Tuna Ceviche

I'm forsaking the local and seasonal mission of this blog, but it's cold and dreary here in New Hampshire, and given that its my first post in quite some time, I wanted to post something bright and cheery. Besides, spring is only three months away...

Tuna Ceviche

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb tuna fillet, sliced against the grain in 1/4-inch slices
• juice of 3 limes
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 avocado, diced
• 2 tbsp cilantro, minced
• sea salt, to taste
• tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Put the tuna in the freezer for 15 minutes so that it becomes firm (so that it can be easily diced). 
2. Dice the tuna into 1/4-inch cubes and add to a medium bowl.
3. Add the lime juice and onion to the bowl with the tuna and stir the ingredients to ensure that each piece of tuna is covered with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for an hour, stirring every 20 minutes.
4. Remove the tuna from the refrigerator and stir in the avocado, cilantro, and sea salt. Serve the tuna on a bed of tortilla chips.

Mako with Fennel and Cherry Tomato Sauce

In just a few month, I will be a broke student, so I have started to be a bit more thrifty when it comes to my food purchases.  The other day, I went to the fishmonger looking for a firm, meaty fish that I could serve with a sauce I intended to make with some fennel and cherry tomatoes I had on hand.  Swordfish seemed like the obvious choice, but when I saw mako, which the fishmonger's sign described as "similar to swordfish," for half the price, the budget-conscious half of my brain told me to give the shark a try.  While I'm not completely sold on mako—the texture of the meat is not quite as firm as that of swordfish nor is it as flavorful—the bright tomato and fennel sauce more than made up for it and made me thankful that I still had a few extra dollars in my pocket.

Mako with Fennel and Cherry Tomato Sauce
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 fennel bulb, cored and diced
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, toasted
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, stemmed
• 2 6 oz. mako or swordfish fillets
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over moderate heat. 
3. Add the onion, fennel, and fennel seeds to the saucepan and season with salt.  Cook until the onion and fennel soften, about 5 minutes. 
4. Pour the vinegar into the saucepan and bring it to a boil.  Let the vinegar evaporate completely, about 1 minute. 
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the tomatoes to the saucepan.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes burst, 3 to 5 minutes.  Taste the sauce for seasoning and keep warm over low heat while you cook the fish.
6. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
7. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the fish and cook until they are golden on one side, 1 to 2 minutes.  Flip and cook until golden on the other side, 1 to 2 minutes.
8. Put the skillet in the oven and cook until the fish is just cooked through, about 4 minutes.  Do not overcook the fish.
9. Serve the fish immediately, topped with a generous amount of the fennel and tomato sauce.

Red Curry Snapper Soup

I love a traditional Southeast Asian curry made with coconut milk and served over plenty of Jasmine rice.  But if you want to lighten it up and make something that is just as flavorful, you can make curry soup by using pretty much the same ingredients, but subbing out the coconut milk with water, just like I have done here using my recipe for red curry paste.  While I find the curry flavors complement seafood, curries made with coconut milk tend to overpower the fish, so I used the opportunity to make a curry soup with a whole red snapper that I marinated in lime juice.  Although the dish has a soupy consistency, it is best served over a bed of steamed Jasmine rice to sop up all the liquid.

Red Curry Snapper Soup
Serves 4

For the curry paste:

• 1 tsp cumin seed
• 1 tbsp coriander seed (use another teaspoon if not using coriander root)
• 1 tsp white peppercorns
• 5 dried Thai chilies, seeded and soaked in warm water
• 1 tsp salt
• 5 small shallots, thinly sliced
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tsp galangal, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp lemongrass, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp Kaffir lime rind, thinly sliced (discard the green peel and use the white pith)
• 2 tsp coriander root, finely chopped
• 1 tsp shrimp paste  

1. Toast the cumin, coriander seeds, and peppercorns in a dry skillet over medium heat until they are fragrant and begin to pop.  Place them in a mortar and pound them with a pestle until they are finely ground.  Remove the spices from the mortar and set them aside.
2. Add the dried chilies and salt to the mortar.  Pound the chilies to a paste.
3. Add the shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, lime rind, and coriander root to the mortar.  Pound the ingredients with the pestle until they form a paste.  
4. Return the ground spice to the mortar along with the shrimp paste and use the pestle to mix the paste together. 
5. Set three tablespoons of the curry paste aside for the curry.  The remaining paste can be frozen for up to 6 months. 

For the soup:

• 1 whole red snapper, cleaned and cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
• juice of 2 limes
• 3 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 batch curry paste, see above
• 8 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 1/2 cup water
• salt, to taste
• palm sugar, to taste
• leaves from 1 bunch of Thai basil

1. Place the snapper in a nonreactive bowl.  Toss it well with the lime juice and allow it to marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the curry paste and cook, stirring frequently so that it does not burn.  Cook until the curry paste is deeply fragrant, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the snapper, its marinade, the lime leaves, and the water to the pot.  Bring to a gentle simmer and cook, flipping the snapper pieces occasionally, until the fish is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
4. Add the Thai basil and taste the soup for salt and palm sugar.  Serve immediately.

Spaghetti with Anchovies and Caramelized Onions

On my recent shopping trip to Eataly, I picked up a can of salt-packed anchovies. Whole salt-packed anchovies are to oil-packed anchovy fillets what jarred oil-packed Italian tuna is to domestic water-packed canned tuna. Sure, they cost more and take a bit more effort to cook with, but the taste of salt-packed anchovies is levels above their oil-packed brethren.

This simple pasta should appeal even to the anchovy-haters, of which we all know there are many. While the anchovy flavor is apparent, the dish is not fishy.  Combined with the caramelized onions, olive oil, and toasted breadcrumbs, the anchovies make a light sauce that is much more than the sum of its parts.

It does take some time to fillet the anchovies, but the rest of this dish can be put together in under 30 minutes.  Unfortunately, as I had few anchovy-loving friends and did not want to rub my smelly anchovy fingers on my camera, I do not have any photos of filleting the fish, but it's quite easy.  First, rinse the salt off of each anchovy.  Then soak them in water for about 20 minutes, changing the water few times as they soak. Rinse them off and run the blunt side of a paring knife along each side of the fish to scrape off any scales.  Then, pluck off all of the fins.  Use the paring knife to butterfly each fish.  Pull each fish gently at the tale and pull out the backbone in one clean sweep.  Finally, cut each side of the fish into 3 even fillets.  Then you can relax as you throw together the rest of the dish.

Spaghetti with Anchovies and Caramelized Onions
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. spaghetti
• 1/4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 6 salt-packed anchovies, filleted
• 1/4 cup parsley
• 1/2 cup toasted breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.   
2. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft and golden brown in color, about 20 minutes.
3. Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet and increase the heat to medium-high.  Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and cook until the garlic becomes very fragrant, about 1 minute.  
4. Add the anchovies to the skillet.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the anchovies have completely broken down into the sauce, 3 to 5 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low.
5. Cook the spaghetti in the boiling water until al dente.
6. Stir the pasta and the parsley into the sauce.
7. Serve the pasta in bowls, topped with a few spoonfuls of the toasted breadcrumbs.

Monkfish with Eggplant Allioli

Monkfish is one of my go to fish as it’s simple to cook and fairly economical.  Roasting is the easiest method of cooking monkfish, but I find roast monkfish to be somewhat boring in flavor and not at all aesthetically pleasing (think of an all-white blob on a plate).  Fortunately, this recipe for Roast Monkfish with Eggplant Allioli and Sautéed Yellow Peppers from Anya von Bremzen’s The New Spanish Table resolves many of the deficiencies I find with roast monkfish.  By browning the allioli, the fish takes on a leopard skin-like appearance that is much more pleasing to the eye than the usual white-on-white roast monkfish flavor.  Most importantly, the eggplant allioli gives the dish a smoky flavor that lends nuance to each bite. 

Monkfish with Eggplant Allioli

Adapted from The New Spanish Table

For the allioli:

• 1 Asian eggplant
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• ¾ cup olive oil
• Kosher salt, to taste

For the fish:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 yellow bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp dry white wine
• 4 6 oz. monkfish fillets, gray membrane removed
• Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Make the allioli.  First, char the eggplant skin over the flame of a gas burner.  Frequently rotate the eggplant with thongs until the skin is completely charred, about 7 minutes.  Let the eggplant cool on a plate until it is cool enough to touch, then peel away and discard the skin.  Coarsely chop the eggplant and put it in the bowl of a food processor.  Add garlic, egg, and lemon juice to the food processor.  Run the food processor until the ingredients are pureed.  With the motor still running, slowly pour in ¾ cup olive oil and continue running the food processor until the mixture is well emulsified.  Season the allioli with salt and set aside for at least 30 minute to let the flavors meld.
2. Heat the oven to 450F. 
3. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the peppers and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the peppers soften, about 3 minutes.  Add the wine, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook the peppers until they are very soft, about 25 minutes.  Stir the peppers occasionally.
4. Season the fish fillets with salt and brush it all over with olive oil.  Let the fish sit for 10 minutes. 
5. Plan the fish on a baking sheet and roast until it is cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Remove the fish from the oven. 
6. Preheat the broiler.
7. Top each fillet with a few spoonfuls of the allioli.  Broil the fish until the allioli browns, about 3 minutes.  Set the fish over the peppers and the pepper cooking liquid and serve immediately. 

Trout with Cured Ham and Lemon

After stuffing myself with pork belly and Sriracha wings over the past few weeks, it was time to detox with some fish, albeit fish stuffed with a few slices of cured pork.  The ham and a healthy dose of lemon juice make this dish taste far more complex than the ten minutes it takes to prepare. I used Spanish lomo, but prosciutto or Serrano ham would work just as well.


Trout with Cured Ham and Lemon
Serves 2


Ingredients:

• 2 whole rainbow trout, cleaned and butterfield
• salt and pepper 
• juice of 1 lemon
  
• 4 to 6 thin slices cured ham such as Spanish lomo or prosciutto
• flour, for dusting
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Season the insides and outsides of the trout with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
2. Place one layer of cured ham inside the fish.
3. Dust both sides of the fish with flour. 
4. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the fish to the pan and cook until it is cooked through, about three minutes per side.  Serve immediately.
   

Swordfish with Orange and Olives

Sometimes, an accident can work out alright. With the above swordfish, I was attempting a recipe out of Andrew Carmellini's Urban Italian, but thanks to distraction and impatience in the kitchen, it didn't quite turn out like the recipe had called for. My improvised method did not turn out well enough to write about due to some bad shortcuts I took. With that said, the flavor profile was very interesting. Harissa, fresh orange juice, parsley, olives, marcona almonds (Carmellini calls for more pine nuts), anchovy, and lemon-- it's a combination I did not expect to go so well together, but each ingredient complemented the others nicely, giving the dish the right amount of acidity, sweetness, spice, and crunch. It's unique and well-thought ingredient combinations like this that make me appreciate the work that chefs do.

Roasted Monkfish with Potatoes, Olives, and Bay Leaves

Roasted monkfish is delicious for fall. This simple recipe from Mark Bittman for roasted monkfish with potatoes, olives, and bay leaves makes a wonderful one pot meal. Below, I have deviated slightly from Bittman's instructions to create an equally tasty dish.

First, over medium heat, saute some generously salted potatoes in enough olive oil to cover the potatoes, flipping them every so often so that they soften but do not burn:

Next, add a handful of olives, the seasoned monkfish, and handful of bay leaves to the pan. Some chopped thyme would also be a nice addition. Put the pan in a 400F oven and roast until the fish is cooked through, about ten minutes:

Finally, slice the fish into equal servings and serve it with the potatoes. I accompanied the fish and potatoes with Swiss chard that I sauteed with bacon:

Braised Tuna with Radicchio, Chickpeas, and Rosemary

The other day, I made Braised Tuna with Radicchio, Chickpeas, and Rosemary from Molly Stevens' wonderful All About Braising. Braising may sound like a terrible way to cook a nice piece of tuna, but the recipe works beautifully. The key is to keep the braising liquid at the gentlest of simmers, cooking the tuna just enough so that it remains pink on the inside. I cooked two 1.25 inch thick steaks for 8 minutes. The braising liquid is infused with the strong flavors of rosemary and radicchio, and the chickpeas lend the dish additional heartiness. This is an easy one pot meal, with the only necessary accompaniment being a baguette to soak up the delicious sauce.

The Greenmarket Challenge: Day 1

Rather than supplementing my Greenmarket purchases with purchases from the supermarket as I usually do, I bough all of my purchases from the Greenmarket this week. I set myself a budget of $110, which is only slightly more than what I normally spend for two weeks of groceries. Keep in mind that this budget will cover my breakfasts, lunches, and dinner for the next 12 days; that's $11 a day, a fair budget considering my average lunch in midtown Manhattan is $8. I have allowed myself some leg room to use ingredients such as grains, sauces, and garlic that I already had on hand, but other than that necessary allowance, my entire diet for the week will consist of local foods. Follow along with me as I document local my meals over the next twelve days of my Greenmarket Challenge.

Day 1

Breakfast: Poached Knoll Crest Eggs over whole wheat bread

Lunch: Cherry Lanes spinach, Eckerton Farm sugar snap peas, and Flying Pigs Farm chorizo

Dinner: P.E. & D.D. monkfish with chorizo, sherry, saffron vinaigrette (recipe below) and Cherry Lanes asparagus, and sauteed Paffenroth potatoes



Monkfish with Chorizo, Sherry, and Saffron Vinaigrette
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. piece of monkfish, cut into two equal pieces
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup tbsp olive oil
• 2 thyme sprigs
• 1 chorizo sausage, casing removed
• 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
• Sugar, to taste
• pinch of saffron
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Dry monkfish pieces and season with salt and pepper. Place in an ovenproof skillet. Drizzle fish with 1 tbsp olive oil and top each piece with a sprig of thyme. Roast in oven for 10-12 min., until cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, heat skillet over medium heat. Add sausage, and cook slowly, allowing the oil to sweat out of the chorizo. As it cooks, break the sausage up with the back of a wooden spoon. Once the sausage is brown and has released much of its fat, add half of the remaining olive oil. Reduce heat to low. Add sherry vinegar, a pinch of sugar, and saffron to pan and whisk until well blended. Taste the vinaigrette and add sugar, oil, and/or vinegar according to taste; the dressing should have a mild acidity from the vinegar and should not be too sweet.
4. Remove fish from oven. Spoon vinaigrette over fish and serve.

Hake with Lemon, Chive, and Butter Sauce

Here's a perfect weekday dish that's so easy, it doesn't even need a recipe.  Just season a fillet of any white fish with salt and pepper, then dust both sides with Wondra flour.  Melt a mixture of butter and olive in a pan over medium-high heat, and sautee the fish for about three minutes a side.  Let the fish rest while you make the sauce: melt more butter with chopped chives, lemon rind, and lemon juice.  Spoon the sauce over the fish and serve.  In this case, I served the fish with sauteed broccoli rabe.  

Hake with Herb Crust

I adapted this dish from a recipe in Simon Hopkinson's Roast Chicken and Other Stories. Just as I didn't closely follow Hopkinson's recipe, don't feel obligated to closely follow mine. Try your own mix of herbs and any fish you'd like. The only important part of this versatile recipe is the technique, which is very simple. The photo does not do it any justice, but this is a great recipe.

Hake with Herb Crust
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Butter
• 4 tbsp homemade breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp dill, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp thyme, finely chopped
• Grated rind from 1 lemon
• 2 hake fillets, skinned
• Salt and pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• Flour, for dredging
• Olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Butter a baking sheet.
3. Mix together breadcrumbs, herbs, and lemon rind.
4. Season both sides of fish with salt and pepper.
5. Dredge one side of a fish fillet in flour. Dip same side in egg, then in breadcrumb mixture. Place fish on baking sheet, seasoned side up, and drizzle with olive oil. Repeat with remaining fillets.
6. Place baking sheet in oven and cook for about 10 minutes or until bread crumbs begin to brown and fish flakes easily with a fork.

Skate with Brown Butter Sauce

If you haven't cooked skate before, I urge you to give it a try. It cooks quickly, the meat is flavorful so little more than a simple sauce is required, and it is fairly inexpensive. Inspired by a skate and brussel sprout dish I saw at Momofuku Noodle Bar, I served the fish with brussel sprouts that I roasted with bacon. The fish requires little in the way of a recipe since it is fairly versatile, but here are some general steps:

Skate with Brown Butter Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 skate wings
• kosher salt
• flour, for dusting
• 3 Tb butter
• large splash of dry vermouth or white wine vinegar
  
• 1 tsp capers

Directions:

1. Dry skate wings with a paper towel.
2. Salt fish.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add half of the butter to skillet.
4. Dust skate wings with flour.
5. Add fish to skillet. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes total, turning once. Set fish aside.
6. Add rest of butter to pan. Once melted, add splash of vermouth and capers.
   
7. Cook butter and vermouth until sauce is reduced and nicely brown. Pour sauce over the skate and serve immediately.
   

Braised Arctic Char with Basil, Almonds, and Lemon

Recently, I have been obsessed with the cookbook A16: Food and Wine by Nate Appleman and Shelley Lindgren. This cookbook showcases beautiful photography, an very informative section on the wines of southern Italy, and most importantly, an amazing selection of southern Italian-inspired recipes. So far, I have made the Ragu Alla Napoletana, Braised Halibut, with Pistachios, Preserved Meyer Lemon, and Capers, and Braised Kale with Tomato and Anchovy Soffrito. All have been excellent. I am looking forward to giving the pizzas, ricotta gnocchi, and meatballs a try; each of these recipes will be upcoming weekend projects. Tonight, I kept it simple; adapting two recipes from the cookbook to serve braised arctic char with basil, almonds, and lemon along with a side of green beans braised in the tomato and anchovy soffrito leftover from last weekend's kale. While the fish was my least favorite of the recipes I have tried from the book, it was still tasty and quite easy to prepare.



Braised Arctic Char with Basil Almonds, and Lemon
Serves Two

Ingredients

• two six 0z. arctic char filets
• kosher salt
• 1 cup packed basil leaves
• 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• handful of almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 2 lemon wedges
  

Directions

1. Salt arctic char 1 hr. prior to cooking and bring to room temperature
2. Preheat oven to 400F
3. In a food processor, pulse basil until it forms a paste
4. Drizzle in olive oil to food processor and process until basil and oil form a smooth paste
5. Add a tiny pinch of salt to basil mixture
6. Place filets in skillet large enough to comforatbly hold both filets
7. Spoon basil mixture on top of both filets
8. Add water to skillet to come half way up filets
9. Place skillet in oven. Bake about 10 minutes or until fish can be flaked with a fork.
   
10. Plate filets. Top with chopped almonds and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with lemon wedges.