herbed quinoa, pan-roasted halibut

 

Qunioa is one of those grains that have have become very popular lately because of it’s health benefits: it’s gluten free, high in fiber and protein (it’s actually a complete protein), and cholesterol-free, but it also has a great texture and taste, and can soak up other flavors quite well. Here I mix cooked quinoa with a herb “sauce” and serve it with some sauteed asparagus and pan- roasted halibut

Herbed Quinoa
This quinoa would also go great with other proteins such as chicken, fish, or steak, or just mix it with some tomatoes, cucumbers and feta for a take on a tabboulleh salad

4 cups cooked quinoa (about 2 cups uncooked)
1 bunch curly parley, roughly chopped
1 cup chopped basil
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 lemon, zested
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chicken or vegetable broth
2 tsp soy sauce
salt and pepper
~1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (optional)

• I just like the butter because it adds richness to the mouthfeel, but you can easily leave it out. If you’re mixing the quinoa into a cold salad, I would leave it out

– Combine herbs, garlic, lemon juice, chicken broth, and soy sauce in a food processor. Pulse till evenly mixed
– With food processor running, drizzle in olive oil and melted butter, scraping down the sides every so often, so it forms a smooth consistency. You want the texture to be quite loose- somewhere between a pesto and vinaigrette
– Season liberally with salt and pepper, as this is the only seasoning the quinoa will have on it
– If the quinoa is cold, re-heat before mixing the sauce onto it, otherwise the butter may solidify. Mix to coat quinoa evenly and serve

Pan Roasted Halibut with Brown-Butter Caper Pan Sauce(4 servings)
This sauce goes well with pretty much any white fish: rock fish, cod, halibut, swordfish..so just choose whatever looks freshest at the market

~2 lbs fish, or 4 fillets
1/4 cup butter
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1/2 cup white wine
chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 lemon
1 tbsp capers
olives (optional)

• Chopped up olives go great in this simple pan sauce if you have some on hand. I like using green castelvetrano olives if I have them, because they have a nice meaty texture and buttery taste and aren’t too briny

salt and pepper

– Season fish with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook fish as you normally would, but remove it from the pan a few minutes before it is done and set aside
– Add butter and smashed garlic to the pan and cook until butter is browned. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan and add wine to deglaze
– If the wine immediately evaporates add enough stock to form a sauce. Add in capers and chopped olives and adjust seasoning if necessary
-Return fish and any juices to the pan cook fish for another 2-3 minutes to finish them off before serving. Spoon sauce over fish

Apricot-cider glazed salmon, crispy roasted potatoes

Dress salmon, or chicken, up with this simple glaze, serve with your favorite veggies and starch and voilà!

Crispy roasted potatoes

~2 lbs easter egg potates, halved or quartered depending on their size

• They’re called easter egg potatoes, because they come in several different colors, but fingerling potatoes would work just as well, or even red potatoes cut in quarters

10-12 small garlic cloves, very rough chopped
couple sprigs of thyme
olive oil
salt and pepper

– Preheat oven to 400 degrees
– Wash and cut potatoes and place in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and add chopped garlic and thyme
– Season liberally with salt and pepper and toss potatoes to make sure they are well coated. Dump potatoes onto a large baking sheet
– Cook potatoes for 20 minutes at 400, then turn heat up to 425, stir potatoes, and continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes till tender when poked with a fork

• you may have to use a spatula to scrape the potatoes off of the baking sheet, but that’s okay, because that’s how you get the crispy brown sides

Apricot-Cider Glazed Salmon

apricot-cider glaze (see recipe below)
4 salmon filets (~6oz each)
olive oil
salt and pepper

– Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until oil begins to “shimmer”, just before it starts smoking

• by “shimmer” I mean that when you tilt the pan from side to side the oil will ripple, making it look shiny. This is when you should add the fish to get a nice sear and make sure your fish doesn’t stick to the pan. If you wait until the oil starts smoking the quality of the oil begins to break down and you’re more likely to start a fire if oil splatters when you add your food

– Season salmon with salt and pepper and add to pan. Cook salmon for 5 minutes before flipping over to other side
– After about 3 minutes drizzle 1/2 of the glaze over salmon fillets and continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes depending on whether you want your salmon medium or well
– Remove salmon from the pan. Add in the rest of the glaze on cook for 1-2 minutes to reduce. Drizzle reduced glaze over salmon and serve

For the glaze: (enough for 4 salmon filets)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp apricot jelly (pineapple and peach would also work)
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp thyme chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
pepper

– Combine cider vinegar, sugar, jelly, and mustard
– Microwave for 45 seconds to melt jelly and sugar
– Add in remaining ingredients and mix well

• Glaze will keep in the refrigerator for about a week before the thyme starts going bad, but if you use dried thyme, or add the fresh thyme in later, the glaze can probably keep for longer