Grilled Spanish-Style Snapper with Tomato and Green Olive Salsa
October 21, 2005 | Filed Under Red Snapper, Seafood, Tomato and Green Olive Salsa, Vinaigrettes/Salsas/Sauces | Leave a Comment
After watching one of Rachael Ray’s 30-Minutes Meals shows, I became anxious to try her Grilled Spanish-Style Snapper with Tomato and Green Olive Salsa. I finally got a chance and bought my ingredients from the new Citarella store in my neighborhood. They sell fresh fish, meat and good vegetables. Here’s there recipe:
Grilled Spanish-Style Snapper with Tomato and Green Olive Salsa
4 (8oz) portions of red snapper fillet
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling
1 ½ tsp (1/2 palmful) cumin
1 ½ tsp (1/2 palmful) sweet paprika
1 tsp (1/3 palmful) coarse salt
1 tsp (1/3 palmful) black pepper
1 tsp (1/3 palmful) coriander
Tomatoes and Green Olive Salsa:
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Handful of cilantro, finely chopped (You can substitute with flat leaf parsley)
½ small red onion, chopped
12 large green olives cracked from pits and coarsely chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Preheat grill pan; drizzle snapper with extra-virgin olive oil; combine spices in a small bowl; rub fish with spice mixture; cook fish for 5 minutes skin side down first; turn the fish and cook for 5 to 6 minutes longer; combine salsa ingredients in a small bowl and allow it to marinate until ready to serve. To serve, plate spiced snapper with a generous serving of salsa.
First, I prepared the salsa and let it sit before starting with the snapper. I enjoyed all the chopping involved to make the salsa. My favorite part of the process was chopping the cilantro on my new cutting board — a nice, big, wooden one. As soon as the knife hit the cilantro on the board, it’s distinct smell wafted towards my nose and had me salivating in anticipation of the finished meal. I love cilantro. It not only brings color to the dish but tastes so good with the tomatoes, lime, and green olives.
Next, I concentrated on the red snapper, prepared on my handy small grill pan. The aroma of the spices floated up into the air. From the smells alone, I knew it would be a good meal.
While waiting for the fish, I started on the green beans with toasted almonds that Rachael suggests goes well with the snapper. It’s another simple recipe:
Green Beans with Toasted Almonds
1 ½ pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
1 Tbs (1 turn around the pan) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbs butter
Salt
Toasted slivered or sliced almonds for garnish
Cook green beans for 5 minutes in one inch boiling water, covered; drain beans and return the pan to the heat; add the oil and butter to the pan; toss the beans in the oil and melted butter; season the beans with salt and transfer to serving plate; garnish the green beans with the toasted slivered or sliced almonds.
Rachael also recommends a sangria to drink with this meal. She calls her special mixture, Sunset Sangria. I haven’t made it yet. When I do, I’ll let you know how it tastes, but I can tell you that the snapper, topped with the salsa, and served with the green beans with toasted almonds was very good.
Paz
Sofrito (Freshly made)
October 19, 2005 | Filed Under Latin Recipes, Sofrito | 1 Comment
When I make certain Latin recipes like rice and beans, macarroni with chicken, or a simple sauce, part of the ingredients I use include sofrito — the special base used in many Latin recipes. It is also used to flavor other dishes like chicken and sautéed shrimp. You can buy the sofrito from a store that sells Latin food products or you can make your own from scratch. I’ve found that I prefer the homemade version by T.V. Cook Daisy Martinez. I love the smells of the fresh cilantro, sweet peppers, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and ajicito dulces as they are pureed in the food processor. It’s as if the sofrito brings life to the kitchen aromas and meal preparation. It tastes very good, and adds an extra special flavor to the dish. As the sofrito recipe suggests, I store the rest of it in the fridge or freezer to use when needed. Paz
Sofrito
Makes about 4 cups.
If you can’t find ajices dulces or culantro, don’t sweat. Up the amount of cilantro to 1 ½ bunches.
| 2 medium Spanish onions, cut into large chunks 3 to 4 Italian frying peppers or cubanelle peppers 16 to 20 cloves garlic, peeled 1 large bunch cilantro, washed 7 to 10 ajices dulces (see note below), optional 4 leaves of culantro (see note below), or another handful cilantro 3 to 4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into large chunks |
Chop the onion and cubanelle or Italian peppers in the work bowl of a food processor until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, add the remaining ingredients one at a time and process until smooth. The sofrito will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It also freezes beautifully. Freeze sofrito in ½ cup batches in sealable plastic bags. They come in extremely handy in a pinch. You can even add sofrito straight from the freezer to the pan in any recipe that calls for it in this book.
Pantry Notes: Ajices Dulces, also known as cachucha or ajicitos are tiny sweet peppers with a hint of heat. They range in color from light to medium green and yellow to red and orange. They add freshness and an herby note to the sofrito and anything you cook. Do not mistake them for Scotch bonnet or Habanero chilies (which they look like)—those two pack a wallop when it comes to heat. If you can find ajicitos in your market, add them to sofrito. If not, up the cilantro and add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Culantro is not cilantro. It has long leaves with tapered tips and serrated edges. When it comes to flavor, culantro is like cilantro times ten. It is a nice, not essential addition to sofrito. (See Sources for both the above.)
White Fish with Lemon Vinaigrette
October 5, 2005 | Filed Under Italian Cuisine, Italian Recipes, Lemon Vinaigrette, Seafood, Tilapia, Vinaigrettes/Salsas/Sauces | Leave a Comment
Last night, I made a fish dish from Giada’s show, Everyday Italian — Tilapia fish, covered with cannellini beans, mixed with radicchio and fish broth; lemon vinaigrette drizzeled over the talapia.
The vinaigrette consisted of fresh lemon juice, Italian parsley leaves, garlic, finely grated lemon zest, extra virgin oil, salt and pepper – just the right finishing touch.
The tilapia fish was tasty and flaky. The cannellini beans, soft and melted in my mouth.
Everything about this dish was perfect. Well almost.
The radicchio tasted bitter. Very bitter. Is that the way radicchio is supposed to taste or was it spoiled? Yuck!
I liked the dish and tried again. This time, I used a different kind of beans (I don’t remember which) since I didn’t have cannellini available. Unfortunately, I had the same problem with the radicchio. Again, it tasted bitter — so bitter that it was inedible. I will try the recipe again, but I will not use radicchio. It’s official. I do not like it radicchio.
Paz
White Fish with Lemon Vinaigrette
8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 shallots, thinly sliced 1 large head radicchio (about 12 ounces), coarsely chopped 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1/3 cup fish broth Salt and freshly ground black pepper 6 (5 to 6-ounce) whitefish fillets, such as tilapia All-purpose flour, for dredging Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the radicchio and saute until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and broth, and cook until the beans are heated through, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Season the radicchio mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a 14-inch (or 2 smaller) nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the fillets with salt and pepper. Dredge the fillets in flour to coat completely. Shake off the excess flour and fry 3 fillets in each pan until they are golden brown and just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.
Spoon the radicchio mixture over the center of the plates. Top with the fillets. Drizzle the vinaigrette over and serve immediately.
Lemon Vinaigrette: 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh Italian parsley leaves 2 cloves garlic 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil Blend the lemon juice, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper.
Chicken Peanut Curry
September 22, 2005 | Filed Under African Recipes, Peanut Curry Sauce, Poultry, Vinaigrettes/Salsas/Sauces | Leave a Comment
Checking out the Simply Recipes blog for the first time the other day, I came across a recipe called Chicken Peanut Curry based on a West African meal. The recipe brought back another childhood food memory, which I didn’t mention in my meme.
I found it interesting because although I’d never cooked the food before, I did remember that the ingredients listed in the Chicken Peanut Curry recipe were totally different than the one used in the dish I ate as a child in Africa.
Not only were the ingredients different, the name, Chicken Peanut Curry, was also different from the one used in Africa. Here are the differences:
Current recipe:
Name: Chicken Peanut Curry
Ingredients: Curry powder, scallions, Serrano chili peppers, coriander seeds, mint and cilantro
Childhood recipe:
Name: Groundnut soup (but in the U.S. we call it Peanut Butter Soup because we use peanut butter)
Ingredients: Peanuts – roasted and finely ground, fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, shrimp powder, goat meat, fresh fish, smoked fish, or chicken
We hadn’t had this dish in a very long time – a couple of years, in fact. So, I decided to surprise my mother with the meal and see her reaction.
With the exception of one of the main ingredients – green onions – I found everything easily at the supermarket. I saw Spanish onions, red onions, white onions, yellow onions but no “green onions.” Nope, I couldn’t find them.
I returned home from grocery shopping and mentioned my dilemma to my sister who said she thought that green onions were scallions, but wasn’t sure. So, I looked it up on the Internet. She was right.
I couldn’t find “green onions.” You know why? Because there are no green-looking onions, that’s why! Silly me! Green onions are also known as SCALLIONS! Why don’t people just say scallions? At least, I know what those are. And why does it have two names? I know: Just to confuse me, that’s why. 
I made a second trip back to the grocery store to pick up my scallions/green onions.
After obtaining all the ingredients, the rest of the cooking process was uneventful. I prepared the meal according to the instructions. Even as I stirred in the peanut butter into the pot, I didn’t think it would taste like the groundnut soup of my childhood days. Finally trying the Chicken Peanut Curry, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it tasted like the soup I remembered.
When my mother first tasted the food, she exclaimed in surprise, “This tastes like Peanut Butter Soup!” She went on to finish her meal. I didn’t have to ask her how it tasted because when she finished, she decreed the meal as, “Very good.” I think I pleasantly surprised her.
I told her the ingredients I used and she confirmed that she normally wouldn’t prepare the Groundnut Soup that way, but we agreed that the end results were the same – the Chicken Peanut Curry tasted similar and good. That’s what counts.
Paz
Chicken Peanut Curry
3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken pieces, cut into 1 1/2 inch wide chunks or strips 1/2 cup flour 4 Tbsp curry powder 2 teaspoons Kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground peppercorns 1/2 cup olive oil 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced 2 Tbsp garlic, minced 2 serrano chili peppers, seeded, de-veined, minced 4 cups chicken broth 1/2 cup peanut butter (if using freshly ground peanuts, add 2 teaspoons of sugar) 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds 8 green onions, chopped, greens included 1/3 cup each finely chopped mint and cilantro 2 limes cut into wedges
1 – Rinse chicken and pat dry. In a small sturdy paper bag, combine the flour, curry powder, salt and pepper. Shake well. Add the chicken pieces and shake to coat well.
2 – Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium high heat. Add chicken pieces. Cook 5-10 minutes (depending on size of chicken pieces) tossing occasionally to cook chicken evenly. Add the ginger, garlic, chili pepper and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to the saucepan. Cook for 3 minutes, scraping the pan with a spatula and stirring to combine everything well.
3 – Add the peanut butter, stirring quickly to incorporate it with the chicken. Add the remaining 3 1/2 cups of broth slowly, stirring continuously to maintain an even texture. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Right before serving, add the coriander and green onions. Salt to taste.
4 – Serve with rice. Top each serving with fresh cilantro and mint. Squeeze a little lime juice over it as well.
Serves 6-8.
Brazilian Salsa Vinaigrette
September 18, 2005 | Filed Under Brazilian Salsa Vinaigrette, Vinaigrettes/Salsas/Sauces | Leave a Comment
I’m still on a high from the Brazilian Day festival and decided to make a Brazilian salsa vinaigrette during the week.
I LOVE this salsa, taken from the recipe in Cook Brazil. It’s simple, fresh-tasting and as always – an important factor for me – EASY to make. The recipe recommends that you eat it with meat (like churrasco, the Brazilian barbeque), fish or sausage, but I ate it with my pollo frito (fried chicken) and I liked it just fine.
I used a large tomato, red and green bell peppers, bought from the Farmers Market (Oh, so good and fresh!). Since I like red onions, I used one, because the recipe didn’t specify what kind of onion to use.
Highly satisfied with the results, I plan on making it again, next time with the churrasco.
Paz
Brazilian Salsa Vinaigrette
Note: all diced ingredients = ¼ inch
1 cup of diced green and red bell peppers.
½ cup diced onions
1 cup diced ripe tomatoes.
¼ cup white wine vinegar.
2 tbs of olive oil
PREPARE:
In a bowl, mix green and red peppers, onions, tomatoes, vinegar and olive oil.
Hint: add salt to the salsa right before serving it. Salt dehydrates the tomatoes in the mixture if let for long time.
SERVE:
Brazilian Vinaigrette Salsa is great with Brazilian Barbecues or on top of any meat, fish and sausage.
SERVING SIZE: 8 portions
