Mediterranean Fish Chowder with Basil Gremolata

This is a Bonnie Stern recipe from the National Post. The only change I would make would be to saute the fennel with the onions from the get-go, so that they're as soft as the fish.

"This Mediterranean main course soup gets a boost of flavour from "gremolata" - a mixture of herbs and citrus.

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• pinch hot red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp saffron, crushed or turmeric
• 1 bulb fennel, trimmed and chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 28 oz tin plum tomatoes, pureed
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp kosher salt or more to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 lbs boneless, skinless fish fillets (eg. halibut, cod, tilapia, snapper), cut into chunks
• 3 Tbsp chopped parsley

Basil Gremolata:

• 1/4 cup packed parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup packed basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp grated lemon peel
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven. Cook onions, garlic and hot red pepper flakes gently 5 minutes. Add saffron and cook 20 seconds. Add fennel and cook 5 minutes longer.
2. Add white wine and bring to a boil. Add tomatoes and water and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes.
3. Add fish. Cook 5 minutes until opaque. Season to taste.
4. For gremolata, chop herbs very fine, chop in minced garlic, grated lemon peel and salt. Sprinkle over soup. Makes 6 to 8 servings"

Southern Italian Cooking - Class 3

Swordfish with Sicilian Fresh Herb Sauce

The fresh herb sauce is spooned onto pieces of grilled swordfish, but I bet it would work well with all sorts of grilled meats and fish. A bright summary recipe.

• 3 or 4 Swordfish Steaks
• 1 bunch Oregano
• 1 bunch Parsley
• 1 clove Garlic
• 1/2 cup (approx) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Lemon
• Salt and Pepper

In a processor combine parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, coarsely chopped garlic, freshly cracked pepper, lemon juice, and a dash of the olive oil. Pulse the processor and add oil gradually to get the desired consistency: an emulsion-type texture, not so much oil that it separates on the place. Season to taste.

Stuffed Swordfish
A salty-sweet stuffing, with white wine and tomato sauce.

• 1 Swordfish Steak
• 1 Fig
• 1 tsp Almonds
  
• 1 tsp Capers
  
• 1 tsp Olives
  
• 1/2 cup White Wine
• 1 Tomato, seeded and diced
• 1 TBSP Butter
• Salt and Pepper

Mince together: fig, almonds, capers, and olives. Add a dash of salt and pepper, and a touch of olive oil to achieve a crumbly consistency. Slice a pocket in the steak, and stuff.

Heat a pan with olive oil, lightly season the steak with salt and pepper, then sear on both sides and set into an oven-proof pan. (The fish will tell you when it's ready to flip by tightening up and loosening from the pan).

Now add the tomato, white wine, and butter to the pan. Simmer for a few minutes to develop the flavors. Pour over steaks, bake for 9 minutes at 350F. Finish with freshly chopped parsley.

Caponata
Eggplant "Relish." Sweet and Sour.

• 500g Eggplant
  
• 3 Stalks Celery
  
• 1 large Onion
  
• 1 cup Green Olives, pitted
• 1 can Tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 TBSP Capers
• 1/4 cup Wine Vinegar
• 2 TBSP Sugar
  
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
  
• 1/3 cup Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Dice the Eggplant, Celery, Onion to 1/3" cubes.

Toss the eggplant dice with salt, and let it sit for a while. This will soften it up and take out some of the bitterness.

Rinse the capers to get rid of excess brine. Slice olives into thirds.

Quickly sear the eggplant cubes in olive oil on high heat, shaking regularly to brown evenly on all sides.

Add onions, celery, and a pinch of salt. Saute until onions are slightly translucent, then add capers, olives, tomatoes, vinegar, and cracked pepper. Sweat for 10-15 minutes until slightly softened, with a little crunch. Season with salt, and only enough sugar for balance.

Tuna Marinara with Couscous

• 1 Tuna Steak
• 2 Tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 2 TBSP Olives, pitted
• 1 tsp Capers
• 1 tsp Lemon Zest
• 1/2 cup Couscous
• Broth or Water
  
• EVOO
• Salt and Pepper

Heat some water with salt and pepper (or use Broth) and lemon zest.

Mix couscous with a dash of oil. Add the boiling hot liquid at the bowl's edge - just enough to cover the couscous.

Seed the tomatoes: Cut in half and squeeze like a lemon. Dice them.

Lightly season the tuna steaks, then sear on both sides and set aside.

To the searing pan add tomato, sliced garlic, capers, olives, and white wine. Simmer 1 minute. Season. Finish with lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil. Pour over tuna, garnish with fresh herbs.

Fish Cakes

We use fish cutoffs as well as any fresh fish that doesn't sell out in the storefront to make fish cakes.

10 lb fish, cooked
1 L panko, plus more for breading
1 L mayonnaise
1 bunch dill
2 bunches green onions
1 cup lemon juice
Salt and Pepper

Mixed, formed, coated with panko, frozen, then briefly deep fried for a golden crunchy crust.

Maritime Clam Chowder

I found this recipe in Michael Smith's 'The best of Chef at Home:'

Ingredients:
4 slices bacon, chopped
a splash of water
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
a generous splash of any white wine
1 cup of heavy cream (35%)
1 cup of milk
2 x 5oz cans of clam meat
1 large baking potato (unpeeled), coarsely grated
2 bay leaves
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
12oz can of unsweetened evaporated milk
a sprinkle or two of sea salt and freshly grated pepper
a handful of flat leaf parsley leaves

"Toss the bacon pieces into a thick-bottomed stockpot with a splash of water. By adding water to the raw bacon you're less likely to burn it as it gradually releases its fat and browns evenly.

Stir over medium-high heat until the bacon crisps nicely.

Pour off most of the fat. Add another splash of water to loosen the flavourful bits on the the bottom and then add the onions and celery. Saute them for a few minutes until they soften and smell great.

Add the white wine, cream, milk, clam meat, grated potato, and bay and thyme leaves. Bring the mixture to a slow simmer, stirring frequently. Turn the heat down a notch or two and continue simmering until the grated potato softens, releasing its starches and thickening the chowder, about 20 minutes. "

I didn't have any wine around, nor any bacon... but I had some leftover pancetta from a while ago. So I subbed in water for the wine and pancetta for the bacon. I ended up thickening it at the end with some cream of wheat.

It was alright, but missing a little je ne sais quoi... maybe it's because I didn't use wine. The alcohol is supposed to bring the clam's flavors out into the chowder (those flavors that are alcohol-soluble). Maybe I'll try adding some cheese next time...

Halibut

Last night I purchased a beautiful and fresh piece of halibut from work. I see it every now and then on cooking shows and at restaurant, but haven't eaten much of it.

It was powdered in flour, dipped in egg, and crusted with a mix of fresh breadcrumbs, thyme, rosemary, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. The it was cooked in a pan for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

The crust was pretty good... but next time I can go heavier with the herbs. I was disappointed by the halibut's lack of flavor. It's like the chicken of the fish world... it doesn't speak much for itself and can use some major flavoring.

Sole Ceviche

I've been meaning to try out ceviche for quite some time now. I finally did it... yesterday I picked up a beautiful fresh sole fillet from the friendly meat guys at work. Soon thereafter, I tossed it into a plastic bag with a whole bunch of lime juice, ground pepper, and a few capers, then vacuum sealed the bag. Let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours.

It turned out quite nice. Note that I only salted it right before eating... otherwise it would probably have become tough. I'm glad that I chose lime juice, though I'm sure orange juice would work pretty well too... maybe even grapefruit juice. Because I used such a thin fish and also because I let it sit for so long, the fish was totally cooked through, yet soft and refreshing.

Sushi Cones

I had the honour of spending this evening with Alissa and her mom Kaiko, and we had sushi cones for dinner - self-assembled, taco style.

The most important thing, in my opinion, is making the rice properly. Sounds simple enough, but there are many variables: how to clean it, how much water to use, how long to cook it, what flavors to add, etc. This is what she showed me:

You have to clean the rice thoroughly and quickly. Cover the rice with water, shake it/ mix it all around briefly, then dump the water. Repeat 2 or 3 times, until the water drains clearly. It has to be done quickly so that unwanted powders and odors get washed out, rather than absorbed.

I'm not sure what the water-to-rice ratio was, because we used a Japanese rice cooker with the volumes marked off. If the rice is "young" (ie: less than a year old) then it shouldn't soak prior to cooking. Older rice should soak for 10 minutes, then the rice cooker can be turned on. It's important to make the rice on the dry side, using a touch less water than recommended, so that it won't become too wet when adding the vinegar later.

The cooked rice is immediately removed from the rice cooker and spread out in a wooden (cedar) bowl - the wood will absorb excess moisture. Now the flavors are added: a bunch of sugar, a high quality vinegar, and salt (the amounts were specified on the bottle of vinegar, in Japanese). Then the rice is fluffed/ mixed with one hand, fanned with the other until room temperature.

Our fillings were: julienne cucumber, water cress, grilled salmon, unagi (eel), sour plum sauce, flying fish eggs, and negi-toro (negi = green onion, toro = tuna belly). The negi-toro is prepared by mincing tuna belly, a fatty part of the fish, and mixing it with chopped green onions.

At the table, we took pieces of nori, added some rice, added toppings, then rolled into cones. Very filling, and delicious.

Japanese-Inspired Sable Fish

I got the idea for this dish from a dinner that I had out in Whistler with my aunt. It was the encore of a prix fixe.

I got lucky; The guy that runs the meat/ fish department told me that he has excellent sable fish right now. He cut me a beautiful fillet, which I simply covered with a layer of miso paste, and baked at 350 for about 7 minutes. Placed it into a bowl, surrounded it with soba noodles, poured in some dashi, and halved shiitake mushrooms that had simmered in the dashi. Garnished with sliced green onions.

It left something to be desired; the visual appeal needs some work, as does the flavor. Next time I think I'll try flavoring the soba noodles with mirin and soy sauce. Maybe a julienne vegetable could help add visual appeal.

2ND TRIAL: This time I left the skin on, cracked pepper on, then poached the fish in dashi with a hint of miso for 5 or 6 minutes; It came out like butter.