Masala Tilefish

I came home from the farmer's market today laden with veggies, strawberries and tilefish. For dinner tonight I prepared Masala Tilefish using the recipe in At Home with Madhur Jaffrey.  Ms. Jaffrey, whose cookbooks I love, uses salmon but almost any firm fish will work. The mustard topping keeps the fish tender and juicy and the flavor is wonderful. 

I served brown basmati rice mixed with wild rice and a saute of sliced beets, fava beans and snap peas. The vegetable combo was tasty, weird and based on my market finds.  Choose any veggie that you wish.

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. ground coriander

1/8 tsp. ground turmeric

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 lb. tilefish fillet

2 tbl. Dijon mustard

1 tbl. olive or canola oil

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 tbl. finely chopped cilantro

Rub the salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne all over the fish.  Cover and refrigerate 1-4 hours.

Heat the broiler.

Mix the mustard, oil and lemon juice in a small bowl.  Add the cilantro.  Rub this all over the fish and place under the broiler, about 5 inches from the heat.  When the top has browned lightly, about 4 minutes, turn the oven to "bake".  Set the temperature at 350 degrees.  Bake about 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. 

Note: I did not include salt in the fish rub. To my taste, the mustard topping has plenty of salt in it.

Garlic and Pepper Chicken

I've rediscovered a cookbook that was sitting on my shelf untouched for several years. I'm now into Healthy South Indian Cooking by Alamelu Vairavan and Patricia Marquardt.  This chicken recipe lists many ingredients.  Don't be put off-include what you have.  If you get into Indian cooking you will buy the basic spices and have them on hand. I made a few minor changes in the recipe.

The chicken is beautifully tender and tasty. It would go perfectly with a simple rice dish and almost any type of vegetable.  The cookbook authors recommend Green Beans Poriyal. I will include that recipe in another post.

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 tbl. canola or corn oil
4-5 small pieces cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf, crumbled
2 dried red chili peppers
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. urand dal
1/2 c. chopped onion
10 garlic cloves, cut in half
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tbl. minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsps. ground black pepper
salt to taste
1 tsp. curry powder, more if desired
3/4 tsp. cayenne powder
1/4 c. chopped fresh coriander

Cut the chicken into medium size pieces.  Rinse, drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.  When oil is hot add cinnamon sticks, bay leaf and red chili peppers.  Add cumin, fennel seeds and urad dal.  Add onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes.  Stir in turmeric powder.

Add chicken and ginger to skillet.  Cook, covered, over low heat until the chicken is partially cooked.  Add black pepper, salt, curry powder and cayenne powder together with the coriander.  Stir well to coat the chicken with the spices.  Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of warm water, adding 1/4 cup at as time.  Stir and cook chicken, covered, over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes.

French Yogurt Cake

Over the years I have seen recipes for French yogurt cake that sounded very appealing and easy to prepare. When yet another recipe appeared on Epicurious.com this month and won rave reviews, I decided to give it a try. I loved this simple cake.  It is similar to pound cake but much less dense-kind of airy. It is perfect served with fruit-sliced strawberries from the farmer's market worked beautifully.

Vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup sugar
1 tbl. finely grated lemon zest
3/4 cup whole milk Greek yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a standard (8 1/2x4 1/4 inches) loaf pan with non-stick vegetable oil spray.  Dust with flour, tap out excess.  Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, 2 tsps. baking powder and 3/4 tsp. kosher salt in a medium bowl.  In a large bowl, using your fingers, rub 1 cup sugar with 1 tbl. finely grated lemon zest until the sugar is moist.  Add 3/4 cup whole milk Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. Blend ingredients.  Fold in dry ingredients, just to blend.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top.  Bake until top of cake is golden brown and a tester inserted into center comes out clean (50-55 minutes).  Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert onto rack and let cool completely.

Can be made 3 days ahead and stored airtight at room temperature.

NOTES: I used butter instead of oil spray and  used the zest of a whole lemon and. to me, that was the perfect amount.  I used non-fat Greek yogurt since that was the only kind I had.  The cake was very good. It would probably be fabulous with the richer yogurt.

Fish Wrapped in Vine Leaves with Yogurt Sauce

About 10 years ago a vine appeared in my garden and wound around the fence, looking beautiful.  It disappeared when the weather turned cold but reappeared each spring.  I finally took a good look at the leaves last year and realized the visitor was a grape vine. When I saw a recipe for cooking fish wrapped in vine leaves I was determined to give it a try using my very local grape vine.  If you don't have your own grape vine, buy a jar of preserved leaves.  I do not remember the source of this recipe but I got it from a Mediterranean cookbook.  This is my first try at steaming fish.  Shmooshed yukon gold potatoes and roasted asparagus complete the meal.

Be sure to make the yogurt sauce.  It is delicious.

12 large vine leaves, fresh or preserved

4 skinless turbot fillets (7 oz. each, checked for bones)

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 sprigs fresh dill

grated zest of 1 lemon

Cook leaves in boiling water ( 30 seconds for preserved, 5 minutes for fresh leaves).  Drain, pat dry with paper towels.  

Prepare steamer saucepan partially filled with water and bring to a simmer.

Place vine leaf, shiny side down, on work surface.  Slightly overlap another leaf, shiny side down.  Finally, place a third leaf in the center.  Place a turbot fillet in middle of leaves, season with salt and pepper and top with a dill sprig and a quarter of the lemon zest.  Wrap one fish fillet in leaves and turn edges in.  Repeat with 3 other fish fillets.  Arrange the 4 parcels in a steamer.  Cover and steam gently for 10 minutes or until the fish feels firm when pressed.

Yogurt Sauce

3/4 cup yogurt

3/4 cup ground walnuts

2 tsp. finely chopped dill

1 garlic clove, minced

While the fish is steaming, combine all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl.  Serve the sauce alongside the steamed fish parcels.

Serves 4 

NOTES: I couldn't find turbot so I used flounder fillets. 

The sauce is delicious on any plain fish and many different vegetable dishes  This recipe makes more than is needed for one meal and is extremely easy to prepare.

Zucchini and Mushrooms, Indian Style

As you can tell, I love to use my Indian spices to prepare veggies.  This combination of zucchini and mushrooms tasted wonderful with the addition of a few spices.

1 tbl. vegetable oil
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 dried red chili pepper
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. garam masala
3 medium zucchini, halved and sliced
1 lb. mushrooms, cleaned and sliced (I used a combination of shitake and brown mushrooms)
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbl. dried, unsweetened coconut, optional

Heat corn oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  When oil is hot add ginger, garlic, red pepper, mustard seeds and garam masala.  Saute about 1 minute mixing ingredients together.  Add the zucchini to the skillet and mix it with the seasonings. Cook over medium heat until almost tender, stirring a few times. Add the mushrooms and combine all the ingredients. Stir occasionally until the mushrooms are tender.
Add salt and pepper, to taste and the coconut, if using.

Crunchy Swiss Chard

  You don't normally think of swiss chard as crunchy but adding mustard and cumin seeds before sauteeing the greens, transforms them.  Toasted sliced almonds,  added at the last minute, provides even more oomph. Swiss chard has never tasted this good before.

1 tbl. vegetable oil
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 of an onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bunch swiss chard, leaves and stems separated and chopped
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, lower heat and add the cumin and mustard seeds.  Cover skillet until the mustard seeds stop popping.  Add the onion and garlic and saute until onion is translucent. Add the chopped stems and continue to saute until the stems are tender.  Add the leaves and toss mixture with a big spoon.  Continue to cook the greens, mixing the ingredients occasionally until the greens are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste and sliced almonds.  Toss all and serve.

Serves 4 as a side dish

Note: The greens are also delicious at room temperature

Tandoori Spiced Chicken Breasts

Rachel came in from Portland Oregon to spend a few weeks in New York and see the family. For our first family dinner, I made this delicious spicy chicken dish. Served with basmati rice and stir fried veggies, we had a wonderful Indian feast. The recipe is modified from the one in Gourmet's April 1999 issue. It is a keeper. Please do not be turned off by the long list of spices. There is nothing difficult about the preparation and if you don't have one of the spices, simply omit it.

For spice paste

1 large garlic clove

1 1/2 tsp. coarse salt

1 small, fresh red or green chile

1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt

1 tbl. fresh lemon juice

2 tsps. grated peeled fresh gingerroot

1 1/2 tsps. ground coriander seeds

3/4 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

4 chicken cutlets, about 1 1/4 pounds

2 tsp. vegetable oil

For yogurt sauce

1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

a pinch cayenne

1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves

Make spice paste

Mince garlic with salt and mash to a paste. Wearing protective gloves, mince chile (including seeds for a spicier paste) and in a bowl stir together with garlic paste and remaining spice paste ingredients.

Make 3 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep in each chicken cutlet and rub spice paste into cuts and all over chicken. Marinate chicken, covered, 30 minutes at cool room temperature.

Preheat broiler and line broiler pan with foil. Arrange chicken without crowding into pan. Brush chicken with 1 tsp. vegetable oil and broil about 3 inches from heat 10 minutes. Turn chicken over and brush with remaining 1 tsp. vegetable oil. Broil chicken until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 10 minutes more.

Make sauce while chicken is broiling. Stir together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and serve with the chicken.

NOTES: I doubled the recipe and had the leftovers for another dinner. I reheated the chicken gently in a microwave.