remove to a plate, let cool and put in the fridge until ready to use.
2. Heat a small pot of boiling water to cook the grains. Set aside to cool down.
3. While the salmon and the grains are cooling, assemble the salad by putting all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to mix completely with lemon juice.
4. Remove the salmon from the fridge and flake the meat with a fork. If you left the skin on, it should be pretty easy to tear up in smaller pieces. Toss in with the vegetables. Little by little, toss in the barley so you have about the same portion as the salmon but not too much that the carbs overwhelm the vegetables.

The New York Times’ Bouillabaisse

I knew bouillabaisse had to be the first meal I make for the Dr. in my new apartment as soon as I saw Amanda Hesserâ€™s recap in the New York Times Magazine. But because he’s been cooking the first few days of my unpacking, I wanted to make it up to him and make an impressive version.

After work one day, I took the train from Connecticut all the way down to Grand Central Terminal where I stopped by Pescatore and splurged on fresh seafood. When I say splurged, I really mean splurged: a quarter pound of wild shrimp cost $12, two cod fillets were $13, a chunk of halibut was $16 and two more chunks of grouper were $14. I also walked by Penzeys and spent another $16 on a few strands of saffron. I have an educated guess that they were really stringed by some ladies in Spain where as the $3 jar I buy in Harlem isn’t really saffron, but safflower. A stop at Zaro’s got me my least expensive purchase of the early evening yet: $3 load of country bread.

Back at home, I was pretty impressed at what I unpacked. The cuts of fish were absolutely beautiful. I don’t spend as much money when I cook fish at home; I usually just buy a live swimming fish from Chinatown or a whole red snapper or branzino from Fairway or Whole Foods and I just broil them without any fuss. You may think it’s a waste to cook such good fish, but I actually tried this same recipe using frozen fish from Trader Joe’s and I must tell you that it really wasn’t the same. The frozen version was bland and the fish didn’t feel supple in my mouth. In fact, I had to season more to give the Trader Joe’s bouillabaisse some kind of taste. While the seafood broth carried the frozen version, I needed only a splash to bring out the natural flavors of the fresh seafood for the Pescatore version.

Now that I’ve had Pescatore seafood, I think Iâ€™ll be making more seafood dishes more often, even if it means an ache in my wallet once in a while.

Ingredients:
1 chunk of halibut fillet
2 fillets of cod
1 chunk of grouper fillet
1/4-pound of shrimp, peeled, deveined
2 medium tomatoes, halved
1 cup of seafood broth
1/2 cup of white wine
1 small onion, thinly sliced
half a bag of baby carrots
2 pinches saffron
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs parsley, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1/2 lemon
olive oil, salt, pepper
slices of country bread, toasted

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, onion, carrot, saffron, bay leaf and half of the parsley. Sauté for a couple of minutes and then add the garlic to brown.
2. Add the fish, shrimp and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and toss for 10 minutes. Add the broth and wine, bring to a rapid simmer and cook until the fish is just cooked through, less than 10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning, adding more saffron, lemon juice, salt and pepper as desired. Sprinkle with remaining parsley. Set a slice of toast in the bottom of a bowl and ladle in soup.

Sardines with Fennel

I started doing my grocery shopping at Grand Central Terminal Market since Iâ€™ve begun my work commute to Connecticut. Most days, I go straight down to SoHo to swim anyway and I can pick something up before I head to the gym via the 6 train. Last week, Pescatore Seafood was selling fresh Portuguese sardines. I never see them in the city so I got excited and bought four pieces for about $9. Sardines are a great source of heart-healthy omega-3 fats but they get a bad rep because most people think they stink. If you buy fresh fishâ€”any kind of fish at allâ€”they really shouldnâ€™t smell fishy. The guy behind the counter cleaned and gutted them, leaving the heads on per my request. I then walked down the hall to buy a fennel bulb from Greenwich Produce.

When I got home, I found some golden raisins that I had bought a few weeks back for another recipe and my last big bulb of onion by the windowsill. Breadcrumbs were also in order because I imagined Lydia Bastianich would use them to keep the sardines intact while cooking. I couldnâ€™t get them to stick to the fish, so I decided to stuff them instead. For those who want a heavier version of this meal, serve with bucatini pasta cooked al dente and drizzle with olive oil before serving. It was a good dinner for me with a dry bottle of Meulenhof 2008 Riesling. It raised a few eyebrows the next day during lunch, but then again, you have to like food so much to get excited by just seeing fresh Portuguese sardines at the market.

Ingredients:
4 fresh sardines, cleaned, patted dry using paper towel
1 cup bread crumbs
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 red onion, quartered
a handful of golden raisins
1 cup of vegetable broth
1 tbsp fennel seeds
oil, salt, pepper

1. In a large skillet, heat some olive oil and cook the onions until they are soft. Add the fennel, fennel seeds, raisins and a little of the broth. Stir occasionally until fennel pieces are soft. Add more broth if the skillet gets dry before the fennel is completely cooked. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, cook the sardines. In another skillet, heat some oil. While oil is heating, stuff the sardines with breadcrumbs. Fry the sardines by gently placing them in the skillet. Cook the other side after about 7 minutes by turning them over gently using a flat heat-resistant spatula. Serve by putting the fennel in a nice shallow dish and top with the sardines. Sprinkle with leftover breadcrumbs and raisins.

Sardines with Linguini

I’ve been drowning in pork and beef for the last two weeks so I thought a dose of fish would do me good. Rummaging through the pantry, I found two tins of sardines and some pasta from my last visit to Trader Joe’s. Following a Sicilian recipe I found online, I threw some leftover rye bread in the food processor to make my own bread crumbs. I didn’t have capers handy but I can imagine it would have been the kick the dish needed–I settled for red pepper flakes instead. A splash of lemon juice before serving gave this pasta dish the fresh touch it deserved.

Ingredients:
linguini
2 tins sardines, drained
1 cup bread crumbs
a handful of parsley, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
red pepper flakes
oil, salt, pepper

1. Cook linguini in boiling water al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. While cooking the pasta, heat some oil in a skillet. Sauté garlic until golden brown and onions until translucent. Add bread crumbs and stir until toasted. Add parsley and season with salt and pepper. Remove to a plate.
3. Using the same skillet, heat a little bit more oil and cook sardines by sautéing and crushing them in smaller chunks. Season with red pepper flakes.
4. Transfer drained pasta to the skillet and toss with the sardines. Add back the cooked bread crumbs and keep tossing until combined.

Tuna Sandwich

Call it pan-bagnat or Niçoise salad in a bun–I’m calling it a tuna sandwich.

The weather turned over the weekend and we scrambled for last-minute plans on Saturday morning. I woke the Dr. from a deep slumber to see if he wanted to get out of the city and hike. He wasn’t very happy when I found out that the last available Zip Car was parked in the garage five blocks from my apartment. He was grumbling when I fed him congee with preserved duck egg for breakfast; he was still grumbling when he drove almost an hour up to Cold Spring; and I swear he was still grumbling as we struggled up big rocks on Breakneck Ridge.

I had prepared these tuna sandwiches while waiting for him to pick me up. He was expecting a packed lunch in return after being disturbed from his otherwise uneventful Saturday, but I don’t think he knew he was going to get a very good one. I was glad when he couldn’t stop complimenting me about them. They not only woke him up; he didn’t mind having someone push him into having a good weekend after that.

Ingredients:
1 can of good tuna in olive oil
3 bread rolls, halved
2 eggs, hard-boiled, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
several pieces of olives, pitted
1 small red onion, sliced
a handful of maché or arugula

For the dressing:
2 anchovy fillets, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
oil, salt, pepper

1. In a small bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients except for the oil. Slowly drizzle in oil, whisking constantly.
2. Spread some of the dressing on one half of the bread. Top with tomato and onion slices, then with tuna, olives, greens and egg slices. Drizzle the remaining dressing. Cover with second bread half and firmly press sandwich together.
3. Wrap sandwich tightly in foil, waxed paper or plastic wrap, then place in a plastic bag. Put sandwich under a weight such as a heavy book. Unwrap, slice and serve immediately.