A TWIST ON PESTO

Posted in Pasta & Noodles, Seafood by sallybr

Even though I know that the word “pesto” refers to pounding ingredients into a paste (preferably using a mortar and pestle), I tend to associate it with basil – the classic pesto Genovese. So, this recipe using cilantro as the main herb perked my interest. I found it in the latest issue of Bon Appetit, and it seemed perfect for this time of the year, in which the temperature approaches 100 F every day, with no rain in the horizon. Not that there’s anything wrong with it… 😉

LINGUINE WITH CILANTRO-LIME PESTO & SHRIMP
(adapted from Bon Appetit)

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound linguine
1 + 1/2 bunches fresh cilantro leaves
1/4 cup green onion, cut in large pieces
1/2 serrano pepper, seeded, quartered
1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tbs lime juice
salt and pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
3 Tbs tequila
cotija cheese to taste, grated (or crumbled feta)

To make the cilantro pesto:
Place the cilantro leaves in the bowl of a food processor and process it for a few seconds. Add the green onion, jalapeno pepper, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper, and process for 30 seconds. With the machine on, pour the olive oil until a thick paste forms – you may need a little more or a little less olive oil. (I usually opt for a lot less than recipes call for).

Cook the pasta until al dente. While the pasta cooks, heat 1 Tbs olive oil in a large skillet, add the shrimp and cook until it just starts to get opaque. Remove from heat, add the tequila, bring back to the stove and cook for about 30 seconds, until the tequila achieves a syrupy consistency. Add the pesto to it, cook a few seconds to warm it up. Add the cooked pasta and mix everything together until shrimp, sauce and pasta are well blended. Grate some cotija cheese on top and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Cilantro haters will have to forgive me, but this pesto rocks! At first I thought this recipe could end as a major gastronomic disaster, due to cilantro overload, but its taste mellowed down in the final sauce. I had never tried cotija cheese, and did not particularly cared for its texture, but grated over the pasta it worked very well. Many people dislike adding cheese to seafood dishes, but I don’t have a problem with it: it definitely embellished this pasta.

One year ago: WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU CHARD…

31Mar2010

SPRING ROLLS on a SPRING DAY

Posted in Appetizers, Seafood by sallybr

March is a wild month. It’s the beginning of Spring in the Southwest, but Winter still occasionally shows its teeth, bringing low temperatures, freezing rain, snow and nasty winds. It’s enough to make a tropical creature sob. This past Saturday I fought back, ignoring the cloudy skies, the intermittent rain and the 25mph winds… I went ahead and brought a burst of Spring air into the house.

VIETNAMESE-STYLE SPRING ROLLS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

4 rice paper rounds
1 oz dry bean threads or rice vermicelli
cooked shrimp, cut in half lengthwise
carrots, cut in long julienne strips
cucumbers, cut in long matchstick pieces
lettuce, cut in strips
cilantro leaves

for dipping sauce
6 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs water
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp grated fresh ginger

Cut the vegetables, cook the shrimp, and have everything ready to use on your kitchen counter. Prepare the dipping sauce by mixing well all its ingredients.

Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package (they vary according to type). Rinse them in cold water and set aside (you can add a tiny bit of sesame oil or olive oil to prevent them from sticking, but it’s not absolutely necessary if you rinse them well).

Fill a bowl large enough to hold the rice paper with very warm water. Open a damp cloth over your work surface. Soak the rice paper in the warm water until it is soft and pliable. Carefully lift it and place it over the damp cloth. Line your ingredients, starting with the cut shrimp, then the noodles, veggies, herbs. Add 1/2 tsp of dipping sauce (or just a few sprinkles of soy sauce) to the filling, and roll the paper around them. Repeat with the remaining rice papers. To serve, cut each roll at an angle and serve with a small bowl of dipping sauce.

Think about birds chirping, flowers blooming, and ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: What I love about these rolls is that you can improvise and use lots of different things in the filling. Granted, this practice might compromise their authenticity, but unless you’re having a Vietnamese guest for lunch, no harm done. Keep in mind that you can have too much of a good thing: avoid using 6 different veggies, two types of meat, 5 herbs, and a smear of peanut butter inside. 😉 These rolls are supposed to be delicate, fresh, and light. Perfect for the warm weather that is certainly peeking at us (fingers crossed).

Click here for a quick tutorial on how to prepare them (plus a cool song in the background!)…

27Feb2010

SEARED TUNA is MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO

Posted in Seafood by sallybr

…. Get out of the steak you’re in! 😉

We don’t often dine out, simply because we prefer to cook at home: it’s less expensive, less caloric and more satisfying. The only real exception is sushi, which I don’t attempt to make. But, if a restaurant menu offers “seared tuna,” then that’s usually my selection! I like it served cold (our local sushi restaurant makes a killer seared tuna salad with creme fraiche and wasabi dressing), I like it served warm (over pasta, rice, or soba noodles), and I feel great after eating it. Seared tuna is a fantastic, weeknight-friendly dish: ten minutes tops from the refrigerator to plating.

I slightly adapted this recipe from “The Improvisational Cook“, by Sally Schneider, and served it with a crispy potato / spinach / escarole salad based on this recipe. It’s a healthy, tasty dinner, that reinforced my infatuation with seared tuna.

TUNA WITH SESAME SEEDS, CRACKED CORIANDER and CRISPY GINGER
(adapted from Sally Schneider)

2 ahi-tuna steaks (sushi-quality)
3-inch piece of ginger, sliced very thin
3 Tbs peanut oil
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup cracked coriander seeds
1/16 cup nigella seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the ginger slices and cook over low heat for 7-8 minutes until the ginger is crisp. Transfer to paper towels with a slotted spoon, season lightly with salt, and reserve the ginger slices and the oil.

Place the sesame seeds, cracked coriander, and nigella seeds in a plate. Season the tuna steaks with salt and pepper, then press both sides of the steaks on the seeds mixture.

Heat the ginger oil in a non-stick skillet until hot, but not smoking. Place the steaks in the oil, and cook for 90 seconds on each side for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board, slice with a sharp knife, scatter the crispy ginger, and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: If you can’t find top-quality tuna steaks, then don’t attempt this recipe. The fish will be nearly raw in the middle, so only the best quality tuna will rise to the challenge. If you prefer it a little more cooked, then give it an additional 30 seconds on each side, but avoid over-cooking.

To crack the coriander seeds I placed them in a small ziplock bag and used a meat mallet. Be gentle because they crack easily; you don’t want to turn them into powder. Other mixtures also work well, like cracked black pepper or mustard seeds. Nuts easily burn, but the searing takes less than 2 minutes, so it’s not a problem as long as the oil isn’t smoking hot.

I’d never tried crispy ginger, and my husband thought it was a bit strong, but I liked it a lot. Cut the slices as thin as possible. The mandoline didn’t work as well as I’d hoped, so I ultimately used my chef’s knife. Amazingly enough, I still have all ten fingers. 😉 Even if you don’t like the fried ginger, it is worth making it for the infused oil.

And now for something completely different…. savor this!

11Dec2009

TRIED AND… TASTY!

Posted in Pasta & Noodles, Seafood by sallybr

This recipe comes from “Closet Cooking” – I first printed it when I saw it on Kevin’s blog, and as usual, it sat on my pile of “soon to make” recipes, waiting and waiting. Then, a couple of weeks ago I learned that that the Closet Cooking blog will be featured in a net-event called “Tried and Tasted”, so it was the perfect opportunity to make the dish and join the party!

BAKED SHRIMP AND FETA PASTA
(adapted from Closet Cooking)

1 cup orzo
1 tablespoon oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh herbs (parsley, basil, mint… your choice!)
2 green onions, sliced
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup feta cheese (crumbled)

Cook the orzo in boiling water until al dente. Do not overcook.

Heat the oil in a pan, saute the shallots until translucent, add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute for 30 seconds more. Add the white wine, tomato and oregano, season with salt and pepper, and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the herbs and green onions. Mix the sauce, cooked orzo and shrimp, place them in a baking dish and top with the feta cheese. Bake in a 425F oven until the shrimp is cooked and the sauce is bubbly, about 15 minutes. If you want, run the dish quickly under the broiler before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Shrimp and feta are perfect together. I often make a similar dish, in which I saute the shrimp, add them to a baking dish with diced tomatoes, herbs, and sprinkle feta on top. However, I like Kevin’s approach better for two reasons: first, the shrimp is not sauteed beforehand, so it finishes with a more pleasant texture. Secondly, the addition of orzo makes this recipe a complete meal. We ate it with a simple salad.

The original recipe called for green onions and fresh herbs – I thought I had some green onions in the fridge, but I didn’t, so I skipped them. And, since I’m making this dish in December, I had no fresh herbs, so I used dried oregano and thyme instead. I’m sure that the dish will be even better when made as originally posted. 😉 …Give it a try!

As I mentioned before, I always soak the shrimp in a light brining solution before cooking, a trick learned from Chinese cookbooks that ensures a plumper texture. Since the only shrimp we have are frozen, this step makes a huge difference.

So, with this post I participate for the first time in the Tried and Tasted event, which was launched by Zlamushka in April 2008. You can read more about it by clicking here.

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4Dec2009

DINNER IN A HURRY

Posted in Pasta & Noodles, Seafood by sallybr

I made this in “desperation-mode”, when there was very little available in our fridge: a bunch of Swiss chard harvested from our garden, and a little over half a cup of tomato puree leftover from another recipe. All I needed was to defrost a bag of large shrimp, and a quick, tasty dinner arrived at the table!

FETUCCINE WITH SHRIMP, SWISS CHARD AND TOMATOES

dried fetuccine (enough for two)
1 Tbs olive oil
1 shallot, finely diced
big bunch of Swiss chard
12-15 large shrimp
zest of a lemon
tomato puree
salt and pepper

Place a large pan with salted water to boil.

Shred the chard leaves after removing the central, tough stem. If you have extra time, dice the stems and start sauteing them a few minutes before adding the rest of the leaves; otherwise send them to your compost bin.

Heat the olive oil, add the diced shallots, cook for a couple of minutes, add the chard, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook in medium heat until it starts to get soft, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high and add the shrimp. Cook until they turn opaque, add the tomato puree, lemon zest to taste, simmer a couple of minutes, adjusting the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve a little of the pasta cooking water, drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the shrimp mixture. Simmer everything together to perform the beautiful marriage of sauce and pasta, adding some of the pasta cooking water if necessary.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Normally I don’t add Swiss chard to a tomato based sauce, but this worked so well, I intend to do it again. Amounts are all very flexible, of course. Most people will enjoy sauteing some garlic with the shallots, so go right ahead…

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