Grilled Spiced Salmon with Corn Relish

Last Year's Post: Mexican Chicken Pasta
Two Years Ago:   Roasted Tomato Californian

It's corn season, and this is a fun and different way to use fresh corn.  Almost nothing says "summer" more than grilling so celebrate the end of summer and the fleeting corn season with a healthy and delicious salmon and corn dinner.

I made fairly drastic changes to a recipe I found in the New York Times that featured halibut, but I'm sure the halibut would be equally good.  Their recipe called for pre-cooked corn which made no sense if you're going to be grilling anyway, does it?  If it's not corn season, just use frozen thawed corn - Trade Joes even has a bag of frozen roasted corn with nice char marks already on it that would be perfect.

Note that the recipe says to marinate the fish with spices for up to 3 hours, although I'm not sure why.  I think you could skip that step and go directly from rubbing on the spice mix to the grill, letting the fish sit and marinate on the side while you grill the corn.

Regarding the spices, they're fairly potent so use your discretion regarding how much to add to the salmon and how much to add to the corn relish.  I preferred a light hand with the spices so I could taste them more as a background note to the fresh salmon and corn. If you really like the spices in Indian food, by all means increase the amount.  Just remember you can always add more later but you can't take some out.

The yogurt might seem like an unusual addition but the neutral creaminess goes really well with the spices and the rich salmon.  If you skip (or shorten) the marinating step, this is a really easy weeknight dinner.  Start the grill, rub the spices on the salmon, then start some rice.  Grill the corn, then put the salmon on the grill while you (or a helpful friend) make the corn relish.  Start to finish, I would say this shouldn't take any longer than about 45 minutes.

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Grilled Spiced Salmon with Corn Relish

Serves 4

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground fennel seeds

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 salmon fillets, 5-6 ounces each

2 lemons (1 juiced and 1 quartered)

1 large or 1 small ears fresh corn, shucked (about 2 cups of kernels)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons butter

½ cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves plus more for garnish

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

Hot cooked rice

Combine cumin, coriander, fennel, ½ teaspoon black pepper and ½ teaspoon salt.  Rub salmon fillets with juice of ½ lemon, then sprinkle on some of the spice mix (light to medium as preferred), leaving at least 2 teaspoons spice mix for the corn relish.  Rub the spice mix in, then refrigerate the salmon for up to 3 hours.

Preheat a grill to medium-high.  Brush the ears of corn with the vegetable oil, then grill for 2 minutes per each of 4 sides until grill-marked and tender.  Remove and let cool.

Place the salmon fillets on the grill skin side down for about 5 minutes, then carefully flip with a spatula (the skin should come right off).  Grill another 3-4 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 140d.  Remove and let rest for 5 minutes.

While the salmon is grilling, prepare the corn relish:  stand the ears of corn upright and cut the kernels off the cobs.  Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet, then add the chopped onion and sauté until tender.  Stir in 1-2 teaspoons spice mix (depending on preference) and sauté, stirring, until you can smell the spices.  Add corn kernels and the juice of ½ lemon.  Cook briefly to heat through, then add the cilantro and stir to combine.

To serve, place some rice on each plate.  Top with a salmon fillet and corn relish.  Add a dollop of yogurt or sour cream on the side and garnish with a lemon wedge and cilantro sprig.

Tuscan Barley Soup

Last Year's Post: Chicken Limone Pasta

Two Years Ago:  Seared Scallops with Herb-Butter Sauce

I made this soup for a friend who was scheduled for knee surgery so she wouldn't have to worry about having a warm, comforting supper when she got home. When I brought it over to her house and described the contents, her husband gave me a skeptical look and said "sounds healthy". But after they had it for dinner he made a point of calling me to tell me how delicious it was, which made me very happy.  (It's an accomplishment when you can make something that's very healthy AND delicious, even for the skeptics.)  This soup has no less than six different vegetables (interestingly, no potatoes or tomatoes) and the nutritional benefits of barley.  I chose to add some Italian sausage but you could certainly leave it out to go vegetarian.

Your chopping skills will get a workout with those veggies - I timed myself and the prep took about 30 minutes (including time out for pictures, of course).  This would be a perfect little project for the weekend so all you have to do is warm it up during the week when you're tired and it's raining or snowing, and it tastes even better after it sits for a day. Add some crusty bread (and maybe a nice glass of red wine) and you've got yourself a delicious meal.

So, the six vegetables are:  carrots, zucchini, parsnips, leek, fennel and kale.  A somewhat unusual combination, but interesting, don't you think?

After all that chopping, the rest is easy - saute some Italian sausage, toast the barley in the same pot, then dump everything else in and let it simmer for about 50 minutes.

90 minutes after you start, you have an enormous steaming hearty pot of deliciousness.  Not bad.

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Tuscan Barley Soup

Serves 6-8

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped chives would make a nice garnish.

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 sweet or spicy turkey sausage links, casings removed

1 cup pearl barley

12 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced into ½” rounds

2 medium parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced into ½” rounds

2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into ½” sliced

1 fennel bulb, cut in half, cored, and thinly sliced (longer pieces may be cut in half)

1 medium leek, white and light green part only, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

1 bunch of Tuscan kale, center stems removed and leaves thinly sliced

1 Parmesan cheese rind, optional

1 dried bay leaf

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Prep all the vegetables before starting.

In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the sausage and cook, breaking up the meat into small pieces, until cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Remove the sausage and reserve.

Add the barley to the pot and cook stirring constantly until lightly toasted, about 4 minutes.  Add 10 cups of broth (reserving the rest for later), carrots, parsnips, zucchini, fennel, kale, cheese rind (if using), bay leaf, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the barley is tender, about 50 minutes.  Add the sausage back in during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking.  Stir the pot occasionally and add additional broth if needed to make the soup your desired consistency.

Remove the Parmesan rind and bay leaf, then season the soup with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Halibut Provencale

Last Year's Post:  Greek Shrimp and Orzo
Two Years Ago:   Double Chocolate Biscotti with Walnuts

I recently read a very interesting interview with Michael Pollan, a best-selling author who writes about food (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food).  I think of him sort of as a foodie anthropologist - he writes about our relationships with food and how they're evolved over time.  Anyway, he was interviewed as part of a PR tour for his most recent book "Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation".  The most interesting part of the interview for me was his concept of mindful cooking.  I had heard of mindful eating - the concept of paying attention to what you are eating and stop doing anything else at the same time - but not as it applies to cooking.

Here's a short excerpt from the interview:
I have always cooked, it’s not like I just learned how to cook, but I've always approached it with a great deal of impatience, and always kind of fought against it. Learning to be in the kitchen and not try to be multitasking, aside from conversation or listening to the radio, has been a great gift. I mean I approach it with a very different spirit. One of the most important life lessons of this book is “When chopping onions, just chop onions.” ..... Slow down and you’ll enjoy it more and you’ll squeeze more out of the experience. 
(Reprinted with permission. You can read the entire interview here.)

If you pay attention while you're prepping and cooking, you can learn some pretty interesting things about smell, taste, texture and the transformations that cooking can cause.  For example, this recipe includes fennel.  If you haven't worked with it much, it's an interesting lesson in how to cut it up, what it smells like (licorice), what it tastes like raw (crunchy, with a slight anise flavor), and what it tastes like cooked (mild and sweet).  Be sure to smell and taste as you go, and you'll find all kinds of new foods that you like.  This is a great approach to take with kids also. (Not to smell and taste kids before cooking them, but to include kids in the food smelling, tasting and prepping process.)

Anyway, this is a great light and healthy recipe for baked halibut from Provence that includes tomatoes, fennel, white wine, olives and plenty of herbs.  The mild, sweet fish is complemented beautifully by the Mediterranean flavors and stays very moist because it's covered in sauce while it bakes.  You could also use sea bass. tilapia, cod or any other mild white fish if you prefer.

Here's how to prepare the fennel - start by cutting off the long skinny stems and fronds and just use the bulb.

Cut the bulb in half and cut out the solid core by making diagonal cuts.

Slice and chop the fennel (be sure to smell and taste the raw fennel so you can compare it later to the taste and texture when cooked).

The fennel, onion and garlic are sauteed, then tomatoes are added and cooked briefly before adding the herbs.

Half the tomato mixture goes into the baking dish, then the halibut and the remaining sauce are added.  Isn't halibut pretty?

After baking, a breadcrumb/olive topping is added and browned briefly.

It's an easy, foolproof and very healthy dish.

printable recipe

Halibut Provencale

Serves 4

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 fennel bulb, cored and chopped

1 ½ cups chopped onion

1 teaspoon salt, divided

4 cups diced tomatoes with juice

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

4 (5-6 oz) halibut fillets

1 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons chopped pitted Kalamata olives

1 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence or French herb blend

1 teaspoon olive oil

½ teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 450d.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic; sauté 30 seconds.  Add fennel, onion, and ½ teaspoon salt; sauté 8 minutes or until lightly browned.  Stir in diced tomatoes and juices; cook 2 minutes.  Remove from heat; stir in fresh basil and parsley.

Spoon half of tomato mixture into a baking dish large enough to hold the fish fillets in a single layer.  Place fillets over tomato mixture.  Pour wine into dish; sprinkle fillets with ¼ teaspoon salt.  Spoon remaining tomato mixture over fillets.  Bake at 450d for 15 minutes.  While the fish bakes, combine the breadcrumbs, olives, herbes de Provence, 1 teaspoon oil, pepper, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt in a small bowl.  When 15 minutes have elapsed, remove the fish from oven; preheat broiler.

Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the fillets.  Broil 5 minutes or until lightly browned, watching closely so the topping doesn't burn.  Serve immediately.

Pork with Fennel and Caper Sauce

Capers vs Caperberries

We were at a restaurant with friends a while ago and two of the dishes had these green things with long stems that looked like olives but didn't have a pit and tasted like the best olive you ever had.  The chef happened to walk by so my friend Terry asked him what they were.  He replied that they were capers. Well, we know capers and this definitely was much bigger than a caper - more the size of a green olive.  He said they were capers that were left on the bush for a longer time.  I'd seen these things on the olive bar at Whole Foods and they were called caperberries but I had never actually tried them before.

That was enough to get my curiosity going so I researched caperberries when I got home.  Turns out that capers and caperberries come from the same bush but capers are the immature flower buds and caperberries are the fruit (so even the chef didn't actually know!).  Both are usually consumed pickled.  Both have a similar tart, salty burst of flavor although caperberries are more mild.  I found both in the pickle section of my grocery store right next to each other.

If you're curious about the difference, this recipe features them both.  They work ideally in Mediterranean-type recipes with tomatoes and vegetables.  The capers are part of the sauce, and the caperberries are more of a garnish (in my opinion) although they could easily substitute for green olives in any recipe.

If you're not all that curious about caperberries, just leave them out but keep the capers for the sauce - the tartness is an important component of the overall flavor profile with the tomatoes and fennel.  If you're not familiar with fennel, it's a crunchy vegetable with a slight anise flavor that's delicious raw in salads.  I like it equally well when it's sauted  - it becomes very mild and tender.  The important final component of the sauce is the bright note of lemon zest (LOVE lemon). 

I adapted this recipe to use pork tenderloin because it's a favorite of ours, but it would work equally well with pork chops or even a meaty swordfish or tuna steak.  We served it with mashed potatoes but rice or creamy polenta would be great also.  The meal was warm and earthy but light, a perfect fall dinner.

* * click here for a printable recipe * *

Pork with Fennel and Caper Sauce
Serves 4

¼ cup olive oil
1 (1.25 lb) pork tenderloin
¾ teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning meat
¾ teaspoon black pepper, plus more for seasoning meat
1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs with fronds, cut in half, cored and thin sliced (about 2 cups)
2 large shallots, thin sliced
2/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
½ cup white wine
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with their juices
½ lemon, zested
2 tablespoons capers
Caperberries for garnish, optional


In a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil over high heat. Season the pork tenderloin with salt and pepper. Add the pork to the pan and brown on top and bottom, about 4 minutes per side. Remove the pork from the pan, cover loosely with foil and set aside.

Add the fennel, shallots, and 1/3 cup parsley to the pan and cook over medium heat until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the wine. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan, then add the tomatoes and stir. Add the pork back into the pan between the fennel and tomatoes so it’s mostly submerged in the pan juices. Cover and cook until the fennel is tender and the pork is done, about 12 to 15 minutes.

Place the pork on a cutting board. To finish the sauce, add the lemon zest, remaining 1/3 cup parsley, capers, and ¾ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Slice the pork into ½” thick slices and serve with the sauce. Garnish with optional caperberries.

Lemon Chicken and Fennel Pot Pies

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Pot pies are wonderful winter comfort food that got a bad rap back in the 1970s with the advent of those frozen pot-pies-in-a-box with little peas and carrots.  OK, time for a confession - I ate a ton of those frozen pot pies in my college days (along with Hamburger Helper minus the hamburger) because they were the cheapest food I could find. ($.79 each)  Bleh. 

Homemade pot pies are an entirely different thing.  This is one of my absolute favorite pot pie recipes and it only takes about 60 minutes to prepare before baking.  The good news is that they freeze beautifully so you can make some on a weekend and have them ready any night of the week.  Have you noticed that upscale comfort foods like pot pies are all the rage at restaurants these days?  You'll be very trendy. I served pot pies at a dinner party once and dressed them up with a cloth napkin underneath (kind of the like picture below, come to think of it) and some fresh herbs tucked in to the napkin folds.  Looked kind of fancy if I do say so myself. 

No little peas and carrots in this recipe - it has moist chunks of chicken, savory fennel, tender green beans, prosciutto, and a lemony sauce. The reason why the chicken stays so moist is because it's gently simmered in chicken broth rather than using a dry cooking method. The fennel is also cooked in chicken broth and imparts a subtle flavor that goes amazingly well with the chicken and lemon. This recipe is lighter in calories than a typical pot pie but sacrifices nothing in terms of taste or...comfortivity.

Of course you could make this recipe as one large pot pie in a quiche pan or pie pan but then you lose the benefits of being able to freeze some for later.  Plus it's not nearly as cute to serve.  :-)  Individual ramekins are readily available in kitchen stores and stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond, Crate and Barrel, or even Target.  They're not expensive and they're available in different sizes.  For this recipe I used 1-1/4 cup ramekins which make a nice-sized dinner with a salad.  If you have big eaters in your house (aka teenaged boys) you might want to get the next size larger which is typically a 2 cup ramekin.

I also chose to use a refrigerated pie crust.  I've made pie crusts from scratch and really can't tell the difference.  If you have deeply held beliefs regarding homemade pie crusts don't let me stop you!  I even hesitated to bring the subject up at all.



* * click here for a printable recipe version * *

Lemon Chicken and Fennel Pot Pies
Makes 6 individual pot pies or one large pot pie

Your favorite recipe to make 2 pie crusts - or - two refrigerated pie crusts
2 fennel bulbs
5 cups low sodium chicken broth
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 ¾ - 2 lbs), cut into 1” cubes
½ cup green beans, cut into 1” pieces
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 cups 2% milk
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons crushed fennel seeds
½ teaspoon salt, plus more if needed
Black pepper
¼ lb thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into thin 2” long strips
1 egg white, lightly beaten

6 (1-1/4 cup) ramekins or 1 deep dish pie pan



Prepare pie crust recipe (if using) and refrigerate dough.

To prepare filling: blanch green beans in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, then remove and immediate submerge in ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain and set aside.

Cut leaves and stalks from fennel. Cut the bulbs in half lengthwise and remove the triangular core with a small sharp knife. Cut each half lengthwise again to make four fennel quarters per bulb. Slice thinly crosswise.

Bring broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the fennel and cook uncovered for 7 minutes. Add chicken and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes more. Remove and strain the chicken and fennel. Discard the broth.

Melt butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and continue to whisk until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add chicken, fennel, green beans, lemon juice, fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon salt, pepper and prosciutto. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. Let cool slightly before filling ramekins so the filling won’t start to melt the dough when it’s placed on top.

Roll out the dough (if using) or pie crusts to roughly rectangular shapes and use the bottom of a small plate to make circular indentations approximately 1-2” larger than the diameter of your ramekins. Cut the circles out using a small knife and place on top of the filled ramekins. (Alternately roll out one large pie crust as usual if using a deep dish pie pan.) Fold the extra dough up and in to form a decorative edge. Cut a 1 ½” slit in the top of each to serve as a vent.

At this point the pot pies can be covered and refrigerated for up to a day, or wrapped and frozen. If frozen, thaw overnight before baking.

Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375d. Brush each crust lightly with egg white and bake until pastry is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Salmon with Balsamic Sauce

We recently returned from a weekend in NYC that was very fun.  Each day The Lawyer went to the U. S. Open Tennis Tournament with a buddy and I did the museum thing.  One observation:  Central Park is wider than it appears on a map.  If you optimistically decide to walk from your hotel on the east side through the park to a museum on the west side, then walk around the museum for a few hours and walk back, you will be in need of an adult beverage by the time you stagger into your hotel.  That is, unless you're flattened by a crazed bicyclist in the park who ignores all traffic signs, electronic and otherwise.  Of course we ate way too much of the stuff you're not supposed to eat much of at all. We found a fabulous french bistro/bakery three blocks from our hotel and ate breakfast there twice, plus dinner at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill one night and our favorite Italian restaurant, Vice Versa, another night.  And of course bagels. Yikes.

Whenever I've been "overfed" for a prolonged period, I start to crave healthy, high fiber foods.  I guess that's good news!  This recipe is a great example.  Salmon is a sustainable fish that is very good for you.  Two of the vegetables are minimally cooked and the other is raw.  You could always substitute different vegetables if you don't happen to care for one or the other, but I thought the radishes were an interesting touch.  I could hardly wait to make this meal when we got back from New York. 


**click here for a printable recipe version**

Salmon with Balsamic Sauce

Serves 4

Sauce:

¾ cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 clove of garlic, minced

Salmon:

Four 6-ounce salmon fillets, skinned

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

Vegetables:

1 tablespoon margarine or butter

2 shallots, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 fennel bulb, fronds removed, cored and thinly sliced

6 ounces thin green beans

Four radishes, sliced

Hot cooked couscous or rice

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

In a small saucepan, combine the sauce ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until thick, about 12 minutes.  Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Line a small baking sheet with foil or parchment.  Place the salmon on the sheet and brush with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast until the salmon is almost cooked through, 8 – 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Heat a large pan of water to boiling and par-boil the beans for a minute or two to set the color.  Immediately drain the beans and place them in a bowl of ice water to stop cooking.  Drain again and pat dry with a paper towel.  In a medium skillet, heat the margarine over medium-high heat and sauté the sliced fennel for a minute or two, then add the beans and garlic and sauté for an additional two minutes.

To serve:  place couscous or rice on each plate.  Top with the vegetable mixture, the uncooked radishes, and a salmon fillet.  Drizzle the salmon with balsamic sauce.