Seafood | I Can Cook That

Flounder Meunière

I was hoping to make Sole Meunière, but the supermarket decided otherwise. (Not only did they not have sole, they had no idea what it was). I substituted flounder, but if you can find sole, go for that instead. I found this classic recipe from Bon Appetit and I’m pretty sure I’ve made this recipe on many occasions and had no idea it had such a spiffy name. “Meunière” just means “miller’s wife.” So to cook something “a la meunière” means to cook it after first dredging it in flour. The sauce is really easy (and again, I’m pretty sure I’ve made it a million times before) and is made of brown butter, chopped parsley and lemon. Despite how easy the recipe is, this makes one tasty dish.

Ingredients for fish:
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 flounder fillets (get Pacific sole if you can)
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

Ingredients for sauce:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Lemon wedges

Pour flour into a shallow bowl. Rinse fish and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper to taste.

Dredge fish on both sides with flour shaking off excess flour.

Heat olive oil in a saute pan big enough to fit all the fish. Add butter and swirl to coat. It should bubble up a bit. When it stops bubbling, add fish and cook until golden on bottom, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Turn fish over (carefully, it’s a pretty delicate fish), and cook until golden on bottom, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Place fish in tin foil and wrap loosely to keep warm.

Pour out excess drippings from the saute pan and wipe down with paper towels. Chop the parsley (as finely as you like).

I did a pretty rough chop

Heat the saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter for the sauce and cook until it begins to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley and lemon juice. It may splatter a bit, so be prepared for that. Spoon over the fish and serve with lemon wedges.

Who doesn’t enjoy a recipe that takes 10 to 15 minutes, and only requires 8 ingredients (including salt, pepper, and olive oil)? On top of that, it really is tasty. The fish crisps up nicely in the butter which adds a nice texture. This would be good with a light salad or a side of rice.

Lemon-Dill Salmon

This recipe is a result of me buying a bunch of ingredient for other recipes and then forgetting to look up anything for a salmon recipe. I rummaged through my fridge and came up with a few ingredients I figured would taste good together.

Ingredients:
1 lb salmon
1 lemon, zested and squeezed
1 tablespoon freshly chopped dill
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste

There are two lemons, but I only used one

Zest the lemons into a bowl. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice of the lemon into the bowl. Add the melted butter and mix.

Add the tablespoon of dill and mix.

Heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper.

Pour the lemon-butter-dill mixture over the salmon.

Add the salmon to the pan skin-side up. Cook for 2 minutes or until the salmon has a nice brown sear. Flip and cook until the salmon is cooked though and flakes easily.

So this recipe isn’t a breakthrough way to cook salmon. But it is tasty, a bit different than your normal salmon dish, and happily quick. I am a big fan of lemon zest, it really lets the lemony flavor shine through the butter and dill.

Pan-Fried Salmon with Citrus Vinaigrette

If you haven’t picked up on this yet, I’m quite the fan of salmon. It’s easy to make, tastes great, and is good for you. To add to my lovely salmon repertoire, I thought I’d give Food & Wine’s Pan-Fried Salmon with Citrus Vinaigrette (and Asparagus) a try.

Ingredients:
1 pound asparagus, stalks trimmed
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 medium shallot, minced
2 tablespoons snipped chives
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 6-oz skinless salmon fillets

Ok. So I cut corners & bought OJ. shh

1/4 cup lemon juice ends up being about 2 lemons

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice is equal to about one lime.

Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat. When the water is boiling, drop the asparagus in, and cook until bright green and crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Pat dry and transfer to a plate. Drizzle some olive oil over the asparagus and toss.

In a small saute pan, mix the orange, lemon, and lime juices and simmer over medium heat until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.

Pour into a bowl and let cool to room temperature. Whisk in the shallot, chives, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper

Add to the saute pan, skin side up.

Cook for 3 minutes and flip. The salmon should have a nice browned sear.

Cook for another three minutes until cooked through in the center. Transfer the salmon to plates and spoon some of the citrus vinaigrette on top. Serve the salmon with the asparagus.

Ah. I love any kind of citrus with asparagus and salmon, and this was no exception. It was a quick and easy recipe too, easily made on week days. The citrus vinaigrette would be great on raw spinach as well.

Smoked Salmon Panini

I really don’t like a cold lunch, especially sandwiches. There is something about a plain sandwich that makes me so unexcited to eat it. But a panini makes me happy: toasted bread, melty cheese… yum! So I was glad to try out this Smoked Salmon Panini.

Note: I have a panini press, but if you don’t, just use a saute pan and spatula to flip half way through the cooking.

The original recipe is linked above. I made a few substitutions, which are listed below.

Ingredients: (this makes one sandwich, multiply as needed)
2 slices ciabatta
Dijon mustard, for spreading
thin slices of Gruyère cheese
2 oz thinly sliced smoked salmon
Finely grated zest of 1/4 of a lemon
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat the panini press or saute pan.

Spread 1 slice of ciabatta bread with some Dijon mustard, as little or as much as you’d like. Top with some Gruyere cheese.

Top with smoked salmon and lemon zest.

Season lightly with salt and pepper and cover with more Gruyere cheese. Top with other piece of bread.

Grill for 2 to 3 minutes until toasted and the cheese is melted.

I was a little wary about the Dijon mustard; I thought it would overwhelm the sandwich. But it added a nice punch of flavor. The lemon zest really enhanced the dish and brightened up the smoked salmon. This could easily be made ahead and popped in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it back up. I’m so glad to have a new alternative to the boring and cold meat and cheese sandwiches usually eaten at lunch!

Orzo Risotto with Buttery Shrimp

I am always in search of seafood dishes that aren’t just salmon. Don’t get me wrong, I love salmon, but I think it’s time for me to finally expand my culinary repertoire. I found this recipe on Food & Wine and was intrigued. Traditional risotto is near and dear to my heart. When I first realized that learning to feed myself may be useful, risotto was one of the first dishes I learned how to make. (Fun fact: I even won a little Top Chef contest in college making my lovely risotto, that’s right). So the idea of an “orzo risotto” made me very happy.

How can you say no to this?

Ingredients: (I cut this recipe in half, the original is linked above)

8 thin asparagus

1 cup orzo

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 pound shelled and deveined medium shrimp

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Ingredients

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Make sure to have plenty of water in there, you’ll need to reserve some of this later. Add the asparagus and cook over high heat until tender, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the asparagus to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add the orzo to the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

While the orzo is cooking, cut the asparagus into 1-inch lengths.

In another skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Once melted, reduce heat to medium and cook until the butter begins to brown

“beurrer noisette” = brown butter by the way

Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper. I suggest having the salt and pepper right next to the stove, the shrimp start cooking and turning pink almost immediately.

about 10 second after adding the shrimp to the butter

Cook over medium heat until pink and curled, about 1 minute per side.

With a slotted spoon, add the shrimp to the asparagus. Reserve the butter in the skillet but remove from heat.

reserved shrimp and asparagus

Drain the cooked risotto over a bowl, reserving 1/8 cup of the cooking water. Return the orzo to the saucepan and stir in brown butter. Cook over high heat and add the chicken stock and cooking water, scraping up any brown bits that may be stuck to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

watching orzo cook is comparable to watching paint dry

Cook over moderate heat, stirring until creamy, 2-3 minutes. Stir in asparagus and shrimp.

Remove from heat and stir in parsley and the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Transfer risotto to serving dishes and sprinkle with more Parmesan.

ta da

I love the colors in this dish (if you didn’t pick up on that from the 50 photos you just had to scroll through). Happily, it tastes just as good as it looks. If I make this in the future though, I think I’d prefer the shrimp to have a little bit of a kick (some paprika? maybe a bit of Old Bay? hmm) but this dish is beautiful and tasty just the way it is.

Almond Chive Salmon

Everyone knows how amazing salmon is for you: lots of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D… so whenever I can, I try to make some. Salmon with butter and lemon is delicious and quick, but all that butter seems to outweigh the health benefits of the fish (at least in my mind). I’ve tried to alternate that with this Almond Chive Salmon.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sliced almonds

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried parsley)

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

4 tablespoons panko (breadcrumbs)

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1 pound salmon fillet

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

2 lemon wedges

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Combine the almonds, chives, parsley, and lemon plus 1/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor (I use my Magic Bullet). Pulse until finely chopped.

Add the panko to this mixture, stir to combine.

Sprinkle the salmon with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle the panko mixture over the salmon evenly, pressing to make it stick. Place salmon on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

I put A LOT on mine; use as much/little as you’d like

Bake for 15 minutes or until is flakes easily. Serve with lemon wedges.

This is one of my go-to recipes: beautiful, quick, flavorful. It’s also a great introduction to fish:.The almonds and spices make it a bit less “fishy” to those who aren’t fans of seafood.

Salmon BLT

I’m not the biggest fan of sandwiches in general. PBJ, BLT, Turkey and Cheese… they just don’t cut it. I recently saw the last 3 minutes of a cooking show where they were making Salmon BLTs and couldn’t get the idea out of my head. It seemed easy enough (I didn’t catch their actual ingredients and preparation) so I tried it out for myself. Apparently these types of sandwiches usually come with mayo or some other condiment, but I left that out. There was still plenty of flavor!

Ingredients:

10 oz salmon fillet (or two 5 oz salmon fillets)

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 slices of bacon

3 slices of bread (I used rye)

1 beefsteak tomato, sliced

A handful of raw baby spinach leaves

Salt and pepper, to taste

Note: this is for 2 servings

Continue reading Salmon BLT

Scallops Grapefruit and Fennel? Hmm…

After watching a few episodes of Top Chef Masters recently, I had a hankering for some scallops (which I’m going to blame on seeing Jamie, who made like 14 scallop dishes during her season on Top Chef). Luckily, the December issue of Cooking Light had a recipe for scallops that looked really appealing: Seared scallops with fennel and grapefruit salad. I was interested to see how such strong flavors would work together.

Ingredients:

1 large grapefruit

1.5 cups sliced fennel bulb (1 small-ish bulb)

½ cup flat-leaf parsley

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

½ – 1 lb sea scallops (about 12 for two people)

Salt and Pepper, to taste

To start, peel and section the grapefruit, reserving about ¾ cup grapefruit sections in a bowl. With the remaining grapefruit, squeeze to extract the juice (about ¼ cup) and set aside (apart from the grapefruit sections.

To cut the fennel, trim off the stalks and discard. Remove any dirty or hard areas on the bulb (that white part at the bottom) by peeling off the first layer if needed. Cut the bulb in half and lay them on the cutting board flat side down. Slice across the bulb in thin slices.

Combine the grapefruit sections, fennel, and parsley in a bowl. Set aside.

grapefruit and fennel salad

I always thought cooking scallops would be a daunting task, but it is actually really easy, and quick too! However, be careful to not overcook them, scallops can get very rubbery if left on the heat too long. This recipe called for pan frying the scallops so I started by heating 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a sauté pan. While waiting for the pan to heat up, I sprinkled some salt and pepper on the scallops and then added them to the pan one by one (I used tongs to put them in so that the liquid didn’t splash all over the place). Let the scallops cook one that one side for about 4 minutes. Use the tongs to flip the scallops over and cook for another minute. Remove the scallops and keep warm.

seared scallops

Add the reserved grapefruit juice to the pan and cook for about two minutes. Remove from heat.

To assemble the dish: place half of the fennel mixture on each plate (I made two servings). Divide scallops evenly (each plate should have 4-6 scallops) then top with half of the rendered juice.

This ended up being a really pretty dish, if I do say so myself. Taste-wise, it was something nice and different, but I don’t think I enjoy fennel ( = mild licorice) enough to add this to my list of rotating dinners. However, I’m pretty jazzed to add scallops to my list of foods I can handle cooking!