jicama, avocado and grapefruit salad

I guess the name of this salad says it all. Jicama suddenly appeared in my local supermarket. I snapped it up, looking forward to enjoying it's crunchy, juicy sweetness. Jicama doesn't have much flavor; the crunch is the draw. Combining it with a luscious ripe avocado and pink grapefruit slices brought out the best in all the ingredients. I used a mustardy vinaigrette for the dressing. The flavors and textures were wonderful. Try this simple, refreshing salad.

Masala Scallops

A few weeks ago Deb bought a bunch of Indian spices and generously shared some with me. That garam masala sitting in my cupboard was on my mind and I decided to use it with the scallops I bought this afternoon. I got an idea from a Bon Appetit recipe (9/01) for shrimp, simplified it and substituted scallops. Here is what I made for dinner tonight along with basmati rice and zucchini sauteed with ginger. The meal was delicious.

Masala Sauce

1 tbl. vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 heaping tsps. garam masala

2 tsps. curry powder

1 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes in juice

1/2 cup yogurt

salt and pepper, to taste

Scallops

1 tbl. vegetable oil

1 lb. sea scallops

6 1/2 oz. unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 tbl. fresh lemon juice

Masala Sauce-Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute til golden, about 12 minutes. Add garlic and all spices and stir for 1 minute. Cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, thoroughly mix tomatoes and juice with yogurt in a medium bowl. When onion mixture is cooled, add it to the tomatoes and yogurt and incorporate all ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

Scallops- Wipe out skillet with a paper towel and heat oil in skillet. Over medium high heat, add scallops and saute for about 3 minutes. Stir in coconut milk, cilantro, lemon juice and masala sauce. Simmer until scallops are cooked through, about 4 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Notes: The masala sauce can be made a day in advance. The recipe can easily be doubled.

Instead of buying canned coconut milk I heat the same amount of milk and add dried, shredded coconut. After it simmers for a few minutes, I allow it to cool and then strain out the coconut, pressing on the coconut to release all the milk. I use the warm coconutty milk in the recipe.

Broiled Mackerel with Ginger and Garlic

Although I consider myself a fairly adventurous eater, I've avoided trying mackerel. Described as an oily, strong tasting fish I always passed it up. Yesterday, I went to the farmer's market and got on the long line to buy fish. I was about to ask for the usual but changed my mind and bought mackerel fillets for half the price of most everything else. I thought of ginger, garlic and lime as good foils for the fish and found the perfect recipe on Epicurious.com. I served steamed quinoa and sauteed shallots and asparagus alongside the mackerel and enjoyed the bold flavor.

4 8 oz. mackerel fillets

2 tb. minced, peeled, fresh ginger

2 tb. minced garlic

2 tb. fresh lime juice

1 tb. vegetable oil

11/2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. turmeric

salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves (optional)

Place fillets, skin side down, in a lightly oiled large, shallow baking pan. In a small bowl, stir together ginger, garlic, lime juice, oil, chili powder, turmeric, salt and pepper. Rub the mixture onto the mackerel and marinate for 10 minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Broil fish 5-6 inches from the heat without turning until the fillets are cooked through and lightly browned (7-8 minutes). Top with cilantro, if using.

Notes: I made the same amount of topping for only 1 lb. of fish and would do that again. I also doubled the amount of chili powder. My fillets were very small so the cooking time was even shorter.

Cilantro Pesto Arctic Char

Since I love all the ingredients in cilantro pesto, I've been wanting to try it for ages. The recipe I had in front of me called for hazelnuts but there were none in the house. I did have almonds, though, and threw those in. The taste was wonderful. I spooned the pesto on top of arctic char, my favorite fish of the moment. The results were tasty, colorful and very easy to prepare. If you have hazelnuts, do try them. I'm sure they will be fabulous in the pesto. Also experiment with other kinds of fish such as salmon or salmon trout. This recipe is based on one found in the September 2006 issue of Gourmet. I served it with brown basmati rice and sauteed asparagus and baby portobello mushrooms.

1 garlic clove

1 cup cilantro sprigs

1/2 cup almonds, toasted (or use hazelnuts, toasted and rubbed to remove skins)

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 tsp. cayenne

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 lbs. arctic char, sliced into 4 fillets

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place the rack in the middle of the oven.

In a food processor, add the garlic clove and finely chop. Stop the processor and add the cilantro, nuts, salt, pepper and cayenne. Blend the mixture until it is coarsely chopped. With the motor on, add the olive oil and blend until just incorporated. The pesto should still be coarse.

Place the arctic char fillets, skin side down, in a lightly oiled baking dish. Spoon the pesto on top of the fillets. Bake in the oven until opaque (just cooked through) about 15 minutes.

Serves 4

Braised Chicken with Dates and Moroccan Spices

The blueprint for this recipe was published in Bon Appetit magazine a few months ago. It won terrific reviews on Epicurious.com and the ingredients appealed to me. I wasn't sure of the dates but was more than willing to give them a try. The main ingredients were shallots and chicken. What I wanted, though, was to incorporate veggies into the dish and reduce the amount of chicken to make it a one pot meal. I added zucchini, yellow squash and carrots and loved the results. Tasty, colorful and wonderful the next day, this recipe was a hit. Experiment with other veggies but be sure to use the shallots as they taste fantastic. I served the braise with brown basmati rice and lentils. The lentils were added to the rice during the last 30 minutes of cooking. The combination was great.

2 tbl. olive oil

1 1/2 lbs. chicken parts

8 shallots, peeled and halved

3 cinnamon sticks

1 1/2 tsps. ground ginger

1 tbl. ground cumin

1/8 tsp. cayenne

3 cups low sodium chicken broth

5 tbls. lemon juice-divided

2 medium zucchini, sliced 1/2 inch thick

2 medium yellow squash, sliced 1/2 inch thick

3 medium carrots, sliced 1/2 inch thick

8 dates, pitted, and quartered

1/4 cup almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Add the oil to a 12 inch skillet and heat over medium high heat. Sprinkle the chicken parts with salt and pepper to taste and saute the chicken in the skillet, turning, until it is well browned, about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken to a bowl and drain off all but 1 tbl. of oil. Over medium heat, add the shallots to the skillet and saute until golden, about 6 minutes. Add the cinnamon sticks, ginger, cumin, cayenne and stir 1 minute.

Over high heat add the chicken broth and 3 tbls. lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until shallots soften, about 18 minutes. Put the chicken atop the shallots and add the zucchini, yellow squash and carrots. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and cover. Simmer about 30 minutes, stirring a few times, until the chicken and vegetables are tender.

Stir in dates, 2 tbls. lemon juice and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, remove the cinnamon sticks, sprinkle with almonds and cilantro and serve.

Serves 6

Panko-Crusted Salmon

Here is yet another Ina Garten recipe from Barefoot Contessa how easy is that? It's almost too simple to call a recipe and the results are wonderful. The key ingredient is panko, those magical bread crumbs from Japan. No substitutes, please.

2/3 cup panko crumbs

2 tbl. minced, fresh parsley

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 tbl. good olive oil

4 6-8 oz. salmon fillets, skin on

2 tbl. Dijon mustard

2 tbl. vegetable oil

lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

In a small bowl, mix together the panko, parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Drizzle with the olive oil and stir until crumbs are evenly coated. Set aside.

Place the salmon fillets, skin side down, on a board. Generously brush the top of the fillets with mustard and then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Press the panko mixture thickly on top of the mustard on each salmon fillet. The mustard will help the panko adhere.

Heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a 12 inch cast iron skillet or large heavy, ovenproof pan. When the oil is very hot, add the salmon fillets, skin side down, and sear for 3-4 minutes, without turning, to brown the skin.

Transfer the pan to the hot oven for 5-7 minutes (see note) until the salmon is almost cooked and the panko is browned. Remove from oven, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve the salmon hot or at room temperature with lemon wedges.

Serves 4

NOTE: My fillets were about 8 ounces each and required about 9 minutes in the oven to be cooked medium rare. I served the salmon with brown rice mixed with sauteed mushrooms and onions.

Wild Rice Salad

This salad is perfect throughout the year. Wild rice is the mainstay but you can easily substitute many fruits and nuts for those listed in the recipe. Consider this salad on a buffet table since it can be made in advance. It looks lovely and goes beautifully with other salads, chicken or turkey. The recipe is from Ina Garten's latest cookbook, Barefoot Contessa how easy is that? When I made it, I reduced the salt and traded oranges for clementines.

1 cup long grain wild rice (6 ounces)

Kosher salt

2 navel oranges

2 tbls. good olive oil

2 tbls. freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tbls. raspberry vinegar

1/2 cup seedless green grapes, cut in half

1/2 cup pecans, toasted

1/4 cup dried cranberries

2 tbls. scallions, white and green parts, chopped

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Place the wild rice in a medium pot with 4 cups of water and 2 teaspoons of salt (I used much less salt) and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for 50-60 minutes, until the rice is very tender. Drain well and place the rice back in the pot. Cover and allow to steam for 10 minutes.

While the rice is still warm, place it in a mixing bowl. Peel the oranges with a sharp knife, removing all the white pith. Cut between the membranes and add the orange sections to the bowl with the rice. Add the olive oil, orange juice, raspberry vinegar, grapes, pecans, cranberries, scallions, salt and pepper to taste. Allow to sit for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Taste for seasonings and serve at room temperature.

Serves 4-6

Notes:Use almost any citrus fruit, sliced Fuyu persimmons,sliced apples (tossed in lemon juice), walnuts, hazelnuts, pomegranate seeds.