Sole, Green Pea Pesto, Baby Yukon Potatoes, & Spring Salad with Lemon Honey Vinaigrette

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Prep Time:  30 mins    Cook Time:  30 mins    Serves:  2

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With warmer temperatures and the return of Daylight Savings, Spring has officially returned.  Sole is a delightfully light and delicate fish that fits perfectly into this Spring recipe with a sweet and mild flavor.   Sole fillets can be very thin and fragile so it is important to handle them carefully and cook them quickly in a hot pan to avoid overcooking.  

The cucumber and carrots can be shredded with a box grater or cut into a very thin julienne, whichever you are more comfortable with.  If you have the knife control and skill, you might get better results with a julienne.  If you are pressed for time or just not confident enough to make such small cuts, shredding them is perfectly fine.  

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ingredients:

• 2 6-oz Sole fillets
• 1 cup fresh English sugar peas
• 8 Baby Yukon potatoes
• ¼ cup shredded carrots
• ¼ cup shredded cucumber
• ½ cup basil; chiffonade
• ½ cup mint; chiffonade
• ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice; divided
• 2 tbsp honey
• ½ shallot; chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic; chopped fine
• ¾ cup + 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• ⅓ cup chicken stock
• Salt & Pepper to taste

method:

Place baby Yukons in a small  sauce pot and enough water to just cover the potatoes.  Salt the water heavily and bring the water up to a low simmer.  Simmer the potatoes until fork tender, about 15 minutes and then remove from the water.  Let potatoes dry on a wire rack before slicing them in ¼” rounds.  Set aside.

Place chicken stock in a small sauce pot and set over medium heat.  Blanch peas in stock until tender then strain, reserving the stock.  Add the peas, half the of the basil and mint and 1 clove of minced garlic to a food processor.  With the motor running add  stock gradually until  smooth.  Add in butter and process until melted.  

Add shallots and garlic to a pan with teaspoon of olive oil and set over medium heat.  Cook shallots and garlic until garlic has begun to brown and shallots are translucent.  Add in white wine vinegar and reduce.  Once vinegar, garlic and shallots  have reduced to a thin syrup remove pan from heat.  Add lemon juice, honey, and reduced shallots and garlic to a blender.  With the motor running, gradually drizzle in olive oil to emulsify.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.  

Place a saute pan over medium heat and add 2 tbsp vegetable oil.  Place potatoes flesh side down in pan.  Cook 2-3 minutes until brown, then flip.  Cook additional 2-3 minutes on opposite side before removing potatoes from pan with a slotted spoon and draining on a paper towel.

Return pan to medium high heat and add reserved vegetable oil.  Season Sole fillets with salt and pepper.  When the pan and oil are very hot, add the sole fillets.  Cook 4-5 minutes before flipping and cooking an additional 4-5 minutes.  

Toss shredded carrot and cucumber along with reserved basil and mint in vinaigrette.  Season lightly with salt and pepper.  Plate pea green puree with potatoes, serve Sole over potatoes and top with salad.

Pan Roasted Salmon, Red Quinoa Pilaf with Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Sautéed Spinach, & Brown Butter Vinaigrette

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Prep Time:  30 min    Cook Time:  40 min    Serves:  2

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Cooking fish can be a bit intimidating.  A beautiful fish filet can go from perfectly cooked to overdone in a snap, and leave you with something dry and unpalatable.  However, once you get the timing down you will be producing flavorful dishes with tender, flaky flesh and a perfect crisp crust.   Salmon, due to its higher fat content and darker flesh, is more forgiving than white fish to cook. You can actually take temperature on a piece of salmon and cook it much like a steak from medium-rare to well done.  For this recipe I will be cooking the salmon to medium, but if you like your fish a little more well done, just add a couple more minutes in the oven.  To save yourself some time and effort, ask your fish provider to remove the skin for you. They should be more than happy to accommodate your request and it saves you a step in your preparation. 

Quinoa often carries a reputation as a bland health food, but this pilaf is hearty with lots of bold flavor. The sweet potatoes and onions balance nicely off the slight bitterness of the spinach.  Quinoa, like most grains, cooks at a proportion of 1:2 grain to liquid.  Always rinse your quinoa in cold water before cooking to remove excess starch and add in your onion, spinach and sweet potatoes at the very end of cooking.

When preparing the brown butter vinaigrette, be careful not to scorch the milk solids in the butter.  Cook the butter over medium heat.  At first the butter will foam up before the milk solids separate and settle to the bottom of the pan.  At this point, watch the color of the solids closely as they shift from a light golden hue to a darker brown color.  Brown butter smells heavenly and carries a complex nutty flavor that adds a depth and intricacy to anything it’s added to. 

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INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz salmon fillets; skin off
• 1 large sweet potato; peeled and cut into 1” cubes
• 2 ½  cups raw spinach; separated. 2 cups whole, ½ cup chiffonade
• ½ cup fresh basil; chiffonade (fine ribbon cut)
• ¼ cup smoked almonds; chopped
• 4 cloves garlic; minced
• ½ large yellow onion
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil; separated
• 1 cup red quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 6 oz unsalted butter
• 6 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp chopped shallot
• 1 tbsp brown mustard
• salt & pepper to taste

METHOD:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Season both sides of your salmon liberally with salt and pepper and set aside.  Add your cubed sweet potatoes to a bowl and drizzle with 1 tbsp of the vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper.  Toss the the sweet potatoes to evenly coat and spread out on a lined baking tray.  Place the sweet potatoes in the oven for 20 minutes and then set aside, they should be fork tender at this point. 

Meanwhile, place quinoa and vegetable stock into a medium sauce pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until all the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.  The grains should appear soft and translucent, and the germ ring will be visible along the outside edge of the grain.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a medium sauté pan and add garlic.  Allow the garlic to slightly color and become fragrant before adding your onions.  Cook onions until they become tender and translucent, about 5 minutes, then add 2 cups spinach.  Toss the spinach in the pan and cook lightly, seasoning with salt and pepper.  Allow the spinach to begin to wilt before removing everything from the pan and incorporating into the quinoa.  Cover and set aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until browned but not burned, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve.  In a blender, combine the vinegar, olive oil, shallot and mustard. Blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the reserved butter and blend until thickened. Season to taste and set aside at room temperature until ready to serve.

Place a sauté pan over medium high heat and add the remaining tbsp of oil.  Allow the pan to become very hot, with light wisps of smoke coming off before placing the salmon gently into the pan.  Immediately put the pan in the oven and cook for 8 minutes, allowing for extra time for more well done fish.  When you are ready to serve, dress the chiffonade basil, spinach, and chopped almonds with the vinaigrette and serve the small salad atop the salmon.

Striped Bass with Corn & White Bean Succotash

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Prep Time:  20 min Cook Time:  15 min  Serves:  2

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This is a perfect dinner for a warm summer night when you want something savory and fulfilling but not too heavy.  Prep in the kitchen is simple and quick, so you don't need to spend an hour over a hot stove.  Everything in this dish is fresh and seasonal, ensuring bright and vibrant flavors. Pair this with a light white wine, a wheat beer, or a brisk cocktail like a Moscow mule or mint julep.  

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Light, fresh, and perfect for summer

ingredients:

• 2 half pound striped bass fillets (skin off)
• 1/2 cup fresh yellow sweet corn 
• 1/2 cup fresh English green peas
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup great northern beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp chives
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1/4 cup thyme
• 1/2 lemon (zested and juiced)
• 1/2 tbs garlic (finely chopped)
• 1/2 tbs shallots (finely chopped)
• 4 tbs vegetable oil
• 1 tbs butter
• 1/4 vegetable stock
• Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Remove fish from the fridge and season both sides liberally with salt and pepper. Set aside on a small plate.  Seasoning and allowing the fish to come up to room temperature before you cook it will ensure a good sear and proper texture.  Add half the vegetable oil to a large saute pan over med-high heat.  When the oil shimmers, gently place the fish into the pan and immediately place in the oven for five minutes.  After the five minutes flip the fish and place back over medium heat, adding the butter to the pan and basting the fish until the top is crispy and brown.  Remove fish from the pan and let rest to the side tented in a piece of aluminum foil.  Pour off any used oil and return pan to medium heat adding the remaining reserved vegetable oil.  Add garlic and shallots to the pan, saute until fragrant  and then add the corn. Once the corn has started to cook add the peas and then the beans, tossing occasionally.  Finally add the spinach, tossing until it just starts to wilt.  Season with salt and pepper and lemon zest and plate the corn mixture, positioning your fish atop the succotash and reserving the pan for one final step.  Return the pan to medium heat, pour in vegetable stock and lemon juice and stir with a wooden spoon to lift the flavors off the pan.  Simmer lightly.  Toss in butter and herb mixture and lower heat, stirring sauce until thickened.  Spoon sauce lightly over fish and serve.  

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Pan Roasted Arctic Char with Fettuccine, Summer Squash, & Romesco

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Prep Time:  20 min  Cook Time:  10 min  Serves: 4

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Summer brings many great things.  One of my favorites is cooking with the slew of fresh seasonal ingredients available and putting together a beautiful dinner to enjoy outside.  This recipe is perfect for the patio, and would pair very well with a medium bodied white wine.

 Being a close cousin to Salmon, Arctic Char has recently been offered as an alternative, with similar flesh and color and the mildly sweet freshwater taste of trout. The delicate texture and sweetness of the fish is an excellent compliment to the smokiness of the romesco sauce.  The pan must be very hot when you add the fish to ensure it doesn't stick and you get a proper sear.  If you prefer your fish more well done, make sure to allow for more time in the oven when cooking.  

If you have a julienne attachment on your mandolin now may be the time to break it out.  If the squash is not cut consistently and at the proper size, it won't cook evenly.  Sauteing the squash lightly and tossing with the fettuccine provides a refreshing crispness and balances out the velvety texture of the pasta.  

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Ingredients:

• 4 6 oz Arctic Char fillets; skin on
• 3 oz flat leaf parsley; chopped
• 16 oz fettuccine
• 4 oz grated Parmesan 
• 1 tbl crushed red pepper
• 1 clove garlic; finely chopped
• 2 yellow summer squash; julienne
• 1 zucchini;  julienne
• 2 oz olive oil
• 3 oz vegetable oil
• 1 tbl butter
• salt & pepper

Romesco Sauce

• 3 large red bell peppers
• 1/2 cup tomato puree
• 2 tbl sherry vinnegar
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds; toasted
• 1 clove garlic; crushed
• 2 oz parsley; chopped
• 2 oz basil; chopped
• 2 oz oregano; chopped
• 1 tsp paprika 
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a saute pan over medium heat, toast the slivered almonds until lightly browned.  Set Aside. Place the bell peppers on a grill over high heat, rotating every few minutes, until charred on all sides.  If you do not have a grill available, toss the peppers lightly in oil and roast in the oven for twenty mins. Once the peppers are done add them to a food processor along with the tomato puree, almonds, vinegar, herbs, spices, and garlic.  Process until finely chopped.  Slowly drizzle in the 1/2 cup olive oil with the processor running until smooth.  Set sauce aside.

Bring a pot of salted water up to boil and add the pasta.  Stir the pasta occasionally, checking after 3-4 minutes.  The pasta should be cooked al dente, tender but still firm when bitten.  Poor the pasta into a colander reserving a couple table spoons of the water.

Place a large pan over medium heat and add the  2  oz of olive oil, adding in the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes as well.  Saute until lightly brown and fragrant.  Add the squash and toss, cooking until tender.  Add the reserved pasta, water and butter.  Cook until the butter full melts and toss to coat.  Reserve to the side

Place a large saute pan over high heat and add the vegetable oil.  When you see light wisps of smoke rise from the pan, add the fish.  Carefully place the fish into the pan by holding it vertically and slowly lowering, allowing it to roll away from you.  This ensures no oil will splash back.  Cook the fish over high heat for one minute before placing in a preheated oven.  Cook for five minutes and remove from oven.  Gently turn fish over and lightly baste with the oil left in the pan. Remove fish from pan and allow to drain on paper towels or wire rack.  

Plate the pasta and sprinkle with the  grated Parmesan.  Place the fish on top of the pasta.  Serve with a dollop of romesco and garnish with chopped parsley.

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