Between holidays: Let's eat healthier!

Went to my gym this morning and it was more crowded than usual. It's rather obviously an appropriate time to atone for the (wonderfully long) holiday weekend indulgence with better health habits than most of us probably practiced over Thanksgiving.

Simple dinners, consisting of gently cooked lean protein and fresh vegetables, will be on our menu this week -- along with a few remaining leftovers such as turkey and cranberries.

Here's a recipe for poached salmon, from Food & Wine, that I think you'll enjoy. 

Recipe: Poached Salmon with Cucumber Raita

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 quarts water

1 1/2 cups dry white wine

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 onion, sliced

1 carrot, sliced

9 sprigs parsley

3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon peppercorns

3 bay leaves

3 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and grated

1 3/4 cups plain yogurt

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground

black pepper

Four 6-ounce salmon filets

Instructions:

1. In a large deep frying pan, combine the water, wine, vinegar, onion, carrot,

parsley, thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves, and 2 1/4 teaspoons of the salt. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the cucumber and the remaining teaspoon salt. Let sit for 10 minutes. With your hands, squeeze the cucumber and discard the liquid. Put the cucumber back into the bowl and add the yogurt, garlic, mint, and ground pepper.Refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. Add the fish to the liquid in the pan and bring back to a simmer. Simmer, partially covered, until the fish is just barely done (it should still be translucent in the center), about 4 minutes for a 1-inch-thick fillet. Remove

the pan from the heat and let the fish sit in the liquid for 2 minutes. Transfer to plates and, if you like, remove the skin. Serve the salmon warm or at room temperature. Top with the raita and then sprinkle the raita with the paprika.

Pan-seared Mahi with Vegetable Medley

This was a "contents of my fridge" preparation to go with a nice piece of mahi-mahi, and it turned out so well, I thought it worth sharing. You can't really see the fish in the photo, smothered as it is in a pan full of many tasty vegetables.
It's OK to substitute any other fish for the mahi, or if you prefer, use boneless chicken breast or even a boneless, lean cut of pork.
But it was great with the mahi.

Ingredients:
Two 6-ounce fish fillets, sprinkled with salt and pepper
11/2 cups of diced mixed aromatic vegetables (I used celery, onion, and carrots)
1/2 cup sliced leeks
1 cup sliced fresh Brussels sprouts
Handful of thin green beans (haricots verts)
1 cup chicken broth or stock
1/4 mixed fresh herbs of your choice
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Coat a nonstick frying pan with cooking spray and a little bit of olive or canola oil, and heat pan over medium-high heat. Add fish and saute until brown on each side, about 2-3 minutes total. Remove fish to a small plate, cover and keep warm.
Turn heat under pan down to medium. Add next four ingredients (aromatics through green beans) and stir-fry until veggies begin to tenderize, about 5 minutes. Add a little but of stock at a time to keep the veggies moist. Throw in the herbs, salt and pepper, add fish back to pan, cover and reduce heat to low.
Serve when the veggies are at the level of doneness that you like and the fish is heated through-- probably just another 2-4 minutes.

Grill Swordfish, Pair with Chenin Blanc

Something different for an accompaniment to grilled swordfish.
For a neat presentation, roll the herbed butter in plastic wrap into a cylinder and refrigerate until firm. Slice off rounds of butter as you need them. Pairing: Citrusy, full-bodied Chenin Blanc: 2009 Pascal Janvier Jasnières.
(sorry no photo)

RECIPE: Grilled Swordfish with Lima Bean Butter and Herbs

INGREDIENTS:

1.  1/2 cup shelled lima beans (from about 1 pound in the pod)
2. Salt
3. 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
4. 2 tablespoons chopped chives
5. 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
6. 1 tablespoon chopped dill
7. Hot sauce
8. Ten 6-ounce swordfish steaks, about 1 inch thick
9. Extra-virgin olive oil, for rubbing
10. Freshly ground black pepper 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.   In a small saucepan, cover the lima beans with water and bring to a boil. Add a pinch of salt, cover and simmer over moderately low heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and let cool.
2. Puree the lima beans in a mini food processor. Add the butter, chives, parsley and dill and process until smooth. Season with salt and hot sauce.
3. Light a grill. Rub the swordfish steaks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the fish over moderately high heat until nicely browned outside and just opaque throughout, about 4 minutes per side. Top the fish with the lima bean butter and serve right away.

Make Ahead: The lima bean butter can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Cooking from the farm

Here's what we're eating these days: pan-seared fish (at left is sea bass, at right is albacore tuna) with fresh tomato salsa and a side of green veggies with their own veggie-based sauces.
For the salsa, I've been using so-called cherry tomatoes of different varieties, my favorite being the super sweet, orange Sun Gold. After searing the fish and removing it from the pan, I briefly cook a little minced garlic, perhaps onion or shallot, chopped jalapeno or a dash of cayenne pepper for kick, a handful of herbs and the tomatoes just until heated through. Spoon over the fish.
For sides, in these photos it's either broccolini or tiny green beans, locally grown if possible. I sauteed some diced red bell pepper and very thinly sliced fennel bulb to go with the green beans, while the broccolini just got some of the tomato salsa.
We usually include a thick slice of crusty bread from our local artisan bakery (Blue Oven is its name) and a glass of white or rose wine.
All hail the bounties of summer!

What are your "magic ingredients?" Here are two of mine!

I've always felt that if a dish contains quality ingredients, it's going to taste good.
Of course, a cook can mess up almost anything, but as a rule of thumb when I'm creating a new concoction, I try not to worry about the outcome if the basic components are solid.
Which brings me to MAGIC INGREDIENTS: things you can add to a variety of dishes for an instant punch of yumminess.
Fresh figs and avocado almost qualify, but the former is only available a few months per year at most, and avocado isn't all that versatile because (in my experience at least) it's only good raw. Garlic doesn't count because every cook on earth knows that it's crucial to so many cuisines' tastiness.

Do you have any foods that are "magic" in your cooking (or dining, even if someone else cooks)?

Here are my two faves:
FENNEL (cooked especially, but also fine raw) and...SAFFRON.
Readers of this blog know that fennel is a recurring ingredient in my cooking. For a wider view of wonderful ways this veggie can enhance many different recipes, click here for some great ones.

I use saffron much less frequently, but when I do, it's a sure-fire way to give a dish a marvelous complexity and depth of flavor.
For a variety of recipes that use saffron, check out "Sarah Saffron's" website.

The following is my favorite, go-to recipe that has both fennel and saffron as key ingredients. (You actually can make it without those golden threads -- but why?) Halibut would make an excellent substitute for the sea bass -- in fact, I often prefer it. This scrumptious dish definitely is good enough for company.

Recipe: Sea Bass in Orange-Fennel Tomato Sauce
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

4 six-ounce sea bass filets
3 T canola or olive oil
1/2 C chopped onion or shallot
2 T minced garlic
1/2 C thinly sliced celery
1/2 fennel bulb, cored, sliced thin, with 2 T chopped fennel fronds reserved
1/2 C dry white wine
1 tsp. saffron threads
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 C orange juice
1 T orange zest (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat oil on stovetop in a deep, 12" skillet on medium-high heat.

Add onion/shallot, garlic, celery and fennel bulb and sauté for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until veggies are tender and start to brown.

Meanwhile, heat orange juice in a microwave-safe bowl or glass measuring cup for 1 minute on high heat. Remove from microwave and crumble saffron threads into juice. Set aside.

Add wine to skillet and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes and orange zest to skillet, stir in OJ/saffron mixture. Bring mixture to low boil. (Can be prepared to this point in advance; transfer mixture to large Tupperware bowl, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Reheat sauce in same skillet to low boil.)

Add fish filets and cover pan; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until fish is opaque. Season with salt and pepper, transfer to serving platter or individual plates, and sprinkle reserved fennel fronds on top.

Seafood salad entree for a crowd

This beautiful summer dinner will feed eight hungry folks -- all you need to serve it with is some crusty bread with olive oil and a dry white wine of your choice. Of course, you can cut the recipe in half if you're not feeding that many people.

Recipe: Grilled Tuna and Salmon Salad
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds fresh tuna steaks, rubbed lightly with canola oil
1 1/2 pounds salmon fillet, rubbed lightly with canola oil
Salt and pepper for the fish
10 cups (approximately) salad greens
1 pound green beans, trimmed and broken into bite-size pieces and steamed until just tender
1 carton small cherry tomatoes, such as Sun Gold, cut in half
1 1/12 pounds small red potatoes, salted and steamed, cut into bite-size pieces
3 T capers, drained and rinsed
Salad dressing of your choice; preferably a lemony vinaigrette

Instructions:
Grill (or saute) tuna and salmon to your desired level of doneness (I like medium rare tuna and medium salmon). Let cool, then slice into bite-size pieces.
Dress the salad greens and spread them onto a large serving platter.
Sprinkle green beans, tomatoes, potatoes and capers evenly over the greens.
Place tuna on one side of the platter and salmon on the other side (or mix the two fish together -- your choice).
Serve, passing additional dressing at the table.

Easy (& cheaper) way to eat more wild salmon

It's wild salmon season, but the stuff is expensive ($20 or more per pound) and hard to find. However, most nutritionists believe that it's so much healthier to get your fish oil and beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids from wild vs. farmed salmon.
The good news is that most canned salmon is from wild fish. Try these easy to prepare salmon cakes from canned, wild salmon -- I think you'll love them, and your kids should, too!









RECIPE: Easy Salmon Cakes (adapted from Eating Well magazine)
(4 servings)

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil, divided
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
2 T chopped fresh parsley
One 15-ounce can salmon, drained and patted to remove excess moisture and flaked with a fork (remove any skin or bones)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 T Dijon mustard
1 3/4 cup bread crumbs, preferably whole wheat
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
For serving:
Creamy dill sauce (recipe below)
Lemon wedges

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and coat a baking sheet with cooking spray
Heat half the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and saute the onion and celery for about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the parsley and remove from heat.
Place salmon in a medium bowl; mix in egg and mustard, then add the cooked veggies, breadcrumbs and pepper. (You do not need salt because the salmon and mustard already are salted.) By hand, shape the mixture into 8 patties.
Bake the salmon cakes until they are golden brown on top, about 20 minutes. While the salmon is baking, make the sauce.

Creamy Dill Sauce:
Mix together 1/4 cup reduced-fat mayo, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, and one tablespoon each lemon juice, chopped dill and diced scallion.

Serve the salmon cakes with lemon wedges and the dill sauce.

Grilled halibut over sweet potato puree

I borrowed this idea from Chef Bernstein at Lavomatic, who placed his halibut over a puree of watercress and (white) potato. We generally prefer sweet potatoes to white ones, so this is the dish I came up with.

Recipe: Halibut and Sweet Potato Puree
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
3 cups peeled, cubed sweet potatoes (2 large or 3 small)
1 T maple syrup
1 T no trans-fat margarine
2 T milk or half & half
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt, to taste
2 halibut fillets, sprinkled with salt and pepper
1 teaspoon dried tarragon or French fines-herbes
1 T fresh lemon juice
2 T olive oil

Instructions:
Place the sweet potatoes in a 2-3 quart saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for about 10 minutes, until potatoes are very tender. Drain and let cool slightly.
Add the sweet potatoes and the next 5 ingredients (maple syrup through salt) in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Remove to a bowl, cover with foil and keep warm.
Meanwhile, heat a grill or a nonstick frying pan and cook the halibut over moderately high heat, browning each side for 3 minutes per side.
Reduce heat to medium, add herbs, cover and cook another 3 minutes.
Drizzle lemon juice and olive oil over the fish.
Spoon half the sweet potato puree onto two serving plates and place a halibut fillet over each.
Serve!

Tuna and Pepper Stew -- a real winner

Here is a lovely recipe from the Health pages of the New York Times earlier this week The author suggests using albacore tuna, which you can get frozen at Trader Joe's. Just thaw the tuna a bit in advance and this will be an easy fix. You also could omit the anchovy if that ingredient bothers you -- I personally think it adds a depth of flavor that you can't get anywhere else, but this stew will be yummy either way.

Recipe: Tuna and Pepper Stew

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

This recipe is loosely based on a Basque tuna soup called marmitako, a fisherman’s dish with simple origins. It was originally made with bread and tuna, but in later years was greatly enhanced with the arrival of peppers, tomatoes and potatoes from the New World. Every cook has a version of this dish, and I am no exception. Fresh albacore tuna from North America are often lower in environmental contaminants than other types of tuna and the most eco-friendly choice.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 to 6 garlic cloves (to taste), minced

2 anchovy fillets, rinsed

4 large green bell peppers, cored, seeded and chopped, or use a combination of green bell peppers and red bell peppers

1 teaspoon medium-hot chili powder

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes with juice

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 pound red potatoes, diced

1 quart water

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or a pinch of cayenne

1 1/2 pounds albacore steaks (preferably from domestic or Canadian fisheries), skin and blood lines removed, cut in 3/4 inch cubes

2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a large, wide-lidded pan or Dutch oven over medium heat, and cook the onions until they begin to soften, about three minutes. Add the garlic and the anchovy fillets, and stir together for about a minute until fragrant, breaking and mashing the anchovy fillets with your spoon. Add the bell peppers, and cook, stirring, for about five minutes until the peppers have softened. Stir in chili powder, paprika, red pepper flakes or cayenne, and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook slowly, stirring every five to 10 minutes for 30 minutes.

2. Add the potatoes, water, wine and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the mixture is fragrant. Taste and adjust seasonings.

3. Add the tuna and parsley, and simmer for five to eight minutes until the tuna is just cooked through but still moist. Taste, adjust seasonings and serve.

Yield: Serves six.

Advance preparation: You can make the stew through Step 2 up to three days ahead, and keep it in the refrigerator. Bring back to a simmer, and proceed with Step 3. The finished soup can stand off the heat for two or three hours before serving. Bring back to a gentle simmer before serving.

Broiled fish and corn succotash

Here's a simple dinner combo that is beautiful to look at and delicious to consume -- and packed with healthful ingredients.

Broiled red snapper (any white, flaky fish could substitute): Brush a one-pound filet of fish lightly with with olive oil; season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Broil in a preheated overn with skin side down for 8-10 minutes--monitor carefully and do not overcook! Remove fish to a platter than has been lined with freshly picked herbs or lettuces--I used arugula, basil and parsley. Sprinkle with chopped almonds (or other nuts) mixed with chopped parsley and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Corn and broccoli succotash (can be made in advance and reheated): Saute one diced red or green bell pepper and two minced cloves of garlic in 2 T canola or olive oil over medium-high heat until the pepper is soft, stirring constantly so the garlic does not burn. Add 2 cups of steamed broccoli florets that have been cut into bite-size pieces and kernels from 2-3 ears of fresh corn. Reduce heat to medium and stir until heated through, adding salt, pepper and fresh or dried thyme and a little water (2-3 T), if needed. Serve immediately.

The extra plate in the photo shows sliced tomatoes.

Another serving idea: crusty whole grain bread with olive oil, and a crisp white wine.

Coho Salmon with Mixed Roasted Vegetables

Here's a 30-minute dinner that's nice enough for company. For an overnight guest, I whipped up wild coho salmon (found at Whole Foods) with a generous side dish of roasted winter veggies. We drank Champagne with it!
For the fish: sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper, add 1 T canola or olive oil to a skillet heated to medium-high. Brown on one side, turn with a spatula and finish cooking. For a simple sauce, I spooned some of my standby Trader Joe's artichoke and red pepper tapenade.
For the veggies: cut into bite-size pieces 2 large sweet potatoes (unpeeled), 1 1/2 cups Brussels sprouts, sliced in half, 1/2 fennel bulb and a few florets of broccoli or cauliflower. Toss with canola or olive oil -- go light for fewer calories -- and whatever herbs and spices you feel like adding. Roast in a 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Scallops and shrimp with mushroom-red pepper sauce

For a special Valentine's Day dinner (on Sunday), I made this recipe. It came out so well, we vowed to have shellfish at home more often. It's crucial not to overcook scallops or they become rubbery, and that danger has made me wary of trying--what if I ruin these expensive babies? But with extra care, they came out perfect.

A couple of tips: buy large scallops, which will be much easier to get right -- their thickness makes it less likely that you'll overcook them. I also bought a couple of jumbo shrimp (is that an oxymoron?) so that they stayed tender in my frying pan, too.

Rather than make a rich cream or butter sauce, I simply sauteed chopped mushrooms, red pepper and shallots in a little olive oil. I removed the veggies to a bowl, cooked the shellfish, and when the shellfish were on the plates, put the sauce back in the pan on high heat for a minute.
We had roasted asparagus -- my husband's favorite vegetable, a treat for him on Valentine's Day even though it's out of season and came from Peru. I also made a lovely salad with avocado dressing, which I'll be posting soon.

Recipe: Scallops and Shrimp with Mushroom-Red Pepper Sauce
Serves 2

Ingredients:
3 T olive or canola oil, divided
1 small shallot, minced
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste

10-12 ounces large sea scallops, drained and patted dry with paper towels (this is an important step -- scallops have a lot of liquid in them and if you don't dry them they won't brown)
6-8 ounces of the largest shrimp you can find, shelled, deveined and patted dry
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Instructions:
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add 1-2 T of oil. When pan is hot, add vegetables (mushrooms through pepper) and stir-fry until veggies are tender, about 3-4 minutes. Remove veggies to a plate, cover and keep warm.
Raise heat to high. Add remaining oil. Sprinkle shellfish with salt and pepper and using tongs, add one at a time to the pan. Be sure not to overcrowd the pan -- fish should not touch each other. Allow scallops and shrimp to cook on high heat until they are golden brown, about 2-3 minutes depending on the heat of your pan and the thickness of your fish.
Turn and brown the other side. Total time in the pan should not exceed 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and remove fish to serving plates.
Immediately return sauce to the pan and stir quickly until heated through -- only another minute.
Pour over fish and serve.

Tilapia with Fennel, Saffron, Orange and Tomatoes

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The earth has provided a few foods that are so marvelous, I think of them as "magic ingredients:" they make just about anything you put them in taste heavenly.
One such fabulous food is the spice, saffron.
I have to wonder how this spice was discovered, since it's a tiny part of a tiny flower sometimes called the saffron crocus. In any case, a little pinch of this rare and wondrous, golden orange spice perks up not only savory foods but sweet ones too. (One of our most memorable bites in Italy last summer was saffron gelato at a shop in Siena.)

I usually make the following recipe with halibut, but any mild fish will do as well. I had tilapia in the freezer, plus all the other ingredients. Voila!

Recipe: Tilapia with Fennel, Saffron, Orange and Tomatoes
(Serves 3-4)

Ingredients:
2 T canola or olive oil
1 cup coarsely chopped fennel bulb (most of one large bulb)
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped onion or leek
1 can diced tomatoes
Zest and juice of 1/2 orange
Pinch of saffron
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup water
1 pound tilapia filets

Instructions:
Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add fennel, celery and onions or leeks. Saute, stirring frequently, until vegetables start to become tender and brown a bit (about 4 minutes).
Add tomatoes, orange zest and juice, saffron and pepper flakes. Cover and cook 3-4 minutes, until mixture begins to simmer. Add seasonings and water. Cover again and let mixture heat well.
Add fish, re-cover, and cook another 5 minutes. Fish is done when it turns white all over.
Adjust seasonings, adding more salt if you like.
Serve with a green vegetable and crusty bread. A little sauvignon blanc would go great with it, too!

Skate wing -- an unusual fish worth seeking out

Skate (or skate wing) frequently turns up on French bistro menus--I used to love the version served at Brasserie le Coze in Atlanta--but you won't find it in your local supermarket's seafood department. If you shop at a fish vendor who also supplies our best restaurants, however, you can get lucky. When a local chef puts it on his/her menu, the supplier may very well have extra to sell to the public.

Lately, Luken's Seafood at Findlay Market has been bringing in skate for Jean-Ro Bistro and I was able to score some for a recent dinner at home. It's not expensive--maybe $7 or $8 a pound, and absolutely no waste because it's boneless and skinless. Skate is delicate and thin, so you can cook it in just a few minutes.

Skate Almondine -- serves 2

1 pound skate wing

Salt and pepper

2 T olive or canola oil

2-3 T sliced almonds

2-3 T capers (optional)

1-2 T fresh lemon juice

Add salt and pepper to each side of the fish. Heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat and add the skate. Cook 3 minutes and carefully turn the fish with a spatula; cook another 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to low, sprinkle with remaining ingredients.

Remove fish to serving plates and voila!

My side dish was steamed Brussels sprouts tossed with a great convenience product--one of Trader Joe's tapenades. (This one is the artichoke and red pepper.)