Orange Roughy, Coconut Rice, Eggplant, Hot Pepper Sauce, Fresh Basil

I haven't cooked that much recently but I think with the spring coming I am going to do a lot more dishes focusing on food I get from the farmers markets around the NY area.  This Asian inspired dish was an amazing late night dinner experience.  This dish takes 45 minutes, costs about $25 and feeds 2.

Orange Roughy
12 oz of fresh Orange Roughy, trimed to 4 3oz pieces
4 scallions, rough chop
4 large batons of ginger
handful fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season with salt and white pepper and saute in olive oil on medium heat until golden on each side. Remove from heat and place the remaining items into the pan and place the fish on top of the bed of arromatics. Place the whole pan in the oven for 10 minutes.

Coconut Rice
1 Can organic coconut milk
2 cups water
12 oz white jasmin rice
2 scallions, fine chopped
4 large ginger batons
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Combine coconut milk, water and rice into a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Once it boils add the remaining ingredients and cover.  Turn heat to low and let cook 15 minutes.  Remove from heat leaving covered and open when ready to serve.  Remove ginger pieces before serving.

Hot Pepper Sauce
1 thai finger hot pepper, thin sliced
1 red serrano pepper, thin sliced
1 green serano pepper, thin sliced
2 yellow mini sweet peppers, thin sliced
4 scallions, thin sliced
1 piece ginger, thin sliced batons
1 shallot, thin sliced
2 teaspoons ponzu sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/8 cup vegeatble stock
salt and cayenne pepper

Saute all vegetables in vegetable oil on medium high heat. Once cooked through add remaining ingredients and let cook 5 minutes.

Roasted Japanese Eggplant 
Slice eggplant into 1 inch rounds.  Saute in olive oil on medium heat until golden on each side.  Salt and place in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes

I blanched some fresh basil for 5 seconds and added it after plating the dish to bring in a crisp and fresh flavor.  Good food with great company, the perfect start to long night. Buon apetito!

Hamachi Kama with Coconut Rice

Hamachi Kama is the collar bone piece of the Hamachi aka Yellowtail. This is normally a throw away piece but those who know understand this may be the tastiest of all. Thanks to Chef Mike Pirolo for the hookup. This easy recipe takes 30 minutes, feeds two and costs...well the fish was free so probably $12 or so.

Hamachi Kama

2 pieces frsh Hamachi Kama (ask your asian supermarket of fish monger)

2 tablespoon Nama Shoyu or soy sauce

2 tablespoons ponzu sauce

Preheat the oven to broil. Place the fish skin down of a foil lined baking sheet and place on the middle rack. Let it cook for 20 minutes or until the fish becomes a nice golden brown. Remove and serve

Coconut Rice

2 tablespoons organic coconut oil

2 cups white rice

salt

1 teaspoon mirin

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Start rice, coconut oil, cool water and salt on high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover tightly. Cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Add mirin and rice wine and paddle through with a spatula.

Serve it up with some fresh lime wedges and ponzu sauce. Buon Apetito!!

Wild King Salmon with Pink Rice Pilaf and Avocado Puree

This wild king salmon from Norway is a different level of quality then your average supermarket salmon. This takes 30 minutes and feeds two people, it costs about $30 because of the salmon. It can be done for much cheaper with regular salmon.

Norwegian King Salmon
2 5oz filets of king salmon
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Start a medium sautee pan on medium high heat and add butter and oil. Season fish with salt and pepper and place skin side down in the hot pan. Let cook 5 to 7 minutes and then place the whole pan in the oven. Let cook another 7 to 10 minutes until desired temperature.

Pink Madagascar Rice Pilaf
1 cup pink Madagascar rice
2 cups water
1/4 cup fresh english peas, blanched
1/4 cup golden raisins

Cook rice as per the package instructions. Add peas and raisins and mix.

Avocado Puree
1 Haas Avocado
1/2 lime
1 teaspoon siracha or other hot sauce
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients and puree.

Easy and delicious, a great combo. Buon Apetito!!

Alaskan Halibut with Wild Rice, Zucchini and Arugula Puree

I have really been getting back into eating fish. Its delicious, nutritious and easy to prepare. Halibut is a cold water fish that is very delicate. It can easily be over cooked and ruined so pay attention to the cook time and the fish itself while cooking. I had this beautiful organic wild rice also so I decided to make them a team. This dish takes 45 minutes, costs $20 and feeds one.

Pan Seared Alaskan Halibut
1 6oz Alaskan Halibut Filet
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon butter
salt and pepper

Pre heat the oven to 350. Start a saute pan on medium high heat. Add oil and butter the season the fish with salt and pepper on each side. Once the pan is hot add the fish and let cook for 4 to five minutes or until golden. Turn the fish and place the whole pan in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and delicately serve.

Wild Rice Pilaf
1 cup long grain organic wild rice
3 cups cold water
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Rinse the rice well in cold water. Start a sauce pan with 3 cups of water and a cup of the wild rice. Bring to a boil then cover and turn down to simmer. let it cook for 45 minute to an hour or until rice grains have popped and are tender. Drain then add salt and the chopped basil. Serve warm or cold.

Butter Poached Zucchini
1/4 cup yellow squash, chopped
1/4 cup zucchini, chopped
1/8 cup red onion, chopped
1/8 cup fresh tomato, chopped
1/8 cup vegetable stock
3 tablespoon butter

Start a small saucepan on medium low. Add stock, butter, onions, zucchini and squash. Let cook for 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Then add the tomatoes and let cook ten more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Arugula Puree
1 cup arugula, rough chopped
1/8 cup vegetable stock
1 teaspoon onion, finely chopped

Add all ingredients to a small saute pan and turn to medium. Let cook ten minutes or until arugula is very soft. Puree in a food processor then strain. You as a garnishing sauce.

After putting this all together I was pleasantly pleased at how well it all worked together. The buttery vegetable with the buttery fish was rich and the earthyness of the wild rice made a great combination. Buon Apetito!!

Orange Chicken with Roasted Broccoli and Brown Rice

This was the first "Chinese" food I ever made from a recipe. I really loved the basic flavors of food court chinese orange chicken so I found the recipe to Panda Express' Orange Chicken. I have since modified the recipe to improve the quality and flavors of the dish. The roasted broccoli was something new I tried also and it was also incredibly delicious. I had my wife's family over for dinner so this recipe feeds 8 people. It costs only about $20 and takes about 1.5 hours.


Orange Chicken

1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 lbs of free range chicken breasts, chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons Chinese 5 Spice powder
3 tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon of sesame oil
6 scallions, chopped
1/2 a white onion, fine chopped
2 tablespoon of fresh ginger, fine chopped
5 garlic cloves, fine chopped
1 tablespoon of red crushed chili flakes
1 Serrano chili pepper, fine chopped

1/8 cup mirin (rice wine)
2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice (can used carton OJ)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest, fine chopped

1 tablespoons black sesame seeds
sliced orange
scallion tops, chopped

Start the two oils in a large pot on medium heat. Mix the flour, cornstarch, 5 spice and salt then add the chicken pieces slowly. Make sure chicken is very well coated. Shake off the excess and then add the pieces to the hot oil in batches. Make sure you only do a few pieces at a time and do not over crowd the pan. Cook chicken for about 2 to 3 minutes on each or until golden. We will cook them through later in the orange sauce. Set them aside on paper towels.



Once the chicken is finished, pour off most of the remaining oil. Add the 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to the pan and turn it on medium. Now add the onion, scallion, pepper, ginger, garlic and hot peppers. Cook that for 3 minutes stir constantly. Now add 1 cup of orange juice, soy sauce, sugar and zest. Turn the heat to medium low and let cook for 5 minutes. Now add the golden chicken to the sauce and the final 1 cup off orange juice. Let that cook for about 5 to 7 minutes or until the sauce is thickened. Scoop into a large serving bowl and top with sesame seeds, orange slices and scallions.


Roasted Broccoli

2 packages of organic broccoli
1/2 white onion, sliced
1 handful of chopped ginger chunks
1 lemon sliced
2 tablespoon of kosher salt
2 tablespoons of fresh black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup of fresh orange juice

Start the oven on 400 degrees. Place a casserole dish filled with hot water on the bottom shelf. This will create a humid oven. Peel the broccoli stems and chopped each head of broccoli into quarters. Arrange in a half sheet tray. Top with sliced onions ginger chunks and lemon. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Spray the broccoli with vegetable oil using a mister. Roast broccoli on top shelf for 25 minutes or until its begins getting color. Salt and pepper again and serve.



I also made some brown rice and served that along with the chicken and broccoli. This is always a hit with everyone and tastes way better then takeout Chinese. At $20 for eight servings it is also significantly cheaper. Enjoy!

Turkey "Picadillo" with Coconut Cilantro Rice

Picadillo is a popular Cuban style dish, normally made with ground beef. I substituted turkey because its healthier and has less saturated fat. This is a great 1 pan meal that you can make in mass quantity because it is even better the next day.

Picadillo

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup white onion, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, diced
1/4 cup of green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small can of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of vegetable stock or water
1/3 cup of raisins
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon of chili powder
3 cloves
3 bay leaves
1/3 cup of Spanish olives with pimentos, halved
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh oregano, chopped
salt & pepper

Start a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add ground turkey and cook until all the pink is gone. Add onions, jalapeño, bell pepper and garlic, cook for five minutes. Next add the canned tomatoes, stock, raisins, cumin, chili powder, cloves, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Once that gets heated through, turn the heat down to low and cover. Let this cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and add the olives, cilantro and fresh oregano. Turn off the heat, stir to combine the ingredients and let stand for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Coconut Cilantro Rice

1 cup long grain white rice
2 oz coconut oil
1 tables spoon of salt
10 cilantro stems

Follow my fool proof rice method listed here. Add oil and salt to the rice before starting the cooking process. Right before you cover it and put it to low add the cilantro stems.

Put it together and you have a traditional Latin style meal. I topped it with some fresh avocado, you can add plantains if you have them to complete the trifecta. I am writing this while eating the leftovers and they are awesome. Enjoy!

Shrimp and Vegetable Risotto

Risotto is my favorite dish to make when I have a lot of company but don't want to spend too much money. I had 7 people to feed and a bag of Arborio rice in my pantry. I picked up a pound and a half of peeled and deveined shrimp (u30) for $9, so it would be a big meal for under $20 out of pocket. I also bought a box of Kitchen Basics brand vegetable stock (way better than canned stuff), a red bell pepper, parsley, a vidallia onion, a leek, baby carrots and a loaf of Italian bread.

When cooking risotto you have to dedicate yourself to the kitchen. It is not possible to multi task and cook a good risotto, so don't even try. Next you need to have all your food chopped and cookware in place. Start by getting these things ready; a large Cast Iron pot (LeCruset)or high sided frying pan for cooking the risotto, a large stock pot (6 or 8 qt), a medium sauté pan, a heat proof spatula or wooden spoon and a ladle. Then chop all of the vegetables to a fine dice and season the shrimp with salt pepper and olive oil. Get out 3/4 of a stick of butter, 1 cup of white wine and 1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

Start by pouring the box of stock into the large stock pot and adding 6 cups of water, put the pot on medium low heat. Start the large pot for risotto on medium low heat (4 of 10) and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Add the chopped onion and leek and stir, let cook until the onion is translucent. Now add the bag of risotto, about 3 cups. Stir the rice until it begins to toast a bit, about 4 minutes. Turn the heat down to low (2 of 10) then add the wine and stir, let all of the wine cook off. Then add three ladles of warmed stock. Stir the rice well until all of the liquid is almost all absorbed. Add three more ladles of stock and stir it in again. Stir the pot every 2 minutes or so, don't walk away. Keep adding the three ladles of stock every time the liquid is almost gone. It should take about 30 to 40 minutes for the rice to stop absorbing the liquid rapidly and begin to get tender. Once the rice is tender but still has some firmness it is ready for the next step. Turn off the heat and add the butter and Parmesan cheese. Fold it in and start the medium sauté pan on medium high. Quickly sauté the remaining vegetables in olive oil for about 3 minutes then add the shrimp. Cook for about 3 more minutes or until the shrimp are light pink, DO NOT over cook the shrimp, they will cook through in the rice. Now add the cooked shrimp and veggies to the risotto and fold it all together, being gentle not to beat up the rice in the risotto. Finish it off with some parsley, fresh Parmesan cheese and hot garlic bread.


This fed 8 people all having seconds and I ate the rest for lunch today. You can do thousand of variations of ingredients which is why risotto is an important dish to learn how to cook. Once you get the skill you can literally have a different risotto every day if you don't die of heart disease first. Boun Appetito

Chicken Tikka, Cucumber Raita, Basmati and Naan

Here goes another attempt at getting serious about Indian food. Chicken Tikka, which is similar to Tandoori chicken, is made many different ways and there are hundreds of recipes on the internet. I looked at many of these and decided on taking different aspects of the best ones and added my own style. I don't have a tandoor oven, which is the traditional way of cooking this dish so I used my indoor grill.

Start by making the spice mix by combining 1 part coriander, cumin, salt and garam masala with 2 parts turmeric, cayenne, and paprika. Then puree the onions, ginger, garlic, hot peppers and lemon juice in a food processor and blend it with the spice mix, this mixture is known as Tandoori Masala. Combine the Tandoori Masala and the yogurt together to make the marinade for the chicken.


Chop boneless chicken breast (or thigh) into medium chunks, about 4 pieces per breast. Lay out the chicken in a single layer in a shallow baking dish and pour in the marinade. Poke the chicken with a fork to tenderize and then refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24. Turn every 4 or 6 hours for the best results. Remove the chicken from the marinade, shake of the excess and put them on a hot grill. Turn as necessary to cook through and get a nice color.

FOOL PROOF RICE: This is the easiest and most fool proof method to making any rice. It works every time. Just do not touch it. It works for any amount of rice in any size cooking pot.

Put the rice in the pot and cover with cool water. Mix it around with your hand a few times and then drain by slowly tilting pot. Refill with cool water. The perfect water level is when the water is one thumbnail above the rice (half and inch). Put your thumb in the water and check to see the level. Add salt or oil if desired at this point. FROM THIS POINT ON DO NOT STIR THE RICE - AT ALL. Put the pot over med-high(7 of 10) until the the water boils off and the top of the rice is almost at the water level. Turn the heat to low (1 of 10) and cover the pot tightly by using a piece of aluminum foil over the pot then putting the lid on. Let the rice cook undisturbed for 12 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE LID. Take it off of the heat and let it rest for at least 5 minutes but it can sit for up to a half hour. Remove the lid and the aluminum foil and fluff with a fork. You will have perfect rice every time, no measuring and no sticky mess.

Cucumber Raita: Puree a clove of garlic, same amount of ginger, a handful of cilantro and a handful of mint with 1 whole peeled seedless cucumber in a food processor. Mix it with 2 cups of yogurt and the juice from half of a lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate at least half an hour.

I bought the Naan bread and heated it in the oven, fluffed my basmati rice, and got the raita out of the fridge. The chicken was off the grill finally (indoor grill is no outdoor grill I assure you) so I put everything together family style because we were having friends join us for this awesome feast. Everyone was pleased with how it all turned out, I can see this dish being a staple and one I continue to work on. Namaste

Potato and Eggplant Curry with Basmati Rice, Spouts Salad and Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

Wow, where to start. I have been trying to make my own curries (dry and wet, green and red) recently and after a lot of research I have made some progress. Since it is Saturday, I was able to go to the weekly organic farmers market in Coconut Grove and pick up some key ingredients.

After the market, Nicole and I went to our friends Josue and Laura's house to try to make some serious vegetable curry. We chose eggplants, white sweet potato, baby sweet potato, vidallia onion and purple potato for the vegetables. I chopped all of the potatoes uniformly about a 1/2 inch square. I also chopped the eggplant and onion uniformly at 3/4 inch square. I laid the veggies out on a sheet tray and baked them for 25 minutes at 315 or until cooked but still firm.

In the meantime I went about making the curry. For the wet green curry I mixed chopped garlic, ginger, Serrano chillies, jalapeño peppers, habanero peppers, coconut water, fenugreek, coriander, salt and black pepper together with a mortar and pestal. For the dry curry I mixed powdered coriander, cumin, cayenne, red chili, mustard seed, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, star anise, nutmeg, bay leaf, thyme and turmeric in a dry sauté pan. I turned the pan on low and waited until the spices became fragrant. I then added the seasoning mix to the wet curry and belended it all together.

We chose to go classic and use basmati rice. Rinse the rice twice in cold water. Then add new water and bring the rice to a boil. Let the rice cook on medium heat until the rice has risen to the water level. Cover the pot using a piece of aluminum foil first the put on the pot lid , this will create a very tight seal. Turn it to low and let it cook another 7 to 9 minutes, set a side and let it rest for at least 5 minutes before fluffing.

I also made a cucumber yogurt condiment which consisted of: sliced cucumber, yogurt, olive oil, curry seasoning, salt and black pepper.

To finish the curry we started a large pot on medium heat. We added the curry and stirred it until fragrant. We then added a can of coconut milk and some coconut water. We let this cook for 10 minutes and then added all of the vegetables. We let that cook for another 10 minutes to get heated through and to allow the flavors to meld.

I served this with a sprouts salad that was a mix of organic sunflower, broccoli and buckwheat sprouts with a sprouted bean mix of 6 different beans. I tossed that with an herb-lime vinaigrette and some vidallia onions.

It turned out pretty good and I enjoyed it as well. I think this curry road is going to be a long a interesting flavor adventure. One I willingly will travel.