Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Rockfish with lemon and herbs

I'm trying to eat more fish and less chicken, just for variety.  I've got enough experience with salmon, and enough recipes tucked away, so that I don't have to think much about cooking it.  Today I tried rockfish - it's a white flaky fish that is neutral enough that it takes up whatever flavors you care to try.
I couldn't find a simple enough recipe for a weeknight, so I was pleased when this simple combination worked.  I love using fresh herbs from the garden, but dried would probably be good and would save some time.  I'd show you a photo, but there's none left ;-)

2 rockfish fillets - not quite a pound

Canola oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1" ginger, grated
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2) Combine olive oil and lemon juice, ginger and garlic, and let the fish marinate 'face down' for 10 minutes or so.

3) Turn fish skins down, then add the rest of the ingredients.  Bake for ~ 15-20 minutes.

Friday, June 23, 2017

spiced nuts

Adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/spiced-nuts-recipe-1952173

I was looking for a spiced nut recipe to match one we had recently at The Little Beet - slivered almonds with turmeric and pepper.  I couldn't find anything equivalent so I adapted this recipe.

I used all the nuts and seeds below, in similar proportions, but with overflowing measures, and threw in a handful of walnuts and hazelnuts (just because I could).   I wanted to see how the spices were taken up by the different nuts.  On the second attempt, I focused more on the slivered almonds and pumpkin seeds as they tasted best, and slightly increased the turmeric and cayenne.

The truth is, nuts with maple syrup and salt can't be bad.  But a prior attempt with turmeric and nuts were too heavily coated and somewhat bitter.  I'll try to use gradually more turmeric as we go.

Turmeric is a rhizome, a thinner, more orange version of ginger. Its active ingredient is curcumin, an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agent.  It has been used by traditional healers for thousands of years, for everything from digestive issues to wound healing to headaches and blood flow, even to slow tumor growth.  To date, it has not been proven in studies to be helpful for any of these purposes.  Cooking with turmeric is fine, but not using it as a supplement.  It can potentially interact with prescription and over-the-counter medications, be a problem in the setting of gallstones or kidney disease, and cause bleeding.

Ingredients :

1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup pistachios
1/3 cup cashews
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1-2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon curry powder (I prefer coriander)
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary and/or thyme - (good with 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary and 1 Tbsp thyme chopped finely)
1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste (used freshly ground salt from Peru)
Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2) Combine nuts and seeds in a medium-sized bowl. Add the maple syrup and spices and salt and toss to combine.
3) Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, then transfer coated nuts to baking sheet and spread evenly in 1 layer. Bake 12-15 minutes, stirring once, until nuts are fragrant and lightly toasted.