SALMON GRILLS AND PASTA THRILLS

This fish dish offers thrills, grills, and hopefully no spills.

Some naysayers will claim that salmon is a boring fish to eat. So predictable, so typical, so uninspired. You have my permission to give them an atomic wedgie for believing they think outside of the box. These people haven’t left the box since slap bracelets were in. Salmon is only as boring as the chef cooking with it. Think of it salmon as a blank canvas for a painter or a mold of clay for a sculptor. You could just paint a still life or sculpt a symmetrical vase. But you could also create something groundbreaking that will shake the art world to its self-righteous core. Now translate that “fuck the norm” attitude to your culinary creations. Throw some flare into that fish and your night’s post-curricular activities will be rated for Mature audiences only due to nudity, sexual content and adult language. Violence will be notably absent.

Total time: approximately 20 minutes
Projected cost: $14
Drinking Buddy: White wine

Ingredients (serves 2):
1. 1 tsp of sea salt
2. 8-ounces of dry penne pasta
3. 3 tbsp of olive oil
4. 1 lb salmon filet
5. 1 handful of sliced mushrooms
6. 1 onion chopped coarsely
7. 1 handful of fresh rosemary
8. 2 garlic cloves chopped finely
9. 1 lemon halved

Step 1
If you are grilling with charcoal, get the coals going. Marinate the salmon in 2 tbsp of olive oil, pluck the rosemary from the sprig and squeeze ½ the lemon over it.

Step 2
Boil the penne al dente, seasoning the water with olive oil and sea salt (approx 10 min). While you wait for the pasta to boil, move onto Step 3. When the pasta is ready, drain and mix it in with sautéed veggies in Step 3.

Step 3
Sauté the garlic and onion with the remaining olive oil on medium heat. Mix in the mushrooms and sauté it all with sea salt ½ tsp of salt until they are soft (approx 6 min).

Step 4
When the charcoal or gas grill is ready, throw the marinated fish on. Pour the excess marinade over the fish and put on the lid. Grill until the outside of the fish whitens and the inside is a pinkish white (approx 5 min).

Serve pieces of salmon over plates of pasta and squeeze the remaining lemon.

Spicy Lime and Herbed Tofu Lettuce Wraps

What’s better than a recipe that involves NO cooking whatsoever? Um, nothing? We made these for the first time tonight, and they were quite refreshing. Due to some poor menu planning on my part, we were missing quite a few of the ingredients, and made quite a few substitutions. The recipe below is our version, which we liked, but you can view the original recipe onEpicurious.

This recipe would be amazing if allowed to marinate. If you’re the plan ahead type, make the dressing and add the chopped tofu and let it sit for a few hours (or overnight). Also, next time we won’t strain the dressing so as to let more flavor come through.

Spicy Lime and Herbed Tofu Lettuce Wraps

Makes 6 appetizer servings or 3-4 main course servings.

INGREDIENTS
Dressing
1/4 cup thinly sliced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh lemongrass, cut from bottom 4 inches of 4 stalks with tough leaves removed
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sriracha chili sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Tofu
1/2 cup diced seeded peeled cucumber
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped seeded serrano chile
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil (preferably Vietnamese or Thai)
1 14- to 16-ounce package firm tofu, drained, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, patted dry
6 large or 12 medium butter lettuce leaves

DIRECTIONS
For dressing:
Puree first 5 ingredients in blender. Let mixture stand at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour. Strain mixture into small bowl, pressing on solids to release any liquid; discard solids. Stir in sweet chili sauce and sesame oil. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

For tofu:
Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Add tofu and dressing to bowl; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Arrange 1 or 2 lettuce leaves on each of 6 plates. Divide tofu mixture among lettuce leaves and serve.

Sautaced Bass with Mint Pesto and Spiced Carrots

So tonight we cooked the fancy fish dish. We didn’t use bass, but frozen dover sole. The fillets almost fell apart in the cooking process (so excuse the ugly plating), but it was still a delicious dish nonetheless. We weren’t too fond of the carrots cooked in chicken broth though… maybe something like white wine or vegetable broth would have been better. The mint pesto is delicious! So who designated this the week of pesto?

Sautéed Bass with Mint Pesto and Spiced Carrots

Recipe from Bon Appetit. This will be the last recipe we make from the April ‘07 issue… seeing as Taylor made a mess with the fish and spilled raw fish juice all over the magazine, so now it is contaminated. Ooops. Some good recipes in there too!
Makes 4 servings.

INGREDIENTS
Pesto:
1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup lightly toasted shelled unsalted pistachios
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
coarse kosher salt

Fish:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
4 6-8oz striped bass fillets (with or without skin)

Spiced Carrots:
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
12 ounces medium carrots, peeled, thinly sliced into rounds
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 cup low-salt chicken broth
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
For pesto: blend mint leaves, pistachios, olive oil, and garlic in processor until coarse puree forms. Season with coarse salt. Can be made 1 day ahead; cover and chill, bring to room temperature before using.

For fish: combine olive oil, mint, and thyme in small bowl. Spread herb mixture all over both sides of fish fillets. Cover and refrigerate fish at least 3 hours and up to 5 hours (yeah right… we marinated for maybe 30 minutes tops).

For spiced carrots: Stir all seeds in small dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer seeds to spice mill or mortar and grind coarsely.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrots, crushed red pepper, and ground seeds; sauté until carrots begin to brown in spots, about 5 minutes. Add broth and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until carrots are tender, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in each of 2 large nonstick skillets over medium-high heat. Add fish and cook until browned on both sides and just opaque in center, about 5 minutes total.

Divide carrots and any juices among 4 plates. Top each serving with 1 fish fillet. Spoon pesto over and serve.