Capery Fish Salad

Adding to my ever-growing repertoire of fish dishes, I have made what is simply called 'fish salad'.  No canned fish and mayonnaise concoction here, but rather a more fresh and at the same time brine-y salad using fresh fish and fresh greens. This is a vinaigrette based salad that is flavourful, light, and speedy to whip up.

1 (3oz.) fillet of firm white fish

1-2T. white wine vinegar

1-2T. minced shallot

1tsp. extra virgin olive oil

2t. capers

1/4t. dried dill

dash dried tarragon

2c. salad greens

(salt to taste)

-Combine the shallot and vinegar in a small ramekin and let marinate while you prepare the fish.

-Salt the fish on both sides and sear in a hot pan on both sides.  Place in a foil packet and set aside where the fish will continue to cook from the residual heat that it will hold from the pan.

-Drain the vinegar into a bowl, adding the olive oil to this.  Toss the greens in this simple vinaigrette.

-In the same bowl (why wash two bowls?) combine the drained shallots, capers, salt, dried dill and tarragon.  Get the fish out of it's packet and flake it into this bowl and toss to combine.

-Mound the fish onto the greens and serve.

If you are not partial to such a salty vinaigrette, combining 1T. fresh citrus juice (clementine, in my most recent history), 1 minced Serrano pepper, 1t. walnut oil, and salt.  The longer you let the pepper soak in the vinaigrette, the more mild it will become.



Coconut Crab Cakes with Avocado Salad

I can't lie.....there is a mischievous child inside of me that really wants to call these 'Krabby Patties'.  I shall restrain myself, however.  What a delight to make and eat these!

  It is a simple process yielding a light yet filling meal that would be perfect for a lunch at home or a dinner for one.  I love the delicate sweetness of crab in combination with the spice of chilies and putting a bit of avocado in with the salad balanced the spice perfectly acting as a sort of coolant when the burn of the chilies struck.

1 can of lump crab meat, preferably organic, drained

1 serrano chili, minced

1t. rice vinegar

1.5T.AP flour

1.5T. desiccated coconut, (unsweetened)

1T. chopped fresh coriander

(salt to taste)

.............

1t. rice vinegar

1/2 t. lime juice

1t. walnut oil

1t. shallot, chopped

1/2 an avocado, cubed or scooped

2c. greens

(salt to taste)

-Pick through the crab meat to ensure that there are no bits of shell, and combine everything above the dotted line in a bowl; cover and let set in the  icebox for about an hour.

-Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, lime juice, oil, and shallot in a small jar and shake to combine.

-Form the crab mixture into three little cakes, being a bit more rough with them than you would think, and saute for about a minute on each side, or until golden and crisped.  Keep in mind that the crab is already cooked, so in sauteing, you are just searing the outside and ensuring that the interior is warmed through..

-Scoop or dice the avocado, toss with the greens and vinaigrette and serve along side the three little crab cakes.

-These can be kept warm in a moderate oven, in a foil packet for up to 20 minutes if need be.

-Also, these can be frozen and cooked straight from the freezer, but please make sure that the crab was not previously frozen.

Easy dinner for one

I think that salmon is quite possibly one of my favourite meals to make for just me.  It is affordable, low in fat (albeit, 'good' fats) and calories, a good source of protein, and very easy and quick to prepare.  It can be served with just about anything and has one of my favourite textures for fish.

Here, I just threw a potato in the oven, and came back later to sear the salmon and shake up a vinaigrette.  It took about 45 minutes or so, but considering that there was only about 10 minutes of actually doing anything, then it can hardly be considered to be time consuming.

1 new potato

1 fillet salmon, (3oz.)

salad greens

cherry tomatoes, halved

for lemon dill sauce:

1 oz. Greek yogurt

1T. lemon juice

1/4t. dried dill

dash of salt

for Caesar vinaigrette:

1 clove garlic

1T. lemon juice

1t. olive oil

1/4t. anchovy paste

salt

-For the potato, just leave it be in a hot oven for 30-45 minutes, depending on it's size.  I used a new potato here, because I prefer it's creamy texture to the normal russet potatoes, but use which ever potato you prefer.

-For the salmon, I left the skin on, but that is because I was in a bit of a lazy mood that night; by all means, remove it if you must.  Sprinkle one or both sides with salt and black pepper and put into a hot nonstick pan and let griddle for about 90 seconds per side (for medium rare). 

-For the lemon dill sauce, just stir everything to combine.

-For the Caesar vinaigrette, chop the garlic as teensy as you have the patients for (or use a mortar and pestle if you have one, and go ahead and crush the salt with the garlic here),  the put your garlic mash into a small jar along with the remain ingredients and shake to combine.  Toss with greens of your preference and maybe a few cherry tomato halves if you are feeling feisty.

Let it be said that there is plenty of room for more oil in the vinaigrette if you prefer it less astringent, but I love the acidic tang, especially with the oily salmon here.  Also, if these amounts seem meagre for the vinaigrette, then you can certainly make as much as you want and leave it in the fridge, which, I should have done seeing as I have made that vinaigrette at least 3 times since this meal, only substituting the oil for Greek yogurt and pouring over blanched broccoli, lettuce, and just about whatever else I can get my hands on.

So, now for the big question:  do you avoid the anchovy or seek it out?

I, personally, love it.