fish

Experimenting with Roasty Toasty Goodness…

~ Gary Bechard ~ Leave a comment

“Y’all know me, know how I make a livin'” or so said Quint in the movie “Jaws” (at the town meeting before he gets eaten by the shark) but some folks out there reading this may not know that this blog is just my creative outlet and not my livin’. I would not mind doing this for a living but it is a way to express myself through food. If you are a first time reader, welcome! and if you are a returning reader, welcome back! Ah, enough of this sappy talk and on with today’s recipes. Yes, I said recipes, plural!

To give you some background, I was walking through the neighborhood store one day and “eye grazing” (it’s a thing) spices when Roasted Ground Ginger caught my eye. Knowing I had Toasted Sesame seeds at the house it started me thinking that I HAD to get these two together somehow. I was originally at a loss as to which protein I wanted to use for this experiment. The problem was that the Roasty combined with the Toasty were kind of sultry, sexy and deep flavors and I knew that doing something like a steak would muddle them and create palate confusion.  Nobody wants palate confusion because the next thing you know you are scoring a corn dog on some side street and calling it a gourmet meal. I knew I wanted something a bit sweet and light so the first thing that came to mind was crab but not being hyper motivated to make crab burgers or something of the like I decided on some type of fish. A trip to my favorite fish market “Mr. Fish” here in Myrtle Beach helped me decide on what kind.  I used Corvina which is a light sweet flakey fish along the same lines as grouper but a bit more tender. Please note that if you are ever in the Myrtle Beach area Mr. Fish is a tremendous place to buy seafood. Their knowledge of their inventory is expansive and are always willing to help you find exactly what you want.  There is also a Mr. Fish restaurant next door which has some great food and the chef has it “goin’ on” with different types of sauces. Also, their crab cakes are to die for.  So, Corvina was the choice and I decided to serve this with a Daikon radish and zucchini salad (recipe below) and jasmine rice. Without further delay here are the recipes.

Roasty Toasty Corvina

The Well Fed Cyclist – Gary Bechard

Ingredients:

1 lb – Corvina filets (2, 8 ounce servings) (You could substitute Grouper or any other mild, sweet, flakey, fish)

1/2 cup – Panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup – Whole, wheat flour, unbleached (I find that this type of flour brings out the smoky flavors in the seasonings)

2 tbs – Toasted sesame seeds

1 ½ tsps. – Roasted ground ginger

2 tsps – Coarse ground black pepper

1 tbs – Dried parsley

2 tbs – Soy Sauce (I use Kikoman lite soy sauce to cut down on sodium)

Construction Instruction:

In a one gallon sealable plastic bag or medium bowl combine breadcrumbs, wheat flour, sesame seeds, ginger, coarse ground black pepper and parsley. When you have done this either seal (yes that is important) and shake the bag to thoroughly mix the ingredients or whisk them together in the bowl to do the same thing. Next, take the mixture and place on a plate or a shallow dish. Then dip the filets in water and press into the mixture and coat each side evenly. Place the filets in a ceramic or glass baking dish which has been sprayed with some cooking spray and a small amount of water. (Note: the water should not be very deep and should only barely cover the bottom of the dish) Before baking, drizzle 1 tablespoon of soy sauce down the center of each filet. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes (time will depend on how thick the filets are) until fish flakes easily.

Spiralize This! (Daikon Radish and Zucchini Salad)

The Well Fed Cyclist – Gary Bechard

Ingredients:

1 – Medium zucchini, either run through a “spiralizer” or very finely sliced (julienned)

1 – Small Daikon radish, either run through a “spiralizer” or very finely sliced (julienned)

1/4 – Medium sweet onion, very thinly sliced

1/2 cup – Shredded carrots

1/2 – Red bell pepper, very thinly sliced

1/2 – Yellow bell pepper, very thinly sliced

1/3 cup – White mushrooms, diced (You could also use a mixture of mushrooms like shitake, or others which may give it a bit more flavor)

10 to 15 – Small grape tomatoes, halved

Ginger salad dressing

Construction Instruction:

I will tell you that the easiest way to go here is to get a “Spiralizer”, which is not too expensive, and run the daikon radish and zucchini through it and put in a medium bowl. After slicing the onion and peppers, add these along with the shredded carrots into the same bowl. Note: I used shredded carrots because although I could have run large carrots through the “Spiralizer”, this saved some preparation time. Once all the long ingredients and the mushrooms are in the bowl, lightly toss to get all of these items evenly distributed. When this is done add the tomatoes and lightly season the salad with the ginger dressing or you can serve and allow your guests to season their own salads.

Enjoy!

The Well Fed Cyclist

It’s a “Two-fer”! Blasphemy (and the simple sauce) and NUTS!

~ Gary Bechard ~ Leave a comment

I spent a lot of time yesterday “leaf herding” and doing those other activities that are supposed to prepare the homestead for the upcoming winter but is anyone ever really prepared for the upcoming winter? I know that I am not. The time got so late I wore out and did not do a post yesterday so there are two recipes for today.  The picture is of the hazelnut-rosemary encrusted tilapia mainly because I did not think that anyone would just want to see a pot of sauce.

First up, is the sauce recipe and I will have to write quickly because there is an angry mob of Italian grandmothers armed with giant soup spoons and a hanging rope made of old pasta trying to hunt me down.  They keep chanting “get the blasphemer, get the blasphemer!” I believe I could probably outrun them but you never know these days with souped up electric scooters and the like.  This is the 20 to 30 minute pasta sauce and a great alternative to the jarred sauces because you do get the fresh taste and not the oversalted garlic powder heavy taste of some sauces.  The key to being able to have a quick sauce is to have your ingredients in a state that will allow them to incorporate (get intimate) in a very short period of time, kind of like speed dating. This is the reason that dried powdered oregano is used and the onions and garlic are very finely diced. You are probably going to ask why not use dried basil and parsley and I would answer that the fresh give off more flavor in a shorter period of time than the dried ingredients. Without further delay here is the recipe.

It’s A Quickie (fast pasta sauce)

Gary Bechard – The Well Fed Cyclist

Ingredients:

2 – 15 ounce cans of tomato sauce (I used Muir Glen organic)

1 – 15 ounce can of tomato sauce, No Salt Added (I used Muir Glen organic)

4 – Very thin slices of medium sweet onion very finely diced

7 to 10 – Fresh basil leaves, thin sliced (chiffonade)

1 handful (about 3/4ths cup) – Fresh Parsley leaves, finely chopped

6 – Cloves garlic, finely chopped

A couple of good turns around the bottom of the pan with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 tbsp – Coarse ground black pepper

1 ½ tbsp – Lemon peel (grated)

Note: You can substitute the zest of a lemon

1 ½ tsp – Dried, powdered oregano leaves

1 tsp – Thyme leaves

A brief note before the construction instructions: I normally chop my vegetables ahead of time because it makes for easier cooking and cleaning. You may also notice that there is no salt listed in the ingredients and that is because 2 of the cans of tomatoes already have that in them. I am a big proponent of “taste as you go” and adjust to how you like it so do whatever floats your boat.

Construction Instructions:

In a 3 to 4 quart pot, do a few good turns around the bottom of the pot with some extra virgin olive oil. Turn the heat to mid range and bring the oil up to temperature remembering that olive oil has a low smoke point and does not withstand high heat very well without breaking down. When the oil is hot, add garlic and onions and sauté until the onions are translucent (kind of clear) and without turning the garlic brown. This process should take about 1 to 3 minutes because of the very fine chop you have on the garlic and onions. After the onions have released their water (sweating them to the oldies you could say), add the tomato sauces and stir mixture until it is fully pulled together. Next add your soft ingredients, basil, oregano, parsley, thyme leaves, and the black pepper and lemon zest and continue to stir. (Note: This is not a 4 to 5 hour sauce so you have to keep the sauce moving. You do not want the mixture to have uneven temperature.) Allow these ingredients to become intimate (cover the children’s eyes if you have to). Simmer until you start to see the parsley and the basil start to break down and become wilted (this will be around 10 minutes). Also, small bubbles will appear in the tomato sauce and once you see them reduce the heat to around 3 and continue to simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. If you see that the sauce is becoming thicker than you would like you can add either some chicken or vegetable stock or red wine (my favorite) to thin it out. NEVER use water to thin because that destroys the integrity of the sauce. After the cooking time is done, I normally allow the sauce to “rest” by turning off the heat and letting sit partially covered on the stove.

Enjoy!

This is the second recipe and it is kind of a shorty but very, very tasty. I was eating some Marcona almonds with rosemary the other day and thought to myself, these would be really good as a coating for chicken or fish. I carried the idea around in  my head for several weeks playing around with the idea of tossing the rest of the bag into the food processor but I ended up eating them all and I finally decided to do something with the idea last night. I did not go the almond route because I thought that hazelnuts would have a better flavor profile and would still play nice with the rosemary and thyme.  I did the tilapia in a large cast iron skillet in canola oil but I believe that you could do the egg wash thing, coat them and bake them on a cookie sheet just as well.  I will be trying that with chicken here in the near future.

Nuts to You

(A coating for fish or chicken)

The Well Fed Cyclist – Gary Bechard

Ingredients:

2 cups – ground hazelnut flour

2 tbsp – rosemary leaves

1tbs – thyme leaves

1 tsp – Kosher salt

Thoroughly mix this in a bowl until all ingredients are evenly blended.

I did an eggwash of the tilapia, rolled the fillets in the mixture and gently put them in the cast iron skillet.  It took about 3 to 4 minutes a side until the fillet started to flake.

Enjoy!

The Well Fed Cyclist

On the Edge…continues

~ Gary Bechard ~ Leave a comment

Well it is the same ‘bat time”, same “bat channel”…almost (some of you younger folks may not know what in the world I am talking about with that phrase, however. So you may need to ask your parents). I was going to do a post yesterday but I was off with some Canadian friends doing stuff.  This is the first of many fish recipes I have come up with over the years since fish is what I consider food of the gods (not to offend anyone who thinks red meat is the tastiest thing on the planet). As everyone who has read this blog knows, I have way too much time to think while piloting the lawn mower or doing other assorted “yard things”.   This recipe is a product of my pining away for another visit to Key West while doing mundane things. Key West is one of those places that inspire extreme opinions. You either love it or you hate it. Most of the time there is no gray area. However, I loved it! It was laid back, comfortable, eclectic, fun and accepting. The food is good and almost always pretty healthy and there were plenty of places to find good rum, wine and other intoxicating beverages (Hmmm, I am hoping that is not why the food was really good). It was there that I learned about key limes and the fact that they do not travel well and for that reason you do not find them very far north of Florida. I wanted to incorporate them in a fish recipe because, well, frankly, I am not sure the limes would go with say a red meat.

Almost all of my fish recipes are very healthy and fit into the “On the Edge” category of being good for the pre-diabetic. They are all low in carbohydrates (I have to try to keep the whole meal under 30 grams if I can) and are almost devoid of sugars so you can eat “clean” , as the healthy food groupies say now. This recipe was inspired by a trip to Key West and a wonderful sailboat cruise in the Gulf of Mexico a number of years ago where I was the pilot of a 43 foot sailboat my family chartered for me on my 50th birthday. Without further delay, here is the recipe.

Key West Mahi-Mahi
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 lbs – Mahi-Mahi fillets (should be 4 at 8 oz each)
1 cup – Scallions (finely chopped)
¾ cup – Shitake mushrooms (coarsely chopped)
½ tsp – Sea salt
1 tsp – Coarse ground black pepper
1 tsp – Light Soy sauce
10 – Key limes (juiced, well maybe not “juiced”, per se, but the juice of the limes) (about 3/4ths of a cup)
[Note: If you cannot find Key Limes, you can normally find Key Lime juice in the grocery store hanging out near the Bloody Mary mix]

Construction Instruction:
In a 9 X 13 inch baking dish that has had the bottom sprayed with Pam or some other non-caloric cooking spray, arrange the fillets after lightly seasoning with the salt and pepper. (You can skip the salt if you would like because of the soy sauce) Add about a ¼ cup of water to the bottom of the dish to make sure the fish stays moist. Next, drizzle a thin line of soy sauce down the center of each fillet and slowly pour on the key lime juice. (You want to try to keep as much on the fillets as possible) After this is done evenly arrange the scallions and mushrooms generously over each of the fillets and putting any excess in the bottom of the baking dish. Cover the baking dish with foil (trust me on this one) and bake in an oven that has been pre-heated to 375 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes. [Note: You should check on the fish at the 30 minute mark to see if it flakes easily. If it does, you are done. If not, you need to bake a bit longer until the fish does flake easily.]

This was served with Japanese buckwheat noodles, a lightly steamed blend of zucchini, yellow squash, green beans and red bell pepper. The wine was a Viogner!

Enjoy!

Trust me officer “Baked” is a relative term…

~ Gary Bechard ~ Leave a comment

I am sorry but yes, it is yet another fish recipe and this after I thought it was going to be “chicken week”. However this is a very easy recipe and won very high marks from one of my most discriminating critics (my daughter). The name of the recipe was kind of joke because nobody would EVER cook while they were fully baked…right? Not that I have ever been that way but I was just referring to the state of the fish at the end of the recipe…Yah, that’s the ticket. You believe me right? Okay, even if you do not believe me, this is still really good fish.

This recipe was born while I was watching chocolate chip cookies being made at the same time I was trying to figure out how to make faux fried fish for dinner. I think I was watching Alton Brown on the Food Network, but that is neither here nor there, and as I was watching the vanilla extract being added to the cookie batter (after Alton’s requisite aside on actual vanilla beans, where they come from, how they grow, what we do with them, etc.) I wondered how it would taste on breadcrumbs and ultimately the fish. I quickly made a crumb test batch to try out on my family first. The test was a success and the rest, as they say, is history. The best thing about grouper is that it takes on virtually any flavor you put on it and the better the outside flavor the better the fish. I know that grouper is expensive right now but if you get the chance you should try this recipe. Haddock or most any other mild, flaky white fish would also work.

I’m Totally Baked
Vanilla Grouper
(makes 4 – 5 servings)

2 ½ lbs – Grouper fillets (skinless, about 8 ounces per person)
1 ½ cups – Canola Oil
1 ounce – Pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp – Sugar
7 ounce package – Panko breadcrumbs

Combine canola oil, vanilla extract and sugar in a medium bowl and whisk together thoroughly and set aside (for now). Next, in a big ass skillet, pour about half of the oil/vanilla mixture in the bottom and start it on low heat. After about 2 to 3 minutes of letting the oil/vanilla mixture heat up add about 1/3 of the breadcrumbs and mix together until the breadcrumbs absorb the oil. Repeat this same process until you have run out of breadcrumbs and the oil/vanilla mixture. Move the heat to just below medium and toast the breadcrumbs for approximately 3 to 5 minutes, then lower heat and toast some more at low for another 2 to 3 minutes. After this remove the breadcrumbs from the heat and set aside to cool.

After the breadcrumbs have cooled a bit, wet grouper fillets (I did it with water but you can also use buttermilk but if you do I would soak the fillets for the entire time you are making the breadcrumbs) and roll them in the mixture fully coating them. Spray the bottom of a 9 X 13 baking dish with a non-caloric cooking spray and arrange the fillets in the bottom of the pan. Bake the fish at 380 to 400 degrees for about 35 minutes or until the fish starts to flake easily. The breadcrumbs should have a “toasted marshmallowesque” look to them. (I always start checking my fish at the 30 minute mark because sometimes fillets can be of different thicknesses and the thinner ones take less time. You do not want to overcook them.)

I served this with steamed fresh green beans garnished with almond slices and wild rice pilaf with Cremini mushrooms and petite peas.

Enjoy!

Gotta hate coverups…

~ Gary Bechard ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday, I was writing about the Meddeteranean style diet and the health benefits of going that direction. I will say that it is very difficult to stick to a diet like that when there is an abundance of “easy”, albeit, unhealthy alternatives. However, I believe that if you keep the ingredients fresh and watch the added sugars and such you should be fine.  There is a blog that is dedicated to fresh and healthy called “Peeled” here on WordPress and you should really check it out. She has a lot of good ideas to “keep it clean”.

I know that I was remiss in my duties about posting the pork recipe I did with black cherries and lime last week but I hope I can make amends with this fish recipe (the pork recipe is not yet in electronic form). So, I hope you will forgive me this one time and I will try to not let it happen again. I do have quite a few fish recipes left in my kitchen notebook so you may be seeing fish for a while and I hope that does not bother anyone.

This was a recipe I thought of while dreaming of a blue water sail through tropical waters to an island of choice. No, it was not at night while I was sleeping but while I was perusing a Condé Nast Traveler magazine on a Saturday about island destinations which included Hawaii. For me, the sailing part would just be a really cool way to get to any of the destinations listed.

This recipe was also a way to address one of the things I dislike which is when people do not even taste the food in front of them before they cover it up with some sort of sauce or “ketchup type” thing (I mean you work to make sure the flavors in the meal are balanced and such and they should at least taste it right?) So, it goes without saying, I was kind of tired of watching while some of the people for whom I cook slathered their fish with cocktail or tartar sauce so I was trying to come up with something they could use that would enhance the flavor of the fish instead of cover it. Thus, The Salsa, a tartar sauce alternative, was born. Since this recipe, I have come up with a bunch of other salsas to be used in a wide variety of dishes.

Here is the recipe:

Tropical Dream Flounder
(makes 4 servings)

2 lbs – Flounder fillets (skinless) (I try to have 6 – 8 ounces of fish per person)

The Salsa (the tartar sauce alternative)
1/3 – Fresh pineapple (diced fine)
1 – Mango, no skin, (diced fine)
1 – Orange (diced fine) (I try to make sure that I have just the meat of the orange and not any of the skin on the inside)
1/3 – Medium sweet onion (diced fine)
½ – Red bell pepper (diced fine)
½ – Green bell pepper (diced fine)
A couple of healthy splashes of white balsamic vinegar (if you have to measure 2 ½ tablespoons)
Coarse ground black pepper (to taste)
Ground cayenne pepper (to taste)
½ tsp – Sea Salt (it’s a fish it deserves ocean stuff)
7 – Mint leaves (finely shredded) (I used spearmint because that is what is growing under my deck)

Salsa assembly:

In a medium to large bowl put pineapple, mango, orange, onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and mint leaves and toss thoroughly to make sure all of the ingredients are evenly distributed. Splash with the balsamic vinegar and toss again. Place mixture in the fridge to that all those nice flavors can get acquainted.

The fish:

Use salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to season both sides of each piece of fish. (The idea is to have mildly (or very, it depends on your taste) spicy fish play off of the sweet and minty in the salsa.) Place fish on a cookie (or baking sheet) that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray and bake at 380 degrees for about 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Serve the fish with salsa on the top (or on the side).

Note: Flounder fillet are notoriously thin and they will cook very fast so it is best to keep an eye on them. (They become hard almost rubbery messes if you do not)

With this fish I served wild rice and a fresh fruit salad (you kind of have to use the remainder of the pineapple for something). The wine was Toasted Head, Viognier.

Enjoy!