Spicy Salmon Soup with Escarole and Mushrooms

I finally made it to the Public Market in Rochester last weekend and came away with a wonderful find: salmon pieces for $2 a pound!  They were the scraps that were too small to be sold as nice looking pieces of fish, but they looked very fresh and came from a reputable fish vendor, so I couldn't pass up the deal (and it ended up being the best salmon I've bought in a long time!).

And what does one do with scraps of salmon?  Make soup!  ...Or just broil and serve small pieces- it's not like we're particularly fancy around here.  But the soup idea came to me and I ran with it.  I spied some escarole at a neighboring vendor and knew it'd pair perfectly with the salmon.  Add some mushrooms, onion, and garlic form my supply at home, and I was set!

I give a wide range on the soy sauce amount- start by adding a little and add more to taste.  I kept our batch pretty low on it, but added more to my individual servings.  If you have fish sauce and/or sesame oil, feel free to add a little of both to add a little more oomph to the flavor.   Also, bok choy could definitely be subbed in for the escarole, or spinach would work too!

This makes four large servings, and you can make them heartier by adding a fried egg on top.  Serve with extra chili-garlic and green onions as a garnish.

What you need:

1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 small-medium onion, thinly sliced
10 ounces mushrooms, sliced
4-5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 bunch escarole, washed and torn into pieces
1 pound salmon, cut into chunks or strips
2-5 tablespoons soy sauce
~6 cups water
1 tablespoon chili-garlic sauce, plus more for garnish if desired
green onions for garnish


Start by heating a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the coconut oil.  Add the onion and garlic, and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and saute for another 2-3 minutes.  Add the escarole and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Add the water, soy sauce, and chili-garlic sauce.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium.  Add the salmon. pieces, making sure all pieces are fully submerged.  Bring back to a boil, and then reduce heat to a low simmer.  Let cook for 3-4 minutes, or until salmon is cooked through.  When it is fully cooked, it will be opaque and flake apart.

Add additional soy sauce and chili-garlic sauce to taste.  Serve with a fried egg and chopped green onion on top if you're feeling it. :-)  Enjoy!

Marinated Seared Tuna Steak

Old post that I never quite finished/published from Saba days.  I can still vouch for the tuna!

I absolutely love tuna.  Not the canned variety (though that has its uses at times), but a deliciously rare, barely seared pink steak of it.  I used to order it every time I saw it on a menu, but then I realized that it was one of those things I can easily make on my own at a fraction of the cost.  The steaks I buy here on Saba are still not cheap (then again, nothing is cheap here but rum) at 4-5 bucks a serving, but are definitely a bargain compared to restaurant prices.  

I never tried marinating the tuna until the last two times I made it.  Usually I'm just making it for myself anyway, and I like it fine when I just sear it with salt and pepper.  The first time I marinated it, I was making dinner for my parents and Rob as well, and wanted to make sure it was well received all around.  Especially since Rob isn't really a huge fan of tuna and I was making him eat it since I thought my parents would like it.  They all loved it- even Rob!  

You can serve this as a salad, as pictured below, or sliced into Asian tacos, or simply served with a vegetable on the side (something like a cabbage slaw or cucumbers marinated in a dressing similar to that below would be good).  Enjoy!

Here, I served the tuna with bacon, feta, and cherry tomatoes with a rice vinegar based vinaigrette in this salad

What you need:

1 4-6 ounce tuna steak per person
Sesame oil or coconut oil for searing (I usually use about 1 teaspoon per steak, but some pan materials might force you to use more so that the tuna doesn't  stick)

Marinade:
2 parts soy sauce
4 parts rice vinegar
Minced fresh ginger and fresh garlic
1 part sesame oil
1 part chili-garlic sauce

Mix together the marinade ingredients.  Add the tuna steaks, making sure that there is enough marinade to cover them.  Let sit for 30 minutes.

Heat the oil in a skillet over high heat.  Add the tuna steaks and sear on each flat side for 1-3 minutes per side, depending on how rare you want the steak.  Use tongs to stand each steak on end to very briefly sear the other sides.

Notes:

*I often cut each steak into 3-4 pieces before marinading.  This allows the flavors of the marinade to permeate more and creates more seared edges, so it's a good thing to try if you are serving this to someone who is hesitant about trying seared tuna.  When I do it this way, I use a spatula to flip the pieces around in the pan.  They really just need a quick (~20 sec per side) sear on each side.

*I usually serve this with Spicy Mayo/Greek Yogurt.  Just mix chili-garlic sauce with either mayo, Greek yogurt, or a combination, depending on how healthy you feel like being.  You control the spiciness depending on your preference.  I usually do 1 part chili-garlic to 3-4 parts mayo/yogurt.

Seafood Curry

A super flavorful curry loaded with veggies, seafood, and spice.  Serve over rice, or in a bowl with a spoon.  I used a Panang Curry Paste by Taste of Thai, but you could definitely substitute in some other pre-made curry paste.  This makes a big pot of curry that can feed a crowd, or just leave you with plenty of tasty leftovers.

What you need:

1-2 teaspoons Chili Oil or Olive Oil

2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh Ginger

1 medium/small Onion, chopped

5-6 cloves of Garlic, peeled and chopped

1-2 hot peppers (optional- I'm not sure what kind I used because I got them from the farm here and wasn't even a name, but I think that jalapeno or thai chilis would be good)

1 packet Panang Curry Paste (1.75 ounces) or another type of curry paste- just be sure to get paste, not sauce

1-2 teaspoons Thai Fish Sauce

1-2 teaspoons Rice Vinegar

2-3 teaspoons Curry Powder (optional, but I like to have a lot of spice and thought it needed this)

1-2 teaspoons Coriander 

1 medium Carrot, sliced thinly

3 large leaves of Chard, stalks and leaves sliced and separated

8 ounces Cremini Mushrooms, sliced

1 can Coconut milk

1-2 cups broth (you can use seafood, chicken, or vegetable)

3/4 pound peeled shrimp

3/4 pound fish, cut into bite size pieces (I used one piece of Swai and one piece of Grouper, because I had them in my freezer and wanted to use them up.  You can use whatever type of white fish that you like- tilapia, red snapper, cod, etc)

2-3 fresh tomatoes, cut into chunks

1 can diced tomatoes (mine were fire roasted with garlic)

2-3 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with a little water

3-4 green onions, thinly sliced

Heat the chili oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, garlic, and ginger.  Stir and let cook for 1-2 minutes, then add: the hot peppers, curry paste, fish sauce, vinegar, other spices, carrot, and sliced chard stalk.  Saute for a couple minutes and add the mushrooms and chard leaves.  Stir and add the coconut milk and broth.  Bring to a boil and add the fish and shrimp and tomatoes (fresh and canned). Bring back to a boil and reduce heat to medium low.  Let simmer until fish and shrimp are cooked through.  The fish should be falling apart and both should be opaque.  Add the cornstarch and cook for another minute, until the sauce thickens.  Stir in the green onion.

Serve over rice or with some bread for sopping up the sauce.  Enjoy!

Garlic and Herb Salmon

Here's a simple and pretty quick recipe for salmon that's a little different than I usually prefer it.  For some reason, I almost always make slightly sweet salmon recipes (pumpkin butter glazed, teriyaki  or with a simple brown sugar or honey mixture on top).  I mean, a little sweetness does wonderfully complement the flavors of salmon and broiling the bit of sugar on top gives you a deliciously caramelized topping.

But today, I felt like mixing it up and modified this recipe I found.  I thought is was delicious and it was a nice change of pace from my usual.  Plus, the more savory flavors of this give you different options for side dishes than what you might want with a sweeter recipe.  (Though I paired it with a butternut squash soup that would be still been awesome with a sweet salmon recipe).

What you need:

2 pounds salmon (either one large piece or cut into portions)

olive oil spray

1 tablespoon butter

1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and diced

1/2+ cup fresh herbs (I used parsley, thyme, and rosemary because that's what I had)

1-2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon worchestershire sauce

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup white wine

1-2 teaspoons black pepper

Heat oven to broil on low if using one big piece or high if using smaller pieces.  Melt butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add garlic.  Let garlic cook until just slightly browning.  Add in the salt, herbs, worchestershire sauce, lemon juice, wine, and pepper.  Turn off heat.  Place salmon, skin side down on a large baking sheet sprayed with olive oil.  Spoon 1/2 of the herb and garlic mixture over the top of the salmon.  Broil for 3-4 minutes.  Take out of oven, spoon the rest of the sauce over the top and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.  Return to oven and broil for another 3-4 minutes (smaller pieces may take less time).  Turn heat up to high if it was on low before and broil on high for 2 more minutes (applies to big piece only).

Serve with lemon slices.  Enjoy!

Baked Fish Sticks

I was really pleased with how these came out.  They were really tasty, fairly simple to make, and actually WORKED.  I mean, the crumb coating didn't half fall off or horribly stick to the pan.  And they're a healthy alternative to regular fried fish sticks.  And kid-friendly, I would think.  

I served these alongside my leftover Crockpot Tomato Soup.  Simple and satisfying dinner. (and enough leftover for breakfast! ... IF you're like me and don't particularly care for breakfast food for breakfast)

What you need:

 (I forgot to pay attention to how much of everything I was using, so these are just estimates.  However, with this recipe, it's pretty easy to adjust as you go.  I had to make up a bit more of the crumb mixture halfway through myself)

2 (4-6 oz) fillets of a mild white fish, such as tilapia, swai, or cod (I used swai because I already had some), cut into 1 inch strips

Olive oil spray

1/3 cup flour

2 medium eggs or maybe 1 large one (I still had a little of the 2 medium left), beaten

1 cup panko crumbs

1-2 teaspoons EACH garlic powder, black pepper, and Season-All 

Heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray a baking pan with olive oil.  Set up your breading station:  flour in one bowl, eggs in the next, and then the panko crumbs mixed with the seasonings.  Dip each piece of tilapia into the flour, shaking off excess.  Then they go into the eggs, and finally into the panko crumb mixture.  Make sure you fully cover (but shake off extra) at each step.  Place pieces on prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned.  If you want, you can flip the pieces halfway through for more evening browning, but mine were good enough without doing this.

Serve with dipping sauce (recipe below).

Dipping Sauce:

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1/4-1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt

1 tablespoon dried parsley

splash of worcestershire

1/2-1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoons mustard (okay, I cannot really vouch for this, but I was definitely going to put it in, but SOMEHOW I was out of mustard.  Weird.)

Mix everything together and done!

Pan-fried Red Snapper

This is pretty simple, but still tasty.  I paired it with a Chipotle Vegetable Soup and a served it with a little bottled McCormick's Cajun Seafood Sauce, because I didn't feel like making my own sauce (I like sauce on EVERYTHING. Rob ate his just with lemon).  Next time I think I'll get more creative and make up some sort of awesome homemade sauce to put on it, but the bottled stuff wasn't half bad.

I made three fillets because I was making this for two and also wanted a some leftover.  Just adjust everything a bit if you want to make more or less.

What you need:

3 (6 oz) Red Snapper Fillets, cut in half
1/2 cup flour
Garlic Powder, Black Pepper, Cajun Seasoning, Salt
Olive oil
Lemon wedges, for serving

Take fillets out of the fridge about 20 minutes before cooking.  Pour flour onto a plate and mix in the seasonings (I used about 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning, and a hefty pinch of salt).  Dry fillets on a paper towel and then dredge in flour, shaking off excess.  Heat 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil in a saucepan over high heat.  Place 3 pieces of fish, non-skin side down, into the pan.  Cook for 2 minutes, or until beginning to blacken, and then flip and cook for another 2 minutes. When fish is done, it should flake with a fork.  Repeat with other three pieces of fish, adding a little more oil to the pan for this second batch.  Serve with lemon wedges.  Enjoy!

Salmon with Zucchini, Cherry Tomato, Walnut, and Goat Cheese Topping

Quick and tasty weeknight fare.  Definitely took less than half an hour to throw together, but looks (I think) a little nicer than that.

What you need:

2 (5-6 ounce) salmon fillets

Fennel Seeds, Salt, Pepper

1 teaspoon honey

1 zucchini, sliced thinly

1/4 cup onion, diced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 chopped arugula (I only added this because I was trying to use it up, but it was good, so if want to, throw it in)

Garlic powder 

Balsamic Vinegar

Pepper

2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted

2 Tablespoons crumbled goat cheese

Start by heating your oven to broil on high.  Place salmon fillets on a lightly greased baking sheets.  Rub each piece with 1/2 teaspoon of honey (or a bit more if you aren't trying to cut back on sugar).  Sprinkle with fennel seeds, salt, and pepper.  Place in oven and broil for 5-10 minutes, depending on thickness of fillets and how hot your oven gets.  Salmon should be browned and flake easily with a fork when done.

While the salmon is cooking, saute the zucchini and onion in an olive oil-sprayed saucepan with a pinch of salt.  After a couple minutes, add the tomatoes and arugula.  Add a splash or two of balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Add the walnuts.

Top each piece of salmon with vegetable mixture and half of the goat cheese.  Enjoy!

Salmon Topped with Goat Cheese and Roast Vegetable, Olive, and Walnut "Tapenade"

Tasty, healthy, and pretty simple to make.  We ate it by itself, but it would pair nicely with some sort of rice or potato dish if you want some carbs.

What you need:

1 large red bell pepper, cut in half, seeds removed

1/2 onion, cut into slices

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Olive oil spray

Salt and pepper

2 (6 ounce) salmon fillets

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 ounces goat cheese

3 tablespoons toasted walnuts

1/4 chopped green olives 

1 teaspoon hot red pepper paste (or use red pepper flakes to taste)

garlic powder (I probably used nearly a tablespoon, but we like it garlicky around here)

2 teaspoons dried oregano (or throw in some fresh and maybe basil too if you have it)

1/4 panko crumbs

Start by roasting the vegetables:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray a baking sheet with olive oil and spread onions,bell pepper (skin facing up), and tomatoes across it.  Season with salt and pepper and spray again with the olive oil.  Place in oven and roast for 15-20 minutes.  Remove tomatoes and place pan back in the oven.  Roast for another 10-15 minutes or until bell pepper is slightly charred and onions are completely cooked and slightly brown.  Remove from oven and let cool.

Now, start the salmon:

Place the salmon on a greased baking sheet, skin side down.  Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon of honey on each piece, then season with salt, pepper, and fennel seeds.  Spray with olive oil.  Broil on high for 5-7 minutes, or until the top is slightly browned.  Remove from oven.

As the salmon cooks, make the tapenade:

Skin the bell pepper, and chop it, the onions, and the tomatoes into small pieces.  Place in medium-sized bowl.  Add 1 teaspoon of honey, garlic powder and red pepper (to taste), oregano, olives, and walnuts.

Now, assembly time:

Spread one ounce of goat cheese on each piece of salmon and top with a thick pile of tapenade.  Sprinkle evenly with the panko crumbs.  Broil for 2-3 on high, or until top is lightly browned.

Enjoy!

Coconut and Peach Tilapia and Shrimp

Super simple and pretty healthy.  Not a bad combo.  I served it on top of a salad with fresh lettuce, arugula, sliced radishes, avocado, and nectarines with some goat cheese and nectarine filo pastries (and made a light fruit vinaigrette to go on top of the greens).  Yum.

What you need (this is going to make enough for 4-6 people... we have lots of leftovers):

3/4 pound tilapia
3/4 pound shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined
1/2 packet coconut milk powder (or try using 1/2-1 cup coconut milk)
2-3 tablespoons unsweetened dried coconut
2-3 tablespoons peach nectar
1-2 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (I used a raspberry flavored version because it's what I had, but I don't think it really matters)
1 tablespoon Ponzu (basically lime-y soy sauce, so if you don't have it, try a mix of lime juice and soy sauce)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix everything together.  Let marinate for 30 minutes or so.  Heat oven to High Broil.  Pour everything onto a baking sheet (include marinade).  Broil for 10-12 minutes until cooked through.

*If you want, you can broil the shrimp and tilapia without the marinade so that they get more of a "crust".  But I recommend that you still keep the marinade and bring it to a boil so that it can be served alongside as  a sauce.

Enjoy!

Slow-Roasted Salmon

Usually when I make salmon, I use my broiler on high, which is great for two reasons: One, I'm impatient and this is really quick.  Two, the high temps allow the bit of brown sugar I rub on to caramelize and create a delicious topping.  

However, I kept seeing "slow-roasted salmon" recipes pop-up when I was surfing the internet for new recipe ideas and decided that I had to give it a try, based on all of the ravings in reviews.

Here's my take, inspired by this recipe http://norecipes.com/blog/slow-roasted-salmon-with-peanut-curry-sauce-and-snap-pea-slaw/.

The salmon is delicious all on its own, and I'll start by just giving you a recipe for that. I made a Thai Pumpkin Curry Sauce (which also could stand alone as a hearty soup) to accompany my salmon and will be posting that later.

A piece of delicious, slow-roasted Salmon

What you need:

Salmon fillet, any size (I used a big slab- probably about 2 pounds and a little over an inch thick)

Seasonings: I used a sprinkle of brown sugar, salt, pepper, and ground coriander this time.  Sometimes I also add chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder, and sub out the coriander for cumin.

Directions:

Place your salmon on a large baking sheet, skin side down.  Sprinkle your seasonings evenly over the top of it and rub gently into the flesh.  Heat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.  Let the spices sink in a bit and the fish come to room temperature- about 20 minutes.  Place the fish in the oven and let cook for 45 minutes to an hour if you are using a big piece like a did.  Otherwise, adjust the time accordingly.  Try not to open the oven and peek too much, because the slow build-up of heat in the oven is what makes this work.  (I did peek once though, and every thing still worked out fine)  When it is fully cooked, the flesh should flake easily and be opaque.

Enjoy it on its own or try making a spicy curry sauce to finish it off.  

Here's the salmon served with rice, my Thai Pumpkin Curry Sauce, roasted peanuts, ad cilantro.

Fish Tacos with Guacamole, Mango Hot Sauce, and Cabbage Slaw

Quick, tasty, and healthy.  What more can you ask for?

To make the fish tacos, layer the following on your base (the tortillas or the lettuce):

Tortillas (I used these really healthy ones for Rob- La Tortilla Factory, Healthy and Delicious 100 Calorie Tortillas-, but use whatever kind you like.  (Or serve everything on a bed a lettuce, Paige-style)

Cheese, Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, whatever you fancy (I had fat-free cream cheese with mine and served Rob's with some mild gouda because it was that we had.  Queso fresco might be a better choice if possible). Melt this onto the tortilla or just sprinkle on top.

Cooked Tilapia, Swai or other mild white fish*

Guacamole- use your favorite recipe or see below for a bit more guidance

Cabbage Slaw (recipe below)

Mango Hot Sauce (recipe below)

Wrap it up or grab your fork and enjoy!

*To cook the fish: you can either pan-fry, grill on foil, or broil it.  I find that broiling it is the simplest and still quite tasty.  Just spray a cooking sheet or broiler pan if you have one, place your fish on it, spray with oil, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Cook in the oven with the broiler on high until it is browned on top and flakes all the way through.  Probably about 6-10 minutes, depending on if your oven was heated beforehand and the size of your fish.

Cabbage Slaw:

3-4 cups shredded cabbage

2 stalks celery

1 small/ medium onion

handful of mild small peppers

2-3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar 

1-2 teaspoons sesame oil

1-2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons or more garlic powder

pepper (and possibly salt) to taste

1-2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce

Mix everything in a bowl.  Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.  This lets it wilt and gives the flavors time to meld.

Mango Hot Sauce: 

1 stalk celery, sliced

1/4-1/3 cup diced onion

1-2 tablespoons fresh ginger

small handful mild hot peppers, roughly chopped

1-2 tablespoon soy sauce

1+ cup tropical fruit juice ( I used Trop 50 reduced calorie mango-pineapple juice because that's what I had)

1 tablespoon (more or less depending on how hot you want it) Calypso sauce

2-3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar

3/4 cup very ripe mango

1 small semi-ripe papaya, cut into chunks (I threw this in because I had picked one too early and it never became that sweet when it ripened.  You could also just use more mango or fully-ripened papaya- your sauce will just be sweeter.  Or try substituting something else as a thickener.. maybe even cooked sweet potato?)

Other seasonings (I can't remember exactly what I put it or if I even put any of these in, but if you feel like the sauce needs something when it's done, try adding: garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, Ketjap Manis- I think any of these could be nice additions)

Start sauteing the celery, onion, ginger, and peppers in a lightly greased saucepan.  Add the soy sauce in bits to keep them from sticking while allowing a bit of browning.  Once softened and lightly browned, add the remaining ingredients, reduce burner to medium-low, and let simmer for 10-20 minutes.  Let cool a bit and puree in the blender.  Enjoy! 

Guacamole:

I just mash the following together:

2 ripe avocados
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1-2 jalapenos, finely chopped
2-3 teaspoons garlic powder
dash of salt
1-2 teaspoons black pepper
couple teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon cumin
1-2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

Then I throw a chopped tomato in at the end.  Serve with the tacos, or just use as a dip with chips or veggies.

Pan fried Whole Redfish with Chimichurri Sauce

Some guy was selling these fresh caught from his cooler and I couldn't resist buying it, even though it wasn't scaled.  So I scaled my first fish and then had to figure out a way to cook it.  Pan frying is a simple, tasty, and quick solution.  I made a chimichurri style sauce to accompany it.

What you need:

A 1.5-2 pound whole redfish, scaled, gutted, and washed (mine was gutted already, but I did have to scale it.  The back of a butterknife works just fine.  It's very messy, though, so you probably want to do it outside.  Do a Google search on how to scale a fish for more direction)

Cooking spray or oil 

Salt, pepper, garlic powder (and anything else you want to season with)

After the fish is scaled, gutted, and well washed, pat it dry with paper towels.  Season the outside and the inside (where the guts were cut out) with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  Heat a large skillet to HIGH and spray with cooking spray or add a few teaspoons of olive to the pan.  Wait for the oil to heat up and then place the fish in the pan.  Cook on high for 5 minutes on each side (don't move it while it is searing, except to flip).  Reduce heat and continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes, or until it is cooked through.  The skin will be a bit blackened and the fish should flake easily with a fork.  Serve hot and be wary of the bones!  

To make the Chimichurri Sauce:

In a blender, place:

3-4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3/4 cup EACH loosely packed, roughly chopped mint and parsley (if you have cilantro, replace some of these herbs with it)

2 green onions, roughly chopped

2 small hot peppers, roughly chopped (or only use one if you don't like much heat)

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice

1-2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/2-1 teaspoon anchovy paste

Olive oil or water

Blend, adding olive oil or water as needed to help puree everything.  The olive oil, if used, will help mellow out the very fresh flavors in addition to adding its own flavor, but using just water cuts calories and keeps the sauce VERY fresh and tangy tasty. A combination of both would probably be optimal, but I went with just water to keep it very light.  Tasty and bold!

I served the fish over a bed of lettuce with cucumber, sun dried tomatoes, and a wedge of lemon with the sauce on the side  Enjoy!