Tag Archives: lemon zest

May21

A Weeknight Like Giada’s

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Mediterranean Halibut Sandwich

Like most people, my creativity and enthusiasm for cooking seems to droop on busy weeknights.  I was recently flipping through the latest issue of Health magazine and they were featuring several recipes from Giada de Laurentiis‘ new cookbook, Weeknights with Giada.  I have to admit, they all looked pretty do-able, and the Mediterranean Halibut Sandwich recipe was calling my name.  I am all too familiar with making basic sandwiches for a quick dinner, but this halibut recipe is restaurant-calibre, in my humble opinion.  The fresh herbs and lemon zest mixed with the halibut really make the dish special.

I didn’t deviate much from the original recipe, other than to use fresh sliced tomatoes in the sandwich instead of adding sun-dried tomatoes into the halibut-mayo mixture — just to keep from throwing the kids off too much.  I also left out the capers.  The sandwiches were a big hit, and I will definitely be making them again.  I may also try using the halibut-mayo mixture in a pasta salad.

Mediterranean Halibut Sandwiches (adapted from “Weeknights with Giada”, as featured in Health magazine):

Cooking spray

2 (6-oz) halibut fillets, skinned (I used 14 oz in total)

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

2 tbsp plus 1 tsp olive oil, divided

1 (14-oz) loaf ciabatta bread, ends trimmed, split horizontally

1 garlic clove, halved

1/4 cup reduced-fat mayo (I used olive-oil mayo)

1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tbsp capers, drained and mashed

Grated zest of 1 large lemon

2 packed cups (2 ounces) arugula (I used a mix of baby greens)

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Spray a small baking dish with cooking spray; add halibut and season with salt and pepper; rub with 1 tsp oil.  Bake 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and the flesh flakes easily with a fork.  Cool.

Remove some bread from the top half of loaf (and try not to eat it all).  Brush  cut sides with 2 tbsp oil.  Bake on a baking sheet 6-8 minutes, until golden.  Rub toasted surfaces with garlic.

In a medium bowl, combine mayo, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, parsley, capers, and lemon zest.  Add fish, flaking and mixing with a fork.  (I added extra salt and pepper at this point).  Spoon onto bottom half of bread and top with arugula (I tossed my greens in a bit of olive oil).  Add top of bread and cut into 4 sandwiches.

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Feb18

Fish Piccata and Lemony Pasta

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Flounder Piccata with Angel Hair Pasta

This would be a perfect dish to serve to a family that is trying to eat more fish — it is extremely mild with lemon and butter (I skipped the capers), and you can make it with whatever thin white flaky fish looks good at the store.  I used wild flounder, but tilapia, snapper, sole, and catfish would also be good.  I wouldn’t recommend a thick fish like halibut or cod for this recipe.  I had never actually cooked fish using this process of dredging in flour and then lightly pan frying in olive oil before, and it turned out so well.  The sauce was initially very strong with lemon, because I accidentally put the butter into the green beans instead of the fish sauce.  Those were some really delicious green beans (since I had already tossed them in olive oil and lemon juice!).

Both the Fish Piccata and the Angel Hair Pasta recipes are from Melissa d’Arabian.  You really want to serve them together as all the flavors combine so well (lemon, butter, olive oil, parmesan).  And if you keep some fish fillets in the freezer, this is a super easy dinner to throw together with things you already have on hand.  With the ingredient lists so short, these aren’t as much recipes as they are methods of cooking, but I’m thrilled to now know how to cook fish this way and the kids loved it.

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Jan27

More Muffins (No Vegetables this Time)

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Better Blueberry Muffins

My daughter Lauren made a request for blueberry muffins.  She doesn’t like raw blueberries, but she is a muffin monster — it seems she will eat anything if it arrives baked with a little flour and sugar.  I may have to try the spinach muffin recipe I saw recently…

This Better Blueberry Muffin recipe is another hit from the Ellie Krieger cookbook I’ve been enjoying so much, “Comfort Food Fix”.  These muffins are kept light and airy with applesauce, low-fat yogurt, and lots of lemon zest.  Whole-wheat pastry flour bumps up the fiber count.  And for 200 calories, they are a really good size.