Tag Archives: Seafood

30-minute meals, Grains and pulses, Seafood

Couscous Paella with Shrimp

Don’t you love finding a recipe that’s tasty, easy, quick, and healthy? Here’s one I just discovered. This recipe is also an excellent choice for anyone looking to serve the wild Gulf of Mexico shrimp that are finally back in stores (ahem, thank you BP for the forced hiatus). One word of caution — make sure you have enough dinner guests at the table for this dish. Couscous doesn’t reheat particularly well and you won’t want a bite of it to go to waste.

Couscous Paella with Shrimp
adapted from Family Circle as posted on Food Network

Serves 6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bell peppers (green, yellow, and/or red), cut into 1/2‑inch dice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 can (14 oz/400 ml) chicken broth
1 cup (240 ml) water
10 oz (280 g) frozen peas, thawed
1 1/2 lb (680 g) large shrimp, shelled and cleaned
10 oz (280 g) couscous (plain or whole wheat)

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot that has a lid. Add the onion, garlic and peppers and cook until the peppers are tender, about 8 minutes. Add the salt, black pepper, thyme, pepper flakes and turmeric and cook for 1 minute. Add the broth, water, peas and shrimp. Simmer, covered, for 2 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the couscous and cover. Let stand for 5 minutes, then remove the cover, fluff the couscous with a fork, and serve immediately.

30-minute meals, Appetizers, Seafood

Smoked Salmon Pizza

It’s no secret that I like to serve appetizers as dinner when I can get away with it. Some starters easily morph into the role of main course, such as spring rolls with pork meatballs and shrimp won tons in soup, while other appetizers aren’t really up to the task. I vividly remember the night that I served Reuben seven-layer taco dip and corn chips for dinner. Needless to say, I ended up eating a lot of taco dip by myself that evening.

I’m pretty positive this “pizza” is intended as a first course, but like most parents, I don’t do “courses” with the kids and I really wanted to try this recipe. Paired with vine-ripened tomatoes from our backyard, the pizza alone was plenty for the three (and a half) of us. Admittedly, it’s probably more of a brunch than dinner, reminiscent of a good bagel but lighter and with better textures, especially with the addition of sliced tomatoes.

Smoked Salmon Pizza
adapted from Wolfgang Puck

Makes 1 pizza

8 oz (225 g) prepared (unbaked) pizza dough (white or whole wheat)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 large or 1/2 small red onion, sliced thinly
1/2 cup (120 ml) sour cream
1 teaspoon dried dill (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill)
1 tablespoon chopped red onion
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
5 oz (140 g) thinly sliced smoked salmon
1 large or 2 small tomatoes, sliced thinly (optional)

Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C).

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 10-inch round. The thinner the dough, the crispier the crust when baked. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and brush the dough with olive oil. Scatter the sliced onion over the top of the dough and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 7 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the dough. Let the baked crust cool for 5 minutes.

While the crust bakes, mix together the sour cream, dill, chopped red onion, and lemon juice.

After the crust cools, spread the sour cream mixture over the top of the crust to within an inch of the edge. Arrange the salmon to cover the surface entirely. Use a pizza wheel to slice the pizza into 6 pieces. If using tomato, top each piece of pizza with 1 or two tomato slices. Serve immediately.

Mexican food, Potatoes, Seafood

Fish Tacos with Mango Radish Salsa and Sweet Potato Wedges

When I was back home in the US in July, my friend Leah and I took a day trip to the wineries of southwestern Michigan, but before we made our way to a few of them, we stopped for lunch first. We had planned to have a posh lunch at the Tabor Hill Winery but it turned out they were closed on the day we went, so we backtracked to the lakeside resort town of New Buffalo, complete with waterfront condos and shops selling taffy, tacky souvenirs and cheap T‑shirts. The restaurant we wound up at was The Stray Dog, where we sat on the screened-in porch overlooking the boats in the marina across the street, eating fish tacos and fries and drinking iced tea — a perfect Plan B, actually.

To make fish tacos at home, I feel no shame in using lowbrow frozen fish sticks. I figure that if foodie heavyweights Jamie Oliver and Nigel Slater can get away with publishing recipes that use them (they both make sandwiches with them), then I’m in good company. I’ve always considered them to be my guiltiest foodie secret, buried deep in the freezer where no one can see them, reserved for the nights when I’m just too frazzled to face cooking dinner. But I’m coming clean now and adopting Jamie Oliver’s approach: “Be proud to eat fish fingers, that’s what I say.”

Fish Tacos with Mango Radish Salsa
adapted quite a lot from Tyler Florence

Serves 4

I’m sure Tyler Florence’s original recipe for homemade goujons using mahi mahi and panko is a real treat, but here is my unapologetically bastardized — and faster and easier — version. He also calls for a pink chile mayo made with canned chipotles in adobo sauce, and even though I brought back a couple cans from my trip, I was feeling too stingy to use them for this and improvised with this lime mayo instead.

for the fish tacos:
24 fish sticks (a.k.a. fish fingers in Ireland/the UK)
1/2 head Savoy cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves only, roughly chopped
6 spring onions or 1 bunch chives, chopped
lime wedges, to serves
corn or flour tortillas, to serve

for the lime mayo:
1/2 cup (120 ml) mayonnaise or sour cream
zest and juice of 1 lime
salt and freshly ground black pepper

for the mango radish salsa:
4 to 6 red radishes, diced
2 mangoes, peeled and diced
1 red chili, finely diced (optional)
1/2 red onion, diced
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves only, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook the fish sticks (fingers) according to the instructions on the package. Keep warm until ready to serve.

To make the lime mayo, whisk together the mayo, lime zest and juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the mango radish salsa, combine the mango, radishes, chili and red onion in a bowl. Pour over the lime juice and stir well, then scatter over the chopped cilantro and season to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Serve the tacos buffet style: pile up the fish sticks on a plate, put the lime mayo in a bowl and the mango radish salsa in another. Set a pile of shredded cabbage, cilantro leaves, chopped spring onions/chives and lime wedges next to the fish. Warm the tortillas in the oven for a minute or two (or zap them in a microwave) and serve, letting everyone help themselves.

***

Sweet Potato Wedges
adapted from Every Day by Bill Granger

Serves 4

2 lb (900 g) sweet potatoes, skin left on and cut into wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
lime wedges, to serve

Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).

Toss the sweet potato batons with the olive oil, paprika, cayenne and salt and pepper. Scatter them in a single layer on a large baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the wedges are golden brown. Serve with lime wedges.

Entertaining, Seafood

Sea Bass with Tomato Confit, Red Onion and Bacon Vinaigrette and Mashed Potatoes

When I go out to eat, I love to deconstruct the menu and take away all the adjectives. Things that sound fancy are oftentimes actually pretty basic. Pan-fried and corn-fed? That’s all well and good, but it’s still just chicken. Likewise, this dish sounds impressive, but is a cinch to make. For example, the tomato confit is nothing more than a can of chopped tomatoes that’s simmered for an hour to reduce it down. The very title of the cookbook it comes from — Keeping It Simple by the L’Ecrevain chef Derry Clarke — goes to show how easy it really is. (But don’t tell that to the other food bloggers who took part in the seafood cookalong* earlier this month, which is what I made this dish for.) Served with an equally impressive-sounding French apple tart, this would make an elegant, but easy, dinner party menu.

*The Irish food bloggers and foodies have a cookalong on the first Friday of every month, with a different theme and judge/sponsor each month. Check out our Facebook group for more details if you’d like to join in!

Sea Bass with Tomato Confit and Red Onion and Bacon Vinaigrette
adapted from Keeping It Simple by Derry Clarke

Serves 4

If you want to make this for entertaining, the tomato confit and red onion and bacon vinaigrette could be made in advance and simply reheated shortly before you’re ready to serve. If you can’t get sea bass, you could also use halibut, cod or snapper.

4 x sea bass fillets, scaled and pinboned
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
mashed potatoes, to serve
a handful of arugula or baby spinach, to serve

for the tomato confit:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup (60 ml) red wine vinegar
1 x 14 oz (400 g) can of chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
salt and freshly ground black pepper

for the red onion and bacon vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 lb (225 g) bacon, diced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup (80 ml) red wine, port or stock
1/2 red onion, finely diced
salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make the tomato confit, place all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook over a very low heat for 1 hour, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove the bay leaf, season and allow to cool.

To make the vinaigrette, heat a splash of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Saute the shallot and bacon until the bacon is lightly browned. Add the sugar, vinegar and wine and cook briskly until reduced by half. Add the red onion and season to taste. Set aside.

Season the fish well with salt and pepper. Heat the sunflower oil in a clean frying pan over a medium heat. Place the fish in the pan, skin side down. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until the skin is crisp. Carefully turn the fish over and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes, lowering the heat if necessary. Pour the lemon juice over the fish and remove from the pan.

To serve, place a dollop of mashed potatoes on a plate. Spoon over some of the tomato confit and arrange the arugula or spinach on top of the confit. Gently place the sea bass on top of the arugula/spinach. Spoon the vinaigrette over the sea bass and serve immediately.

30-minute meals, Desserts, Fruit, Potatoes, Salads, Seafood

Potato Salad with Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Crème Fraîche and Blueberries in Gin Syrup

Four years ago, when our daughter was 13 months old and not walking yet, we went to the Derryvilla Blueberry Farm** in County Offaly to pick berries. I still remember her crawling on the soft, boggy ground amongst the bushes, stopping now and then to pull a fat, sweet berry from the branches and pop it into her mouth. This time we had our son, who at two years old was a good age to enjoy picking the berries himself, so ripe they practically tumbled off the bushes and into our baskets. When we paid for our haul after an hour in the fields, the owner, Nuala, scooped up a bag full of berries from a nearby crate and gave them to the kids to eat in the car, free of charge. For the first 30 minutes of the drive home, all we could hear from the back seat was the sound of their little hands rustling in the paper bags as they snacked on the berries as if they were a bag of pick ‘n’ mix candy.

When my husband was a boy growing up in Michigan, one summer he and his family picked 80 lb of blueberries. In comparison, the 9 lb we picked last weekend seems meager, but it was enough to make a dinner of salmon with a blueberry pan sauce, a batch of blueberry crumb bars and these blueberries in gin syrup.* I froze the rest to use in my kids’ favorite breakfast once the weather turns cold, blueberry and banana porridge. I’m already looking forward to remembering the sunny, hot summer day we spent picking berries every time I add them to my children’s oatmeal this winter.

*If you’re looking for more blueberry recipes, try this lemon blueberry buckle or peach and blueberry sour cream cobbler.

*Derryvilla Blueberry Farm is located roughly between Newbridge in County Kildare and Portlaoise in County Laois, not too far off the M7 motorway. Ring 057 864 2882 or 087 246 6643 for opening times and directions.

Smoked Salmon and Potato Salad with Horseradish Crème Fraîche
adapted from Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver

Serves 4 as a light dinner or lunch

As often as not, I lazily skip the lemon, vinegar and olive oil dressing and just mix the horseradish crème fraîche into the potatoes instead of dolloping it over the salad. In that case, add the lemon zest to the crème fraîche and sprinkle the capers over the salad instead.

1 1/4 lb (570 g) new potatoes, washed
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
zest and juice of 1 large lemon
splash of red wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons capers, drained
14 oz (400 g) smoked salmon, roughly chopped
a small bunch of fresh dill or fennel tops, roughly chopped, or 1 tablespoon dried dill
2 or 3 tablespoons jarred horseradish sauce, or to taste
1/2 cup (120 ml) crème fraîche

Cut the potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on their size (you want them to be in bite-sized pieces). Tip into a pot of boiling salted water and boil for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are just cooked. Drain in a colander and cover with a tea towel to dry them out a bit while you make the dressing.

Put the lemon zest and half the lemon juice into a bowl and add the vinegar. Pour in three times as much olive oil as lemon juice and add the capers. Season the dressing with salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and drizzle the dressing over. Toss gently until the potatoes are all well coated. Add in the smoked salmon and most of the dill and toss again. Transfer the potatoes and salmon to a serving bowl or platter or individual plates.

Mix the horseradish sauce into the crème fraîche with the remaining lemon juice and some salt and pepper. Dollop the crème fraîche over the salad and sprinkle over the rest of the dill or fennel.

Blueberries in Gin Syrup
adapted from Gourmet, August 2008

Serves 6

This recipe is open to adaptation. The original version conjures up a forest by adding a rosemary sprig and crushed juniper berries to infuse the syrup. I didn’t care for that so I’ve left it out here to make a plainer syrup. However, you could also try infusing the syrup with a cinnamon stick or a strip of lemon peel, and you could leave out the gin entirely too. These will keep for 1 or 2 days in the fridge.

1 cup (240 ml) water
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 1/2 lb/2 pints (680 g) blueberries
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry gin

Boil the water and sugar in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, until the syrup has reduced to about 3/4 cup (180 ml), which should take 10 to 12 minutes. Put the blueberries in a heatproof bowl and strain the syrup through a sieve over the berries. Stir in the gin. Allow the berries to macerate in the syrup for about 30 minutes, until the berries are completely cooled. Eat them on their own in a bowl, or spooned over vanilla ice cream, not forgetting to drizzle over some of the syrup too.

French food, Seafood

Bouchons au Thon (“Tuna Corks”) with Green Salad

What is it with kids and ketchup? When my sister was a kid, she would put ketchup on just about everything, including fish sticks, which I used to think was particularly weird. The only time I ever eat ketchup is with fries, and even then only just a little and begrudgingly (I’m a salt and vinegar kind of girl). At a dinner party I was at a few years ago, one of the women there was telling a story of how her eight-year-old nephew had even given up ketchup for Lent, the point being that he loved ketchup so much, this was a real sacrifice. There isn’t any ketchup in these bouchons au thon (which roughly translates as “tuna stoppers” or “tuna corks”) but there is tomato paste, which is what gives them their burnt orange color. The first time I made this, I thought the combination of ingredients sounded odd, but it works; they’re like little quiches without a crust. And taking a cue from my kid sister all those years ago, if I serve these with some ketchup squeezed on top, then sure enough, my kids gobble them up. It’s a nice light dinner or lunch served with a green salad with a lemon vinaigrette, or lemon roast potatoes or herbed new potatoes if you want something more filling (or Molly Wizenberg suggests a baguette). If your kids like tuna, then these are handy for lunchboxes too.


Bouchons au Thon
adapted from A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg (or via Orangette here)

Serves 4 as a light dinner or lunch

2 x 4 oz (120 g) cans of tuna chunks (preferably water-packed), drained well
1 cup (100 g) finely grated Gruyère cheese (Fontina, Swiss/Emmental or Parmesan are all good substitutes)
1/3 cup (80 ml) crème fraîche
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 scallions, finely chopped
2 or 3 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Lightly grease 8 wells of a standard-size muffin tin.

Place the tuna in a mixing bowl and break up into small pieces. Add the cheese, crème fraîche, tomato paste, eggs, onion, parsley and salt, stirring to thoroughly combine. Divide the mixture evenly among the 8 muffin wells. Use water to fill any empty wells halfway full to prevent them from scorching. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops and edges of the bouchons are set.

Carefully pour the water out of the muffin wells, then dislodge the bouchons by running a butter knife around the inside edges of their wells. Let them sit for 2 to 3 minutes, then carefully extract them and transfer to individual plates (2 for each portion). They will collapse a bit as they cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Asian food, Rice, Salads, Seafood

Salmon with Asian Slaw

After a long, hot, relaxing day at the beach, the last thing I wanted to do was turn on the oven, stand over a simmering pot, or even think much about dinner. I also needed to use up at least one of my numerous bulbs of kohlrabi. This simple yet elegant dish was the perfect solution. If you are not familiar with kohlrabi, the slaw is a nice way to try it. I prefer it in salads like this one, raw and thinly sliced. Its crunchiness holds up nicely in the vinaigrette so it can marinate for as long as you need it to without losing texture or taste. If you can’t find kohlrabi or are afraid of its UFO like appearance, celery, jicama, or even green apple could be substituted.

Salmon with Asian Slaw
serves 4

Slaw:
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
juice and zest of 1 lime
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 kohlrabi, peeled and julienned
1 small head napa cabbage, thinly sliced crosswise to “shred”
3–5 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
1 serrano or jalapeno, thinly sliced
2 carrots, shredded
2–3 radishes, diced
1 Kirby (or 1/2 regular) cucumber, diced

Salmon:
1 tablespoon canola or grapeseed oil
4 salmon fillets (about 6 oz each)
salt and pepper, to taste
3–4 cups cooked jasmine rice

Combine the slaw ingredients in a large bowl. Feel free to add more vinegar, sesame oil, tamari, lime, salt, pepper and serrano, to taste. Sometimes I add a half cup of mayonnaise for extra creaminess. Toss the slaw gently and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.

About 15 minutes before serving, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Add the salmon to the hot oil and cook about 8 minutes until nicely browned. Turn the salmon over and continue cooking until cooked through, 3–5 minutes longer depending on the thickness of the fillets.

For each serving, mound rice in the center of a dinner plate. Place a salmon fillet in the center of the rice, then top with the chilled slaw.

30-minute meals, Beans, Italian food, Salads, Seafood

White Bean and Tuna Salad with Lemon Pepper Dressing

When you travel, what do you remember afterward? I remember the food. I have a better memory of eating quiche Lorraine for breakfast on a bench by the Seine in Paris than I do of seeing the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Of course I remember the big-name sightseeing highlights, but I also remember the Nutella and banana crepe we bought from a stand near the Eiffel Tower; a brioche aux praline in Lyons that was so good we changed our return travel plans back to Paris just so we could eat it one more time; chocolate mint gelato in Florence served by a man in what looked like a crisp white lab coat and perfectly Brylcreemed 1950s hair; kriek cherry beer in Amsterdam, glögg in Copenhagen and a harsh, peaty whiskey in Edinburgh that I downed after (foolishly, in my case) taking the ghost tour of the city; conch chowder in the Bahamas; hot chocolate and a gingerbread man with my little girl in London; and a ploughman’s pub lunch in Canterbury. In Barcelona we spent more time eating tapas and drinking sangria than sightseeing. In the US, I still have clear memories of bratwurst being grilled on the Memorial Union Terrace in the summertime in Madison, Wisconsin; whole crabs in Baltimore, complete with a newspaper-covered table and hammers; lobster in Boston with flimsy plastic bibs and pitchers of beer; a post-wedding brunch at the Ritz in Washington, DC with scallops and bacon, caviar and waiters who seemed to top up my glass of mimosa after every sip; sopapilla and honey in Santa Fe; scoops of ice cream in waffle cones so freshly made on the spot in Bellingham, Washington that they were still warm; and a nondescript hot dog somewhere outside of Charlottesville, Virginia that I remember only because I couldn’t understand a single word the man behind the counter said when he rattled off all the toppings because his Southern accent was so thick, so I just said I’d have what my friend was having.

As for this salad, I had it for lunch on a rooftop café in Tuscany on my honeymoon eight years ago, looking out over rolling countryside that was hazy in the middle of the heat wave they were having at the time. Earlier during that trip, walking across the city on our way to stand in line in the hot sun for an hour to see Michelangelo’s David in Florence and wilting just at the thought of it, I turned to my husband and said, “Will seeing David really make us better people? How about we just go back to the garden at the hotel and drink beer and eat olives instead?” Which is exactly what we did.

What are some of your memories of food and travel?

White Bean and Tuna Salad with Lemon Pepper Dressing
adapted from How to Cook Book Two by Delia Smith

Serves 4 as a light main course or 6 as a starter/light lunch

for the salad:
2 x 14 oz (400 g) cans of cannellini beans
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a few handfuls of arugula (rocket), stalks removed
2 x 7 oz (200 g) cans of tuna, drained
1 red onion, peeled, sliced thinly and deflamed
crusty bread, to serve

for the dressing:
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons Maldon sea salt
1 heaped teaspoon mustard powder, such as Colman’s
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
zest and juice of 1 large lemon (3 tablespoons juice)

To make the dressing, first crush the garlic and salt using a pestle and mortar until the garlic is pulverized into a paste, then work in the mustard powder and pepper. If you have a large pestle and mortar, add the olive oil, lemon zest and juice directly into it and whisk everything together thoroughly. If your pestle and mortar is small (like mine), then scrape the garlic paste into a larger bowl and whisk in the olive oil, lemon zest and juice in that.

Place the beans in a bowl and pour the dressing over, stirring to make sure all the beans are coated. Season generously.

To serve the salad, arrange three-quarters of the arugula (rocket) leaves over the base of one large serving dish (or you could assemble the salad on individual plates), spoon the beans on top and add the tuna fish in chunks. Add the rest of the arugula, pushing some of the leaves and chunks of tuna right in amongst the beans. Arrange the onion slices on top and serve straight away.