Thursday, January 24, 2008

Orange Roughy with Tomato-Cilantro Salsa

This recipe is from Epicurious. It has so much flavor you would never know it's actually a healthy :-)



8 plum tomatoes, seeded, diced (about 2 2/3 cups)
1 red onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chilies
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
For fish
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 6-ounce orange roughy fillets (each about 3/4 inch thick)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 pound haricots verts or other slender green beans, trimmed
Fresh lemon juice
Additional olive oil

For the salsa, just throw all the ingredients in a bowl and mix it up, then cover and put in the fridge:





The chipotle en adobo sauce gives this salsa a spicyness that kicks in almost as an aftertaste.



At this point you'll want to put some water on to boil for the green beans. Add a little salt to the water and stir to dissolve. Throw in the green beans once the water is at a good boil.



preheat the oven to 400 degrees.



To prepare the fish, put some olive oil in a skillet and turn to medium-high heat. Rinse the fish filets gently under a slow stream of cold water and pat dry. Salt and pepper the fish, then pour a little flour on the cutting board and coat them in flour.



Saute the fish until golden brown; be careful flipping them as the fish will start to get flaky and break easily. Once brown, transfer to a baking dish and bake until opaque in the center, about 5 minutes.



By now the green beans should be done. I cooked them longer than the recipe said because I didn't want my green beans to be crunchy, just a little crispy. Dump into a small bowl, and put that bowl into a larger bowl of ice water to cool.



Get the salsa out of the fridge and let it warm up a little. You want it to be cooler than room temperature, but not cold. Take the fish out of the oven and let them cool a little before removing them from the baking dish. In the meantime, toss the green beans with olive oil and lemon juice.



Divide the green beans among plates. Top each plate with a fish filet and put a handful of salsa on top. Enjoy!




Friday, January 18, 2008

Home Made Tuna Nigiri and Miso


Wow. Tuna was under $10 per half pound at the seafood market and we gave it a shot. Good call, it was perfect. It took two trips to the market to get all the miso ingredients right to do it from scratch. Tasted amazing.

Miso Soup:
4 to 5 cups dashi, recipe follows
2 tablespoons brown miso paste, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons white miso paste, plus more to taste
6 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 scallions, white and green, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 tablespoons aji mirin (sweetened rice wine), optional
In a saucepan heat the dashi and whisk in the miso pastes. Bring to a simmer and add the tofu, scallions, and mirin, if using. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

DASHI
6 cups cold water
One 12-inch long piece of kombu, wiped with a damp cloth
One .88-ounce/25 grams package shaved dried bonito flakes

In a saucepan, combine the water and kombu. Bring to a simmer, uncovered, over medium heat. Remove the kombu and discard. Bring the liquid to a boil, add the bonito flakes and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Allow the dashi to sit undisturbed for 2 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a medium bowl. Discard the bonito flakes. Use immediately or store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Yield about 4 to 5 cups

Robin will need to post the Sushi rice recipe.