Pan Seared Lemon Sole with Seared Lemons

I am always looking for tasty and healthy fish recipes. This one is delicious and fits the bill. *adapted from Real Simple Magazine

Ingredients:

1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3-4 fillet of lemon sole (or another flaky white fish like flounder)
1 lemon w ends removed, cut into thin slices
4 tablespoons of butter
Salt to taste

Wash and dry fish. Salt on both sides.

Add flour to a large plate, dredge fish fillets in flour, shake off excess.

On a large skillet, melt 1/2 the butter. Add lemon slices and cook about 90 seconds per side till light brown.

Remove lemons. Melt remaining butter. Add fish to skillet. Cook about 2 minutes per side till fish is white and cooked through. 

Remove fish from plate, add the lemons for about 20 seconds to warm them up.

Add fish to plate and top with lemon slices.

I served this with roasted sweet potatoes and sauteed kale.

Pork Loin Chops with Caramelized Apples

One of our fun family traditions is to go apple picking. This always results in too many apples. I have already baked an apple cake recipe here:http://www.saladgirlnat.com/2013/05/super-easy-apple-cake.html and the kids and I have been snacking on apples daily. This was another good way to use a few more apples and it was a delicious and fast dinner. The pork and the wine infused the apples with fantastic flavor. 

Ingredients:

4 Bone In  Loin Pork Chops

1-2 tablespoons of oil for frying

1 teaspoon sage (I was in a hurry and used dry)

Few tablespoons of flour for dredging (I used whole wheat)

2-3 Apples (I used golden delicious but any apple will do)—peeled, cored and sliced

½  cup of white wine

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

Salt to taste

Wash and dry pork. Add a few tablespoons of flour onto a large plate. Heat oil on a large skillet till nice and hot, about 2 minutes. In the meantime, coat pork chops with flour.

Add pork chops to skillet  and cook 3-5 minutes per side depending on how thick the chops are and how well done you want the chops to be cooked. 

Add salt, pepper and dry sage to each side.

Remove chops and keep warm. Keeping pan on medium, deglaze pan with white wine. Add apples and allow to cook through, about 5 minutes. Add brown sugar and cook another few minutes till cooked through. Return pork chops to skillet for another minute.

Serve pork chops topped with apples. I prepared pureed pumpkin (another fruit of our farm visit) as a side.

Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower Gratin

I am a huge fan of roasted cauliflower (check out my basic roasted cauliflower recipe here:  http://www.saladgirlnat.com/2013/05/cauliflower-roasted-with-white-truffle.html?m=1 but my husband—not so much.  Saw this recipe for roasted cauliflower gratin http://theshiksa.com/2012/04/25/roasted-cauliflower-gratin/

and had to try.

I made a few modifications based on my taste buds and I have to say that this was a huge hit even with the spouse.  And while not as healthy as plain roasted cauliflower, definitely healthier than the typical gratin.

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium heads of cauliflower broken up into florets

2 tablespoons of oil ( I used white truffle which I love on cauliflower and in general)

2 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1 ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

1 ¼ cup of milk (I used 1 %)

Cheddar cheese—recipe called for ¾ cup of cheddar but I had THREE slices of smoke cheddar which I chopped up

3 tablespoons panko ( I used Ian’s Whole Wheat Panko—my favorite)

Cooking spray ( I use coconut spray by Spectrum)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. I used my Breville Convection Oven.

Toss florets with oil of choice. Roast for about half hour, tossing every 10  minutes or so.

In the meantime, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk in flour and stir so it’s lump free. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg if using.

The above ingredients should form a thick paste.

Slowly stir in milk a bit at a time. Heat it for a few minutes, mixing frequently so it thickens and begins to bubble around edges. DO NOT BRING TO BOIL.

Whisk in cheese and stir till melted. Reduce flame to low  and stir frequently. Continue to do so till ready to assemble the gratin.

Remove cauliflower from oven. Reduce temperature to 375.  Spray an 8 x8 baking dish ( I used a Pyrex dish) with oil. Add cauliflower in an even layer.

Pour cheese mixture over it. Sprinkle with panko.

Bake for about ½ hour till brown and bubbly. If you wish, broil for another 1-2 minutes (but be careful because I almost burned mine on that last step).

Enjoy!

Adapted from: 

 http://theshiksa.com/2012/04/25/roasted-cauliflower-gratin/

Chicken Roasted Over Yukon Potatoes

What can be more delicious than a roasted chicken and potatoes? This dish is particularly flavorful because potatoes are cooked in the chicken drippings which infuses them with a rich taste.  My husband compared these potatoes to duck fat fries we hadnout recently. High compliment in my book!!! 

Ingredients:

Whole Chicken

6 tablespoons of oil (I used grape)

Herbs of choice --thyme, rosemary, sage)--I used chopped rosemary)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Potatoes washed, dried, w skin on but blemishes removed, cut into ~ 1 1/2 inch pieces 

Preheat oven to 450.

In a bowl, combine oil, herbs, salt and pepper. 

In a deep baking dish, toss the potatoes w half the oil mixture.  Place chicken breast down over the potatoes.  Roast for 20 minutes, shaking pan occasionally so potatoes don't stick. After 20 minutes, baste with oil from bottom of pan. Roast another 10 minutes. At this point, breast should be beginning to brown. 

Reduce temperature to 350. Toss potatoes w remaining oil mixture, flip chicken breast side up and baste. Continue to roast, basting occasionally till internal temperature is 155F, about another 30-40 minutes. 

At this point, the potatoes should be cooked and crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. If you wish, remove the chicken, up the oven temp to 425 and roast the potatoes another 5-10 minutes. 

Enjoy!!!

I served chicken and potatoes with fava beans.  

*adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything 

Peach Tomato Avocado Salsa

Served this tasty salsa over deconstructed. 

Fajitas the other day. You can also serve 

as a side salad. 

Salsa:

2 medium peaches diced

3 cups of tomatoes (I used grape

tomatoes, both yellow and red) diced 

1/2 red onion diced

1 avocado diced

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

Dressing:

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

Combine salsa ingredients. Combine

dressing ingredient. Add dressing.  Serve 

immediately. 

Enjoy! 

Baked Crispy Squash Blossoms

I tried deep frying squash blossoms a few weeks ago, but while tasty they felt heavy. I wanted to make them a healthier way but did not want to lose the crunch. These did not disappoint. They were even tastier and lighter than the deep fried version. Going to double up next time because these were gone in minutes.

Ingredients:

8 squash blossoms washed, trimmed and patted dry

Whole wheat flour for dipping

1 egg

2 tablespoons of water 

Salt to taste

Oil for oiling pan (I used grape)

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 420. I used my Breville Convection oven. 

Oil a pan or baking dish. 

Beat egg in a bowl. Add water.

Add flour to another bowl. 

Dip each blossom into egg and then flour and place on an oiled pan. 

Spray with cooking spray. Bake about 15  minutes. Flip over. Spray with more cooking spray (this ensures that crunch you are looking for). Salt to taste. Bake another 15 minutes or till crunchy. Careful not to burn. Enjoy!!!

Pappardelle with Beef

This a simple take on delicious pappardelle with braised meat that I have had eating out.

I have no time to braise anything on a weeknight but this dish was pretty fast, simple and delicious. And most importantly, had a very very similar taste profile.

It also resulted in some tasty leftovers for the next day.

I served mine over arugula and topped with roasted tomatoes but that’s optional.

Ingredients:

1 pound of grown beef  I used lean)

2 shallots or one onion finely chopped

1 tablespoon of grape oil

Garlic powder to taste

Salt to taste

1 small can of tomato paste (or sauce)

1 pack of pappardelle or another pasta

Cooking water reserved

Grated Parmesan cheese

In a skillet, heat oil. Add shallots or onion and cook till begin to soften, about 5 -7 minutes.

Add ground beef and break up the chunks while incorporating the shallot. When the meat is almost cooked through (about 10 minutes), add the tomato paste or sauce, garlic powder and salt.

Cook another 3-5 minutes. Cover and set aside.

Cook pasta to direction till al dente. Mine was good in about 10 minutes. Drain, reserve about a ¼ cup of water. Add pasta to your meat mixture and the water stir till pasta is coated with sauce for about a minute or 2.

Serve topped with freshly grated parmesan.

I also topped mine with roasted cherry tomatoes that I needed to use up (optional).  Coat with oil and roast at 350 for about 30 minutes,  shaking to toss occasionally.

Enjoy! This was a big hit at my house.

Farmers Market Roasted Garlic

What a lovely perk it is to be sitting in an office that is located close to a farmers market. I am officially obsessed. And my kids can attest to the fact that farm fresh is extra yummy. The problem however is that I am tempted by all the bounty, make impulse purchases and end up winging it.

Case in point is this delicious garlic. 

Ingredients

2 garlic heads broken into cloves with skin on

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375. I used my most favorite kitchen gadget, Breville Smart Oven (if you are interested, you can view through my links in the side bar). If you don't have one, regular oven is fine. 

Spray garlic cloves (skin on) with oil or toss with oils. Roast about 25-30 minutes tossing occasionally. It's ready when soft and golden in color.  

Peel and enjoy. Would also make a tasty spread on a lovely baguette.  

Chilled Summer Soup of Sweet Peas and Mint

Does anyone else try something out and get obsessed with replicating it at home? Please tell me it's not just me. I tried this soup recently at my favorite lunch chain Pret A Manger and decided I NEED to make this at home. The results came close. Next time, I just have to give myself more time to chill it.

My version was NOT vegetarian but you can certainly make it that way by substituting vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups of fresh shelled peas washed and dried

2 shallots chopped (or 1 onion chopped)

1 tablespoon oil (I use grape)

1/2 cup of fresh chopped mint plus a few leaves for garnish

4 tablespoon of heavy cream-- about 1 per serving

1 tablespoon sugar

4 cups of stock (I used homemade chicken stock but you can also use store bought or vegetable)

In a large pot or dutch oven ( I love this one Le Creuset Dutch Oven), cook your onions or shallots till they begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add peas and stock. Cook on medium flame about 15-20 minutes till peas are very soft. Add chopped mint and sugar. Cook another minute or so. 

Remove from flame. Using immersion blender (I have this one Cuisine Art Immersion Blender), blend till creamy consistency. Some chunks are ok in my book.

Chill for about 2 hours in fridge. If you are in a hurry like I was, you can create an ice bath for your soup

Before serving, add a tablespoon of heavy cream per serving and a bit of mit garnish.

Enjoy. I served with Baked Truffle Potato Chips (recipe here)

Sweet and Savory: Salad with Strawberries, Goat Cheese and Toasted Almond

This salad is sweet and savory and hits the spot every time. Served it at a family get together tonight and it was gobbled up.

Ingredients:

1. 6 cups of mixed greens (or arugula)
2. 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
3. 1 cup avocado cubed
4. 1-2 cups of strawberries washed, dried and quartered
5. 4-6 ounces of goat cheese crumbled
6. 1/3 cup slivered almonds pan toasted

Dressing
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons of berry preserves (I used Sarabeth's mixed berry)
Mixed in a bowl and well mixed

In a small hot skillet, toast your almonds on small flame till golden. Set aside.

Wash and dry greens. Add onion, avocado and strawberries. Add dressing, mix well. Top with goat cheese and almonds.

Enjoy!