Fish, fish.. you got your wish ~ Cooking fish at home.
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- Posted by kristina at 1:53 PM GMT+0000
One of my favorite foods is fish – any type of fish, shellfish, or seafood really. I had this thing, that when I visited my mom in Tampa, Florida I would try to eat it at every meal. This wasn’t difficult as I usually didn’t wake up till noon and then we would head for the water. There are so many great restaurants in St. Pete, Sanibel, Naples and other surrounding waterfront communities that offer specials of their ‘Fresh Catch’ as early as 6 a.m.
I would go home daydreaming of the languid salty air, amazing sunsets, sipping Mai Tais and stuffing myself on grouper stuffed with blue crab and encrusted with macadamia nuts.
Cooking fish at home was another story, however. The few times I tried it in my youth, left the house smelling of fish for days and it never ended up quite like I expected. Until recently I only enjoyed it when eating out.
Until I found these recipes:
Salmon Steaks With Hoisin Glaze
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons honey
4 salmon steaks (each 8 to 10 ounces and 1 inch thick)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Heat broiler. In a small bowl, whisk together orange juice, hoisin sauce, and honey.
Rinse salmon steaks, and pat dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
Place steaks on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush generously with glaze.
Broil salmon about 4 inches from the heat source, basting once, until opaque in center, 10 to 13 minutes.
Tips: Cover your baking sheet in foil for easy clean-up.
So I’ve begun searching for easy and delicious ways to prepare fish. Remembering three important lessons makes it a breeze every time. One is to purchase the freshest fish I can and keep it on ice in the refrigerator till I prepare it which is no more than within 1 – 2 days. The best way I have found to do this is to shop at a store that you trust – in my case it is Central Market where turnover is very high. Also, asking my fish monger what he would take home is a simple way to get an honest answer to what is fresh. Number 2 is to keep the ingredient list down, letting the flavor of the fish shine through. Finally, get rid of the fish packaging and clean up immediately afterward ensures no fishy smell lingering in your home.
Not Your Average Tuna Fish Salad
2 pounds very fresh tuna steak, cut 1-inch thick
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black, plus extra for sprinkling
2 limes, zest grated
1 teaspoon wasabi powder
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
10 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
1 to 2 ripe Haas avocados, medium diced
1/4 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
1/4 cup red onion, small diced
Brush the tuna steaks with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the tuna steaks in a very hot saute pan and cook for only 1 minute on each side. Set aside on a platter, and cover with foil.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, pepper, lime zest, wasabi, lime juice, soy sauce and hot sauce. Add the avocados to the vinaigrette.
Cut the tuna in chunks and place it in a large bowl. Add the scallions and red onion. Pour the vinaigrette mixture over the tuna and carefully mix.
Tips: This recipe can be easily halved and if you are only cooking for 1 or 2, and I would definitely recommend it as even a half recipe makes quite a bit.
If you halve the recipe, go ahead and use a whole avocado and prepare all of the vinaigrette. At the end you can decide how much vinaigrette it needs and save the rest.
Swordfish Spiedini
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds swordfish steaks (at least 1-inch thick), trimmed
12 short, thick wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes
12 thin slices pancetta (about 3 ounces), unrolled so that you have a strip
6 lemon wedges
Whisk the oil, herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Cut the swordfish steaks into 36 (1-inch) cubes and toss in the oil mixture to coat. Thread the swordfish cubes onto wooden skewers, 3 per skewer. Wrap a slice of pancetta around and between the swordfish cubes on each skewer. Arrange the swordfish skewers on a small baking sheet and brush with the remaining oil mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day, turning occasionally in the oil mixture.
Prepare the barbecue for medium-high heat or preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill the swordfish skewers until the swordfish is just opaque in the center and the pancetta is crisp, turning often, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the skewers to plates and serve with lemon wedges.