My uncle went on a fishing trip last summer and now he’s trying to get rid of all his fish. I guess he’s had enough. But we’re not complaining, my mom saw him a couple of days ago and he gave us some halibut, black cod AND salmon. Very exciting. We decided to go with halibut tonight but wanted to do something special with it so we gave it the fancy treatment that we usually do with scallops.
{serves 3}
1 lb halibut
1/4 capers
1 pat butter
1 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 meyer lemon
parsley (as garnish)
splash of white wine
pre-heat oven to 400º F
in an oven-safe skillet, over medium heat, heat the butter and olive oil, then add capers to fry up a bit
push the capers to the side of the pan and place the halibut in the pan over medium low heat, cook for 3 minutes before flipping
pour a splash of white wine in the pan and cover with lid
remove lid and squeeze juice of 1/2 of meyer lemon into the pan
then move to the oven and bake for 7 minutes (w/ lid on)
then squeeze the rest of the lemon juice in, plate w/ butter and capers on top and garnish with parsley and enjoy with a nice white wine
We love spanakopita. We also just went to Costco and bought a pound bag of spinach so it seemed only natural to make spanakopita. This is definitely not traditional, but we tried to use what herbs we had growing and make it a little easier and healthier with just sautéing everything and dumping it on the pastry- nothing wrong with that!
1 puff pastry
4 large kale leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped of each; basil, mint and parsley
3/4 lb spinach
1/2 large sweet onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp mustard seeds
6 oz feta
1/4 cup pine nuts
pomegranate seeds for garnish
{serves 6}
[wilt your greens but not too much]
pre-heat oven to 400º F and bake the puff pastry for 15 minutes (on a baking sheet) it should balloon up; after pre-baking lower heat to 350º F
dice onion and mince garlic
in a large nonstick skillet heat olive oil over medium heat then add onions and garlic, stir occasionally until opaque
add mustard seeds and some red chili flakes if desired
meanwhile, clean and roughly chop kale, spinach, basil, parsley and mint
then add the greens to the sauté pan and lower heat, cook until wilted and dark green (see above photo), add pine nuts and crumble 3/4 of the feta into the mix, remove from heat
with a slotted spoon (to leave behind liquid) move the greens onto the puff pastry, leaving about a 1/2 inch border
bake for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is starting to brown, then remove from oven and crumble the rest of the feta over the top then put under broiler for 2 minutes on high or until cheese starts to get brown
remove from oven, let cool for a couple of minutes then garnish with pomegranate seeds and additional herbs
Farro is one of my favorite grains. It’s good for you, goes a long way and has a great texture. Crisping up prosciutto is also a great way to add texture and lots of flavor. The apricots, feta and walnuts balance out this ‘salad’ with sweet-salty-earthy flavors.
2 cups pearled farro (dry)
8 oz (1/2 lb) prosciutto
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup feta
1/2 cup scallions
1 cup dried apricots
dash of nutmeg
glug of champagne vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
a couple of handfuls of spinach
pre-heat oven to 350º F and spread walnuts on a small baking tray and toast for 8 minutes
cook farro according to instructions (2 cups farro, 4 cups salted water)
in a skillet heat one tablespoon olive oil and lay prosciutto in one flat layer, cook for 15 minutes on low or until brown on the bottom then flip each piece and continue cooking until crispy, remove from pan and let cool
move farro to a large bowl when finished cooking and season to taste with remaining tablespoon olive oil, champagne vinegar and nutmeg
dice dried apricots into small pieces, slice green onions, tear prosciutto and break walnuts into smaller pieces and crumble feta into the farro bowl
when you’re almost ready to serve, roughly chop or tear spinach and stir into the salad
There are two types of people; those who LOVE lamb and those who just aren’t fans. We LOVE lamb. It pairs great with all these kind of mediterranean/middle eastern flavors.
1/2 large white onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pat butter
1 lb ground lamb
sprinkle cumin (optional)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 can (14 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes
salt/pepper to taste
to serve:
tortillas
1/2 cup crumbled feta or other cheese of your choice
in a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter and olive oil
dice onion and mince garlic and add to the skillet, sauté
then add the lamb and let it brown on the bottom before turning
add in cumin and red pepper flakes
once it’s all pretty evenly browned, add the tomatoes and turn it down to a simmer for 30ish minutes to let flavors develop, then turn the heat really low for another 15 minutes
1 tbsp butter (or 2 tbsp olive oil if you’re not feelin it)
1 large shallots
2 garlic cloves
16 oz spinach (fresh)
1 grilled (or baked) and chopped sausage (spicy Italian preferably)
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers (jarred/canned works fine)
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
5 oz fresh goat cheese
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 tbsp chopped thyme and rosemary (plus more (not chopped) for pretty garnishes)
8 dollops kalamata olive tapenade
3 oz freshly grated parmesan cheese
pre-heat oven to 350ºF; cut tops off of tomatoes and scoop out the insides with a melon scooper (leaving a 1/4 inch or so thick wall so they don’t completely collapse (reserve the insides)) ; then lightly salt the insides
heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat; meanhwile chop garlic and shallot
once butter has melted add the garlic and shallot and sauté until they’re opaque then add the spinach and sauté until slightly wilted then take off heat and let cool
at this point the salt in the tomato bowls will have probably brought out some water, add that to the tomato insides bowl
in a large mixing bowl combine the goat cheese, parmesan cheese, spinach concoction, 3/4 cups of the tomato insides, pistachios, roasted red peppers, red pepper flakes, breadcrumbs, sausage and herbs
then bake at 350º F for 20 minutes, remove from oven, top with the tapenade dollops and put the tomato hat/lids back on and bake for another 10 minutes
I love all kinds of potato salad. This is a vinegar-y, herby one that I let marinate overnight. I was planning on having it as a cold salad but I had some lemon-infused cheese that was calling out to be used and melted cheese makes everything more exciting so I ended up sauteing it with the cheese.
{3 servings}
1/2 lemon (juice and zest)
5 sprigs dill
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
salt/pepper (lemon pepper preferably)
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp dijon
1 tbsp capers
15 tiny potatoes or 9 normal small fingerlings
1/4 cup hard salty cheese (pecorino or something similar)- optional
boil potatoes until easily stabbed with a fork
mince garlic
in a bowl whisk together olive oil, red wine vin, mustard and garlic. season to taste with salt and pepper
when potatoes are cooled, quarter them or chop (depending on the size of the potatoes you’re using)
pour the vinaigrette over the potatoes and gently stir to cover all potatoes without breaking them up too much
add the capers and chopped dill
marinate overnight
serve cold OR
in a medium sized sauce pan saute the whole concoction over medium high heat and shave cheese over the top
stir occasionally until cheese is melted and potatoes are starting to crisp
serve with fresh dill and lemon zest
(pictured with a spinach salad, lentils and a soft boiled egg)
I love farro. My mom is pretty on top of food trends and caught on to this one early on..Not that I’d say it’s become a “craze” per se, but it’s definitely more common and popular since it first appeared on our dinner table. It’s nutty and chewy and called “the mother of all wheat” by some. According to bob’s red mill, it nourished the Roman legions and was even used as a form of currency. Trader Joe’s has a 10 minute version that is a life saver- or at least a huge time saver. Also it’s less than $2.
I used a beautiful aged goat cheese for this but you can use fresh goat cheese too.
{serves 1}
2 handfuls arugula
1 egg
5 mini heirloom tomatoes
2 spoon fulls capers
2 tsps black pepper corns
1 clove garlic
generous dollop dijon mustard
1/2 cup farro (uncooked)
1 cup chicken broth
3 mini bell peppers
dollop goat cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
salt/pepper
heat a medium sized sauce pan and add pine nuts, dry toast them, stirring them occasionally until they smell nutty and are golden brown
meanwhile bring the chicken broth and pepper corns to a boil and cook the farro in it (according to directions)
mince garlic and slice the bell peppers
remove the pine nuts from the pan and add the olive oil
cook the garlic for a minute then add the bell peppers, capers and whole tomatoes and cover
Humble grain bowls seem to be all the rage right now. They’re on menus at all sorts of hip restaurants and not so hip ones. But they’re also incredibly easy to make at home and seriously affordable, a college student’s dream. You can basically throw in whatever veggies you have, cooked or raw (or a combination) and any protein with any grain and any seasoning. If this isn’t your idea of an easy recipe, here is a combo I made last night with all my random groceries.
{serves 1}
1/2 cup farro (uncooked)
1 cup broth (optional)
5 mini portobello mushrooms
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
3 mini bell peppers
3 cherry heirloom tomatoes
3 artichoke hearts
1 spoonful capers
1 pinch basil
1 pinch thyme
1 pinch oregano
some canned tuna
grainy mustard
salt n pepper
cook farro according to recipe*. use broth for more flavor
clean mushrooms with a wet paper towel and slice
mince garlic and heat olive oil in a medium sized pan then cook that garlic in the pan
add the mushrooms and saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally for a few minutes
when farro is finished, stir in the herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste
slice bell peppers (deseed if necessary) and quarter tomatoes and artichoke hearts
put farro in a bowl and top with sauteed mushrooms, the other veggies, capers and tuna and a dollop of your favorite mustard
It’s that time of year again; the tail end of the school year when buying groceries is a gamble. Am I really going to use this stock of brussels sprouts or this whole bag of spinach? With the excitement/craziness of finals week it’s hard to plan more than 24 hours ahead. So it’s at times like these when I go into a kind of Chronicles of Narnia mode. Instead of climbing into a wardrobe to reach mystical lands, I stare into my pantry until I find interesting dinner items.
It is also apparently prime time for meyer lemons. My co-worker brought in a huge bag of them from her tree early last week and I’ve been puzzling over what to make with them since then. Luckily I happened to have some homemade ricotta (recipe link below) that my mom and I whipped up during Thanksgiving week and it was calling out to the lemons. I also happened to have some black garlic, which is a great thing and loves to be mashed into cheese.
If you are sardine adverse, leave off the sardines.
4 sardines in tomato sauce (or not in tomato sauce)
bring 2 quarts of water to a boil with a pinch of truffle salt or normal salt
slice lemons thinly (remove seeds), saving the butts for the juice, slice 2 cloves of the black garlic
cook the orzo 8-10 minutes or until done and drain
meanwhile heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a skillet and add the sliced black garlic and lemon, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until lemons soften
remove skillet from heat and add capers, stirring to coat
in a shallow bowl crush remaining black garlic cloves into the ricotta, squeeze the lemon butts into the mixture. crush pepper corns with a knife and mix into the ricotta
when orzo is cooked and drained, move to a large bowl or back into the pasta pot and immediately stir in the lemon-caper-black garlic mixture
then stir in the ricotta mixture, mix until fully incorporated
slice arugula and add into the warm orzo mixture
serve in bowls then slice tomatoes and chop marcona almonds and sprinkle over the top
then top with the sardines and you have a fish out of water