How to Roast Fruit, Vegetables, Fish and Meat

Roasting is a ridiculously easy cooking technique.  It takes little supervision or fuss.  That makes it perfect at this busy time of year.  And you can cook several items at once. A roasted entrée with sides of roasted vegetables is a great combination.  You can even finish the meal with roasted fruit served with ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate or caramel sauce.

Fruit roasts at a lower temperature than other dinner elements so I roast the fruit first.  I use chef Jeremy Tower’s method.  He roasts halved pears and apples rubbed with a tiny pinch of salt on beds of sugar (about 1/8 inch deep) on a parchment-lined, rimmed cookie sheet.  It takes about an hour at 350˚F.  Fruit is done when it is easily pierced with a sharp knife and the sugar is caramelized.  Slip a spatula under the fruit and set it on a large dish to cool.  Serve sliced fruit for dessert or breakfast with yogurt and granola or put sliced, roasted fruit in a salad with some dried cranberries and blue cheese.  Roasted fruit keeps for several days refrigerated.  It is a good "make ahead" item or a great way to have your oven do double duty when something else is in the oven at 350˚F. 

To roast vegetables, crank the stove to 425˚F and chop a medley of vegetables into bite-sized pieces.  Good combinations are peeled winter squash, potatoes, beets and carrots with a thin coating of olive oil, salt and pepper plus some sprigs of thyme or rosemary.  Or try chopped cauliflower, celery, broccoli, mushrooms and zucchini dressed with olive oil, crushed garlic clove and low-sodium soy sauce.  Place the vegetables on a foil lined metal roasting pan or glass baking dish.  If you’d like the vegetables to steam first, cover with foil for the first 20 minutes then remove the top foil, stir the vegetables and roast for another 20-30 minutes until they are tender and lightly browned. Brussels sprouts rank as our favorite when roasted.  Steam halved sprouts with a bit of water until tender then toss drained sprouts with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a roasting pan.  Roast for about 15 minutes at 425˚F, turning occasionally.  Don’t discard the little leaves that will inevitably fall off during steaming.  These roast up into little crispy chips that act as an instant garnish to the finished dish.

What to roast alongside your vegetable medleys?  Thick fillets of fish like sea bass, haddock, tuna or salmon would be nice with soy sauce-infused roast vegetables.  Add the fish during the last 10-15 minutes of roasting.  Fish only needs minimal prep.  I like a touch of olive oil or butter with good squeeze of lemon.  On white fish, chopped tomato (fresh or sun-dried in oil) and chopped parsley are good flavor builders.  For the meatier fish, tuna and salmon, a light glaze of low-sodium soy sauce or miso is terrific.  No need to turn fish over during roasting. It is ready when the meat flakes. 

Small or individual cuts of meat like a hot roasting oven. Try pork tenderloin marinated in slurry of a tablespoon of mustard, 1-2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 cup water (pat dry before roasting). Pork tenderloin takes 18-22 minutes at 425˚F.  Test with a meat thermometer for an internal temperature of 160˚F.  Thick cuts of steak can be roasted too.  Sear both sides of seasoned steaks in a skillet with a little oil until nicely browned and then place the (oven-proof) skillet in the oven to finish.  Rare (135-140˚F) takes just 8-10 minutes more for a one and half inch thick steak.  Medium about (150˚F) 12 minutes and well-done (160-165˚F) is ready in 15 minutes.  Remember to let the meat rest before cutting and serving.

Whole chickens need to roast at lower temperatures but dark chicken parts can stand a higher heat in a roasting pan with a light coat of oil and a little water or broth.  Plan on 20-30 minutes for thighs/leg quarters.  They are ready when the internal temperature reaches 165-170˚F.  Your oven may run hot so start checking at 20 minutes using a meat thermometer.  If the outside is browning too fast, cover loosely with foil.

Roasting is a pure foods method that allows food to taste like itself.  Use a light touch with seasonings to keep the main ingredient’s flavor forward.  And if you oven has room, save yourself some time (and lower your energy bills) by cooking a double batch of vegetables or meat.  Use the vegetables in soup or mixed with grains the next day.  Slice the extra meat for sandwiches and skip the cold cuts for a few days.

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Yogurt Container Cucumber Soup

Lentil Salad with Yellow Beets and Goat Cheese

Smoked Salmon, Creme Fraiche & Dill Cucumber Cups 

Perfect Grilled Salmon

This recipe is simple, adds nice grill marks to salmon fillets and cooks the fish without drying it out.  It takes no longer than salmon roasted in the oven, about 6 minutes for a fillet under ¾ of an inch and about 10 minutes for a 2 ½ -3 inch salmon steak. 

You will need:

• Salmon fillets or steaks
• Olive oil
• Soy Sauce
• Juice of a lime
• Tin foil

Start by brushing olive oil and soy sauce on one side of each piece of fish.  Place salmon on a medium hot grill, directly over the heat, olive oil side down.  Grill for three minutes, until grill marks

show and you can see a few millimeters of cooked salmon from the side view.   Use a spatula to gently move the fish without turning it to a layer of tin foil.  Cover the grill and let the fish finish cooking until done to your liking.  We like it a little underdone or satiny in the middle.  Figure three more minutes for a thinner fillet and up to ten minute for a really thick fillet or salmon steak.  Slide the tin foil onto a platter and squeeze some lime on top to serve.  Butter and black pepper, optional.

Cod Quarter Pounders

Here’s an upscale fish’wich for Fridays.

Thanks to being baked rather than fried, these fish burgers are light but pack a full quarter pound of fish into a serving.  We flavor them with a little dill and oregano and encourage you to try the herbs you like best with cod.  Notice that the amount of extra ingredients in these fish patties is minimal including less than one tablespoon of mayonaise for a whole pound of fish.  That's the secret to a cod burger that tastes like cod.

Make the regular size for burgers or small ones to serve over salad or as an appetizer.

Cod Quarter Pounders
Yield: 4 burgers, 16 sliders or mini-cod cakes

Ingredients
1 pound cod, haddock, pollack (previously frozen is OK)
2 teaspoons mayonnaise (or 1 each mayonnaise and cream)
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
good pinch each of salt, pepper, dill, oregano
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
spray oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.  
2. Chop cod into large chunks.  Place in a food processor and pulse, just a few times to break up fish.  Remove and throw away any skin pieces then pulse one or two more times.  You are looking for a chunky chopped fish rather than pureed fish texture.  
3. Transfer chopped fish to a medium sized bowl.  
4. Add mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper and herbs.  Use a fork to mix these ingredients together.   
5. Stir in most of the bread crumbs.  Fish burgers should be easily formed without sticking to your hands.  Add more bread crumbs if fish is sticking.  
6. Form four patties and place on a lightly oiled sheet pan.  If you have extra bread crumbs you can press the onto the tops of the patties.  
7. Spray a little more oil on top of each patty.  
8. Bake 10-12 minutes until fish is cooked through.  Fish patties are delicate so carefully use a wide spatula to place them on toasted rolls or on top of a green salad. 

Cod burger toppers: avocado, hot sauce mixed with mayonnaise or tartar sauce, pickled jalepeños, dill pickles, lettuce, tomato slices, etc

What’s on the cod in our photo? Spicy Sambal Sauce.  To make your own, mix together 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, 1-2 teaspoon Sambal (or siracha) , ½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard and 1 tablespoon diced celery.

Cooked cod burgers can be kept covered and refrigerated for up to two days.  Reheat on low power in a micorwave.  Cod burgers can also be frozen.  Use within one month for best flavor.  Defrost before gently reheating. 

Merluza, Spanish Style

In Spanish, this fish is known by the melodic name merluza.

Merluza is part of a big fish family that includes whiting, cod and pollack.  Here we call it hake.   While each fish is different based on its home waters, the various fillets can be prepared in a similar manner. 

Next time you see whiting or hake on sale here, enjoy this simple, pure recipe inspired by Spain’s distinct and balanced ingredients of olives, peppers and oranges.  For very little effort you can create a sophisticated yet approachable fish dish. 

As a bonus round, this cooked fish tastes wonderful in a taco for lunch the next day.  Just pile the hot leftovers into a warmed corn or flour tortillas with its accompanying olives, red peppers and scallions.  Fill in with lettuce and enjoy. 

Iberian Hake
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound hake fillet (cod or pollack may be substituted)
1 orange, scrubbed and quartered
1 lemon, scrubbed and quartered
3-4 scallions, sliced
¼ cup olives (mixed or your favorite)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup fresh parsley (or dill) chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F while you prepare vegetables and fruit. 
2. Coat bottom of a pie plate or small roasting pan with olive oil.  
3. Place fish fillet in pan and scatter orange lemon, scallions and olives over fish.  Finish with a dusting of red pepper flakes.  
4. Roast fish covered at 400˚F for 15 minutes.  Uncover and roast another 5-10 minutes, just until fish firms up and begins to flake.  Do not overcook.  
5. Garnish with parsley just before serving.

Corn-Water Poached Salmon

 On hot nights one pot of simmering water is all that can or should be mustered for a simple summer meal.  Try this one: salmon quickly poached in the water fresh of ears of corn have just exited. The corn taste is not strong.  You will feel efficient. The kitchen will stay cool.  So will the cook.

This serves two and is easily doubled:

• Simmer four ears of corn in a deep skillet until done.  Remove corn and set aside on a platter. Cover to keep warm.  
• Turn down the heat, add the juice of one lemon and a few fresh sprigs of dill to the corn water.  When the water is barely moving, lay down a pound of salmon.  
• The salmon should be about 1 inch thick.  Fold over thin edges and skewer or tie it in a roll to create pieces of even thickness. 
• Poach (water barely bubbling) salmon for 2 1/2 minutes on each side.  By the time the salmon is ready, your corn will be cool enough to handle and serve alongside the salmon.  
• Serve this dinner with a side salad of goat cheese, roasted beet and sliced apple decorated with more fresh dill. 

Note: A total of 5 minutes poaching time results in silky medium rare interior and gently flakable outer flesh of the salmon.  If you prefer your salmon poached to a firmer light texture, light pink through to the center, poach an additional 30-60 seconds longer.

Lobster Lettuce Rolls

This lobster salad is traditional but uses the roll as a crouton so that you get the right mouth feel without a lot of bread.  Use 1/2 a lightly toasted and torn roll for a cup of lobster salad.

It makes sense to lighten up the recipe by serving it in lettuce cups but without the New England style hot dog bun with the slit at the top, toasted with a dab of butter, it never feels like home to me.  This summer my inland supermarket stocked the New England rolls and I snapped up packages for the freezer anticipating both lobster rolls and hot dogs on the grill. 

Lobster Lettuce Rolls
Serves 2, easily doubled

Ingredients
2 cups cooked lobster meat (claw, joint and tail from about two 1 1/3 lobsters)
1/4 cup good quality mayonnaise
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 stalk celery, chopped
salt, black pepper, paprika
1 hot dog roll, New England style if available
1/3 head iceburg lettuce (or other old school lettuce of your choice)

Method

1. Place torn roll on a baking sheet and lightly toast for 5-7 minutes in a 300˚F oven.  Do not brown the bread.  
2. Meanwhile cut lobster meat into bite sized chunks, leaving pieces large enough to recognize as real lobster.  
3. Place lobster in a medium mixing bowl and add mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery and seasonings.  Finally, toss in hot dog roll croutons.  
4. Serve in lettuce cups.

How to Cook a Lobster
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add 1/4 cup salt.  Lower heat to simmer and add lobsters, head first.  Simmer 5 minutes for 1st pound and an additional 3 minutes for each pound more. (2 lobsters would take about 10-11 minutes.) Remove lobsters with tongs and allow to cool in a shallow dish or roasting pan,  When cool enough to handle use kitchen sheers, lobster (nut) crackers and seafood forks to remove meat.  Be patient. Play nice music. 

Seafood Stew

Seafood Stew is within your grasp this summer even if you are far from the shore.  This recipe has easy to put together, flavorful ingredients, hardly any “stewing” time and uses either freshly caught or frozen seafood.  Don't wait for vacation to enjoy. 

My recipe combines something from all the coasts I love—a little fennel and tarragon from the south of France, some saffron notes from Spain’s peninsula and our Atlantic coast's bounty of cod, clams and scallops.  Seafood Stew is a world wide thing so once you know the basics of this tomato-based soup you can swap in your local fish, garden favorites and the herbs that make you happiest.  

Seafood Stew
Serves 3, doubles well
Ingredients

1/4 sweet onion
1/2 fennel bulb
1/4 cup celery leaves
2-3 garlic cloves (plus extra for garlic bread to dunk)
Olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup tomato based vegetable juice
1 cup clam broth
1/2 cup water
6-8 threads saffron
Red pepper flakes (to taste)
1 6-oz fillet of cod, haddock or other firm white fish
1 cup bay scallops
1 cup fresh clams or shrimp (out of shell)
Salt and pepper
Fresh herb garnish: dill, tarragon, parsley

Method

1. In a large wide heavy-bottomed pot, sauté vegetables in olive oil over medium heat.   
2. When vegetables have softened, add garlic and cook stirring another minute. 
3. Add wine and stir to scrape up any caramelized pieces sticking to the bottom of the pot.  
4. Lower heat to medium-low and add tomato juice, clam broth and water.  Sprinkle in saffron and red pepper flakes. Simmer 5 minutes.  
5. Add fish and simmer 5 minutes more.  Add remaining seafood and simmer until cooked through, 2-3 minutes.  
6. Serve immediately garnished with chopped fresh herbs.  

Pass around toasts rubbed with olive oil, garlic and a smear of anchovy paste. 

Whole Fish Know How

When it comes to fish, its hard to beat the ease of preparing it whole.  A more concentrated flavor is the by product of less work and less fuss.  Here's a simple method using whole branzino.

A 1 1/2-2 lb whole fish that has been gutted but with the head and tail still attached will feed 2 people.  

Branzino en Papilotte
Ingredients
One 1 1/2 -2 pound fish, gutted
1 tablespoon olive oil
2-3 sprigs each fresh dill and parsely
1/2 lemon sliced plus extra for serving

Method

• Preheat oven to 425˚F.  
• Lay the fish on a large piece of aluminum foil.  
• Drizzle olive oil on both sides and on the inside of the fish.  Stuff lemon slices and herbs in cavity and close foil over fish, sealing tightly.  
• Place on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes until fish flakes.  
• Use a spatula to help lift the fillet off the bone.  Strip away the large bone and lift out the bottom fillet.  Serve with extra lemon slices.  
• Even though you have de-boned the cooked fish, use your fork and knife to look for and pull away smaller bones.

This method can be used for fish fillets or fish steaks.  Lay the filling on top of the fish and adjust the time-- 10-12 minutes for a thin fillet of pollack or flounder, 25-35 for a thicker tuna or salmon steak.  Try other herbs or flavored oils. 

Shrimp Salsa Salad

Lighter meals can be hard to put together in the winter but are a nice alternative to hearty stews and roasts. This main dish salad has some built-in heat that makes a simple, pure dish a hit. The secret ingredient is sautéed jalapeño slices.  Cooking cuts the heat and leaves lots of flavor.  They are the perfect compliment to shrimp marinated in a spicy tomato mixture.

The shrimp and jalapeño slices are served over a salad built around the flavors of guacamole and salsa.  The light tomato dressing is inspired by the flavors in the marinade.  You will crave this main dish salad again in the summer with grilled shrimp but for now, “water sauté”  the shrimp over low heat (directions below) to keep them tender.

Shrimp Salsa Salad
Ingredients per person:
For the shrimp and jalapeño:
4 jalapeños
vegetable oil
4 large shrimp, peeled and deveined marinated in:
1 tablespoon tomato juice
1teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
pinch cayenne
pinch salt

• Marinate 30 minutes or up to two hours.  
• While shrimp marinates, prepare jalepenos.  Slice on an angle and seed.  Fry in a scant amount of vegetable oil in a wide skillet or grill pan.  Remove when slightly charred. 
• Remove shrimp form marinade and water sauté shrimp by steaming over very low heat in a covered skillet for five minutes, turning once.  Add a bit of water as needed to cover bottom of pan. 

For the salad:
1/4 avocado, sliced or in chunks
1/2 tomato, thinly sliced
4-6 olives, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh, chopped cilantro
1 slice cooked bacon, chopped
2 cups lettuce

Tomato Dressing (for each person):
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or lime juice
2 teaspoons tomato juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch each: cumin, ground coriander, salt, pepper
chopped cilantro

Tomato Dressing for Four:
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lime juice
2 tablespoons tomato juice
1/4 cup tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon each: cumin, ground coriander, salt, pepper
chopped cilantro

Seeding then cooking the peppers diminishes the heat and provides an exciting new green for your salad.  You can also slice the jalapeños lengthwise, remove the seeds and veins then roast over an indoor grill to get a nice charred affect.  Slice into strips.  Make extra, they are wonderful on burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches and keep up to two days in the refrigerator.

Easy Roasted Fish

If, like me, you are adding more fish to your diet then you know its nice to have some quick recipes that taste hardy enough to get fans among the family.  Frozen fish fillets, like Pollack, defrost fast and roast well when placed over a bed of pre-roasted vegetables.  The steam from the vegetables helps the fish stay tender while the high heat gives the fish a rich finish.  You can use any combination of vegetables but this one with fennel, asparagus, mushrooms and red bell pepper creates a fragrant and savory foil for most white fish. 

Roasted Pollack over Fennel and Mixed Vegetables
2 servings, recipe doubles easily

Ingredients
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
6-8 small mushrooms, whole
1 whole fennel bulb (anise) sliced
12-15 asparagus spears
1 tablespoon olive oil plus a little extra to drizzle on fish
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons fresh herbs: parsley, basil, tarragon, etc
4 (4-5 oz) Pollack fillets (fresh or frozen and defrosted)
1/2 lemon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 450˚F.
2. Toss vegetables with 1 tablespoon oil in a roasting pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  
3. Roast at 450˚F for about 20 minutes, stirring halfway through, until vegetables are cooked through and slightly caramelized.  
4. Lay Pollack fillets directly on roasted vegetables.  Sprinkle with a little additional olive and some lemon juice.  
5. Roast another 8-10 minutes, until fish is opaque and flakes when tested with a fork.  Serve fish and vegetables alone or over a bed of rice.

Other vegetable combinations to try:
Slightly Southwest: thinly sliced celery, carrots, onion and poblano peppers.  Finish with some parsley and cilantro.
Hints of Provence: tiny potatoes, grape tomatoes, olives, haricot verts. Finish with fresh thyme and rosemary.

Pan Bagnat

Salade Nicoise is pretty terrific on its own but let me clue you in right now.  You will want leftovers.  The second recipe is Pan Bagnat, the sandwich version of Salade Nicoise that I first tasted from a food cart near Nice's stony beach.  When I make Pan Bagnat, I am going for that late-summer memory of olive oil and vinegar-soaked bread packed with tuna, egg, anchovy, sweet red onions and the famous olives de Nice. 

Some of you are already thinking you will omit the anchovy.   I beseech you to try it or at least drizzle some of the unctuous oil onto your tuna.  It is a salty match for the other ingredients.  In fact, there is no added salt in this recipe since both the anchovy and olives provide the right amount.

I like to arrange it so that if I am serving Salade Nicoise for dinner then bringing Pan Bagnat on a hike or to the beach I get slightly different flavor profiles.  Both are from the area of Nice along the southern cost of France where the famous olives de Nice abound.  The salad will feature all the basic ingredients while the sandwich gets a little more individual with possible additions of marinated artichoke hearts, sliced red onion, even fava beans if they are in season near you. 

If you can get your hands on olives from Nice and some French olive oil, by all means use them in this recipe.  If you are putting this together from your local supermarket, Kalamata olives and a good extra virgin olive oil will do nicely. The recipe is fine with either canned or grilled tuna but if using canned, get the kind packed in olive oil.  Also, insist on a really good crusty loaf of bread to make the sandwich.  I use a crusty roll I make in my bread machine that we also use for hamburgers.  A baguette or a small boule will suit.  If there is a lot of bread between the crusts, its advisable to tear out a bit so there is room for all the fillings.

Salade Nicoise makes a knock-out grilled dinner salad for a large or small party.  Most of it can be prepared ahead and guests get to create their own salads from the ingredients offered so it’s a great recipe for a crowd with varied tastes.  It is best served at room temperature with the grilled tuna coming right to the table.  Individual plates are nice for a small number.  For a large group set up big platters so that guests can serve themselves the items they enjoy best.

Salade Nicoise
Per person quantities
1 cup torn lettuces (romaine, bibb, spinach leaves, etc.)
2 new potatoes, boiled
1/2 cup haricots verts (or green beans), steamed
1/2 ripe tomato
1 hard boiled egg
1/3 pound tuna steak, about 1 inch thick*
Ground black pepper
6 pitted olives (nicoise, kalamata,etc.)
3-4 anchovies packed in oil
Vinaigrette (recipe below)

*if using canned tuna, plan on 1/2 can per person and skip grilling step.  When ready to serve salad arrange tuna, olives and anchovy alongside vegetables. 

Method

• Slice vegetables and egg.  Leave beans whole.  
• Arrange vegetables on plates or platters starting with a layer of lettuce.  Arrange remaining vegetable ingredients and sliced egg (except olives and anchovies) in clusters to create a colorful tableau.  Leave room for the tuna.  This step may be done ahead of time and salads can be covered and refrigerated 1-2 hours.  
• When ready to serve, heat grill or grill pan over medium-high heat and coat tuna steaks with coarsely ground pepper.  Lightly oil grill and cook tuna about 2-3 minutes per side for medium-rare.  
• When fish is ready, remove fish to a separate platter and let sit 3-4 minutes.  
• Slice tuna steaks in thick slabs and place alongside the vegetables. Garnish with olives and anchovies.   Serve with vinaigrette (recipe below).

Pan Bagnat
for 1 sandwich:
baguette or hard roll
1/2 portion of Salade Nicoise
Roasted red pepper
Marinated artichoke hearts
Red onion
Basil
Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Method

1. Split the bread in half and brush an ounce of vinaigrette onto the open halves.  
2. Next layer the Salade Nicoise leftovers with the remaining ingredients drizzling a bit more vinaigrette in between the layers. 
3. Tightly wrap sandwich in plastic or wax paper and place in a second protective bag or resealable plastic bag.  Get thee to the beach or park to enjoy.   

La Vinaigrette
4 ounces extra virgin olive oil
1 ounce apple cider or red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper
Additions: Dijon mustard, capers a spoonful of pesto sauce

Vigorously mix all ingredients together. 


A recipe for Pan Bagnat direct from Nice (en francais) that is not too different than mine….

Grilled Salmon with Peach-Bourbon Salsa

Peaches are in season in most areas of the country now. Combined with another American classic, bourbon, they move from the dessert course to the main course.  Bourbon is the “secret” ingredient in this recipe.  It takes the place of oil in the salsa and balances out the any tartness in your peaches and the salsa's lime juice.  Served over salmon steaks, this is another twenty minute summer supper.

Grilled Salmon with Peach-Bourbon Salsa
Serves 2
2 1-inch salmon steaks
2 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon bourbon
2 teaspoons chopped parsley
salt & pepper
1 large peach, pitted and diced

Method

1. Place salmon steaks in a shallow dish.  In a small bowl, mix together honey, lime juice and Bourbon.  
2. Pour half of the mixture over salmon steaks and turn steaks to coat.  Let salmon soak up marinade while grill heats (or broiler preheats).  
3. If grilling, brush a small amount of oil onto grill to prevent sticking.  Grill salmon steaks over medium-high heat fairly close to the heat source (no more than 4 inches) about 3-5 minutes on each side.  Salmon should be tender in center.  (If broiling, place rack at highest level and broil10 minutes total, turning once.) 
4. While salmon cooks, prepare salsa.  Combine reserved marinade with parsley, salt and pepper and diced peach.  Serve over salmon steaks. 

Peach Tips
Thawed frozen peaches can be used in this recipe.  If fresh peaches are in season, use them peeled or unpeeled.  If you’d like to peel them, cut a small cross at the bottom of the peach and plunge into boiling water for 30 seconds.  Remove the peach with a slotted spoon and run under cold water.  When peach is cool enough to handle, peel off the skin starting with the scored skin at the bottom.

Elegant Life Leftovers: Grilled Fish

I've been spending a little time on a barrier island this month. Barrier islands are long and hug much of the eastern coastline protecting us from the harsher realities of Atlantic Ocean weather.  June is the best time to be on this island, before the mosquitoes arrive in droves, a pristine (aka unsprayed) section of our National Seashore.

One of the things about true islands, the type without roads or stores, is that you have to have your food act organized. Recently we were gifted with a visit from friends Becky and Kimberly who boated over with halibut and swordfish steaks. Alongside came a fresh fruit salsa that served as a marinade and was later cooked in a pot while the fish grilled. (Normally we do not eat marinades that have touched meat, even if cooked.  Since this mixture is for fish and will be brought to a boil, it passes the safety test.) 

The next day, leftover fish and salsa became the base of a fish salad with chopped celery, extra lime, more cilantro mixed with fresh mint and parsley and a dollop of mayonnaise. Serve on lettuce or in rolls.

Two excellent meals. 

Kimberly's Marinade
Makes enough for about 2 pounds of fish steaks (Halibut, Swordfish, Tuna or Shark)
1 chopped mango
1/2 chopped sweet onion, like Vidalia
1 bunch chopped fresh cilantro
juice of 1 lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil

Method

1. Place fish in a container that can be tightly covered.
2. Combine all ingredients and pour over fish.
3. Marinate up to 1/2 hour while grill heats (to medium)
4. Gently remove fish steaks and place on grill. Grill about 4 minutes on each side.
5. Meanwhile place marinade in a pot and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer until onion is tender and salsa has begun to break down.
6. Serve fish with a spoonful or two of salsa.

Freezer Fish Chowders

Far away from the seashore or in the middle of a snowy winter that frosts over the sea and brings fisherman to shore, it’s nice to know that a warming seafood meal can be created quickly with pure ingredients from you freezer and pantry. The first recipe for fish chowder is made with any firm fish like cod, flounder or orange roughy.  The second is a recipe for shellfish bisque that you can make with frozen shrimp.  Neither of these takes as long as meat based stocks and soups so they are viable weeknight meals. 

Make the bisque if you usually have frozen shrimp, V-8 or tomato juice and canned clam juice on hand.  (Brandy and water can stand in for clam juice in a pinch) If you keep potatoes, frozen fish, potatoes and chicken or clam juice in the house, you can make the chowder. 

Frozen Fish Chowder
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 six-ounce frozen fish steaks or filets (cod, orange roughy, flounder, even salmon)
1 large onion
4 medium sized potatoes
1-2 celery stalks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon flour
14 ounces clam juice, chicken broth or water or a combination. 
6 ounces milk
optional:
1 cup frozen corn or other frozen vegetable (spinach is good)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Method

1. Thaw fish while you are preparing the chowder base.  Lay filets or steaks out side by side.  If wrapped in plastic, fish may be placed in a shallow bath of tepid water to thaw quickly.  
2. Peel and slice onion no wider than 1/4 inch thick.  Peal and thinly slice or dice potatoes. Finely chop celery.  
3. Heat olive oil in a 3-quart heavy bottomed pot over a medium heat and lightly sauté onion.  When onions begin to sweat (sending off a bit of steam) add the potatoes and celery.  Stir to coat potatoes and celery in oil. 
4. Sprinkle flour over vegetables.  Continue to cook a minute longer, stirring to prevent potatoes from sticking.  
5. Add juice or broth. If adding water instead, add a little salt at this stage. Scrape up any potato or flour from the bottom of the pan and mix it into the broth. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat and cook on low for 15 minutes, until potatoes are quite soft.  
6. While soup cooks, cut fish into bite-sized pieces.  
7. Once potatoes are cooked, add milk to soup.  Soup may be partially pureed with an immersion blender at this stage to thicken it.  You can also use a potato masher to break down some of the potatoes and thicken the soup leaving nice chunks.  
8. If using any frozen vegetables, like corn, add at this stage.  Cream can be added at this stage also.  Cook until soup is very hot and frozen vegetables are heated through, about two-three minutes longer on medium-low heat.  
9. Lower heat and stir in fish.  Cover and let fish cook gently in hot soup, about 4-5 minutes depending on size of fish pieces.  Serve soup hot garnished with fresh parsley or dried chives. 

This soup reheats well on a low flame.  If storing for more than one day, freeze in individual servings. 

Frozen Shrimp Bisque
Serves 3

The key to a bisque is to “cook” the shells before placing them in the stock water. This imparts a deeper crustacean flavor.  It is reported that this is how bisque got its name, not as is often thought, from the Bay of Biscay.  (In French, “bis cuites” refers to twice-cooked, like a biscuit or biscotti.) This is a smooth, creamy soup but it does not always require cream for its smooth and silky consistency. Here I use cooked, pureed rice and some cornstarch to thicken the broth. Though we think of bisques as elegant and expensive soups, if you are using only the shells, as older recipes direct, you are making the most of your food supplies to make an inexpensive meal.  Cooks stretched their food budgets by getting every bit of flavor from all parts of their seafood then garnishing with a bit of seafood rather than stocking the pot full of expensive shellfish.  In fact, the shells were often crushed to extract as much flavor as possible from them before straining.  This recipe also works really well with leftover lobster shells, crab and crayfish. 

Ingredients
2 cups shrimp shells plus 1/3 pound shelled thawed shrimp or 1 pound frozen shrimp, peeled and thawed
1 tablespoon olive oil and/or butter
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot , chopped or grated
1 small onion, chopped or grated
5.5 ounce can low sodium V-8 or tomato juice
1-2 cups water
1 cup clam juice or vegetable broth
Salt and black pepper
cooked rice, cornstarch as thickeners
garnishes: heavy cream, hot pepper paste or crushed red pepper, lemon, sherry

Special equipment: cheese cloth or a very fine strainer

Note: Instead of discarding shrimp shells from frozen shrimp, place them in a Ziploc bag and add to them until you have enough for a chowder.  You can also use one pound of frozen shrimp, peeled and thawed for this recipe. 

Method

1. Heat oil/butter in a heavy-bottomed skillet.  Add shrimp shells and sauté until shells turn pink and begin to brown.  
2. Add vegetables and sauté a few minutes, until lightly browned.  
3. Transfer shells and vegetables to a stockpot.  Add juice and enough water to cover shells and vegetables.  If using smaller shells, use your judgment here and add more water or broth.  
4. Bring stock to a boil them lower heat, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes. 
5. Line a strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth and strain soup.  
6. Taste and add seasonings as required.  Add more broth, clam juice or water as needed.  
7. Thicken soup with either or both of the following methods.  Add 1/2-1 cup cooked rice and puree.  Add 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 ounces cold water.  Stir cornstarch slurry into soup and cook on a low simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  
8. To serve, add raw shrimp or other shellfish to hot soup and heat on low until seafood is cooked through. 

Bonus: Bisque makes a great sauce base for seafood pasta.  In a large skillet combine a cup of bisque with a bit of cream, sherry and a squeeze of lemon.  Then add cooked pasta, cooked shellfish and steamed vegetables like asparagus, broccoli or even peas. Other nice additions are chopped tomato, parsley and/or basil.  Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Mostly Spinach, Some Tuna

Heat wave food should be easy to prepare, light and tasty and ---keep the kitchen cool.  This Tuna Spinach Salad wrap is all that and made from ingredients in the pantry and in most refrigerators right now so it keeps life simple.  If you don’t have all the ingredients below, there is a list of other things that taste good with a base of spinach and tuna.  Mix all the ingredients together and roll it into whole wheat tortilla with lettuce, tomato and avocado.  Or serve it as a salad with pita bread or a roll.

Tuna Spinach Salad Wrap
 Serves 2

Ingredients
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 3.5 oz can water packed tuna
8 black olives, chopped
1 celery stalk, sliced thinly
1/4 roasted red pepper, chopped
1/2 Bermuda onion, chopped*
Juice of 1/2 lemon (or 1 tablespoon rice vinegar)
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon each dill and thyme (use more if you have fresh herbs)
2 whole wheat flour tortillas, lettuce, tomato, avocado, etc.

Method

• In a medium bowl, combine spinach, tuna, olives, celery and onion with a fork until nicely blended.  
• Add lemon juice, olive oil and herbs and remix.  
• Lay out tortillas and lay lettuce and other add-ins onto bottom third.  Scoop half of spinach-tuna mixture on top and roll bottom up and over filling.  
• Bring in both sides and continue rolling to form the wrap.  Slice in half to serve.   Optional: add toothpicks to keep wrap closed.   

*You can use a freshly chopped red Bermuda onion or try marinating sliced or chopped onion in 1 part apple cider vinegar/3 parts cold water for a few hours.  The water-vinegar soak will cut any sharpness from this mild onion and infuse it with a slightly pickled taste that adds depth to this salad.  The marinated onion keeps well in its bath for up to a week, refrigerated.  Use it as a condiment on hot dogs and hamburgers or in a Greek salad, 

Extras
Artichoke hearts
White beans
Chopped hard boiled egg
Pine nuts
Sliced mushrooms
Chopped water chestnuts
Parsley, cilantro, basil, oregano

Here's a variation on the sweeter side:
Tuna-spinach- raisins-apple chunks-lemon juice-mayonnaise or plain yogurt