Broccolini with Bacon

It has been a long few days. I’ve just completed the first half of the graduate program in which I am enrolled. To complicate things, I’m moving in a few days. It’s just the time for simplicity in cooking.

That said, while this dish is quite simple, it’s also quite appetizing, as it fills the kitchen with that most comforting of cooking aromas – bacon. The key here though, is to cook the bacon slowly so that it crisps without browning the pan. Broccolini is packed with vitamins A and C, as well as calcium and folate. This dish makes a great side for a lighter main.

Broccolini with Bacon – serves 2 – 4

3 oz. bacon (about 4 slices, depending on the cut)
1 lb. broccolini, chopped into 1 – 2 inch pieces

Slice the bacon into small strips, about a 1/4″ by 1″. Cook in a frying pan over low to medium-low heat for about 25 -30 minutes (I know. It’s a long time.) until the fat is melted down and the pieces are crisp.

Remove the bacon and drain the fat. Frugal tip: Save the fat and use in other cooking applications, like frying eggs.

Add the broccolini to the pan, cover and raise the heat to medium. Cook 5 minutes until tender-crisp.

Toss with the bacon. Serve.

Chipotle Mango Shrimp

I’m picky about shrimp. I’m picky about most things relating to food and where it comes from. Because I try to eat locally, I tend not to purchase items that have been shipped halfway around the globe, unless it’s a specialty ingredient that can’t be grown or raised here. Which brings me back to shrimp.

Most shrimp sold in conventional supermarkets in the US are farm-raised in Southeast Asia and, as you know, farm-raised seafood is not the greatest thing for the environment or for our health. It also lacks flavor, in my opinion.

I’ve always been a big fan of wild-caught Gulf pink shrimp, which is sweet and tender. Normally, I try keep a bag of frozen wild Gulf shrimp on hand – a habit that sadly may have to change due to recent events in the Gulf. Of course frozen pales in comparison to the real deal, caught locally and served fresh – it’s always been my favorite specialty on vacations to Florida.

Hopefully all is not lost. In the meantime, wild shrimp is still available from the Carolinas and Georgia, including pink shrimp, so there is still no need to settle for imported farm-raised shrimp.

Anyway, this dish makes a light and healthy meal for lunch or dinner that’s quick to boot. Onions scapes are all over the farmers market scene this time of year. They add a beautiful savory-sweet flavor and toothsome texture. Chipotle adds smoky spice and mango cools things down. I like it served over soba or udon noodles, but brown rice is also great for a nice nutty flavor to counter the spice.

Chipotle Mango Shrimp – serves 4

5 onion scapes, chopped
1 T olive oil
1 lb  uncooked peeled and deveined medium shrimp
3 T chipotle en adobo (here is a recipe, or you can buy it in a can or jar)
2 champagne mangos, diced

Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped scapes, lower heat to medium and sauté for 10 minutes until softened.

Add the shrimp and chipotle sauce and toss in the pan to coat. Cook 5 minutes.

Add the mango and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Serve over noodles or rice.

Ingredient origins: onion scapes – New Hampshire, olive oil – Italy,  shrimp – Florida Keys, chipotle sauce – homemade,  (organic onion – Massachusetts, organic garlic – New Jersey, lime – Mexico, dried chipotles – Mexico, organic apple cider vinegar – Vermont, tomato paste – California), champagne mango – Mexico

Green Market Quesadilla

Farmers Market season is back. Thank goodness. This time of year, there is an abundance of greens – young kale, chard, lettuces and cabbages – all so fresh and bright, they emit the aromas of spring’s sun and rain. You can taste the photosynthesis, they’re that fresh.

There are plenty of wonderful things to make with greens. Salads and sautés spring to mind. This quesadilla recipe is like baking them into a little present. Greens are sautéed beforehand to reduce their volume and remove some moisture.  Onion scapes add an additional layer of savory-sweetness, as well as texture.

I used Neighborly Farms Monterey Jack cheese and Grafton Cheddar, both from Vermont, but check your farmers market for local cheese artisans.

Green Market Quesadilla - serves 4 – 6

6 onion or garlic scapes, finely chopped
1 T olive oil
1 lb fresh young mixed greens – pepper greens, young kale, young chard, baby bok choy, etc
4 ounces Monterey Jack, grated
2 ounces Cheddar, grated
6 – 8 inch tortillas

Remove any tough stems from the greens. Loosely chop all greens. Combine the grated cheeses in a shallow dish.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium. Add chopped scapes and sauté for 5 minutes until softened and bright green.

Add greens, cover and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Remove the cover and cook an additional 5 minutes, allowing excess moisture to evaporate off.

Preheat oven to 375.

Sauté scapes in olive oil for 3 min over medium heat. add greens and cook down until wilted and some moisture evaporates off – about 5 minutes.

To assemble each quesadilla, lay tortilla on a work surface and cover one half with a layer of cheese. Cover the cheese with greens.  Top the greens with more cheese. Fold the tortilla in half so that the bare side covers the stuff side.

Helpful hint: In order to evenly distribute the cheese and greens for each quesadilla, it helps to divide the cheese and greens into 6ths (see pic).

Arrange quesadillas on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve hot as an appetizer or main dish. Great to serve while watching the World Cup!

Ingredient origins: scapes and greens – Massachusetts; olive oil – Italy; Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses – Vermont; Tortillas -Rhode Island.

Cod en Papillote

It’s fish share day again and this week’s Fresh Catch was cod. As much as I love creating all of my silly little fish recipes, I still think the best way to enjoy fresh cod is simply baked with butter. Wrapping it in parchment paper allows the fish to steam as it bakes without drying out the meat.

Also, making the papillote, or pouch, is like making a fun little Valentine for your fish, because the paper is cut into a heart shape before the sides are tucked.

Dill is the classic match for cod and lends its fresh, grassy flavor without barging right in, and butter is butter. You know the deal.

Any white round fish similar to cod (haddock, pollock, etc), will work perfectly for this dish. I just happened to have plenty of fresh cod laying around today.

Cod en Papillote – serves 2 – 4

1 – 1 lb cod, haddock or pollock fillet
2 T butter
3 – 5 sprigs of fresh dill, finely chopped (about 2 T)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

While the oven preheats, melt the butter in an oven-proof dish until lightly browned and bubbling.

Place the fillet diagonally on the left-hand side of a large piece of parchment paper – large enough for the right half of the paper to fold over the top of the fillet. Fold the right-hand side of the paper over the fish. Allowing a 2 or 3 inch margin on all sides, cut out the silhouette of the fish just as if you’re cutting out a heart for a Valentine Day card.

Turn the paper back again to pour the browned butter over the fish and sprinkle with dill.

Fold the paper over. Tuck and crease the edges to form a seal.

Cook for 10-15 minutes until the fish is just beginning to flake apart with a fork.

The fish and butter will form a rich sauce in the papillote. Be sure to spoon this over each serving for maximum yums.

Serve hot.

Lobster Stuffed Flounder

We are members of Cape Ann Fresh Catch – a wonderful program that offers shareholders fresh fish, caught locally the morning of pick-up. It’s like a CSA, but with fish. This week’s catch was flounder – 12 fillets. In case you were wondering, that’s a lot of fish. Fortunately, I was hosting a pot luck dinner the following evening.

There are plenty of lovely ways to make flounder, but I decided to make roulades with a lobster meat stuffing just to kick things up a notch. Back in my pescatarian days, I was really big into fish stuffed with lobster, and much preferred its fancy-factor over a simply baked white fish – which is also great of course, just not as special-occasion-y.

Some recipes call for a great big list of ingredients for the stuffing. I like to keep it simple in order to prevent the lobster meat from getting lost, because if you’re going to throw in a whole crisper drawer, you might as well just use imitation crab meat (horrors!), and that would surely be less than stellar. Lobster meat is combined with just enough onion and butteriness to complement its sweetness, and thin flounder fillets make the perfect pouch for the stuffing.

I recommend using a glass or ceramic baking dish, which will keep the roulades warm after they have been removed from the oven.

In other news, for the potluck, my gracious friends brought a fantastic salad, chocolate cakes, bananas foster spring rolls, a white cake with fruit, pound cake with strawberries and perfect homemade whipped cream, and fantastically rich gluten-free brownies (Thank you ladies if you are reading this!), and we served my Roasted Pork Tenderloin, and a strawberry rhubarb pie that I improvised. A lovely, lovely evening.

Lobster Stuffed Flounder - serves 6 – 12

12 flounder fillets
1 C crushed buttery crackers
1/2 C mayonnaise
1/2 lb lobster meat (about 3 tails)
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl combine crushed crackers, mayo, green onion, lobster meat and egg.

Lay fillet flat on a work surface and spoon a compact 1/4 cup of stuffing onto the center of the fillet. Fold the sides of the fillet over the stuffing.

Arrange stuffed fillets in a buttered 9″x 13″ baking dish.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Serve to dear friends/ people who like fish.