Roasted White Fish with Leeks and Bacon

My friend Emily borrowed a copy of Jamie Oliver's "Jamie at Home" from her public library, and we prepared this for a small dinner party. We served it with a Riesling, salad, and apple crisp pie (see separate entry)!

You can use any thick, mild-flavored white fish: cod, turbot, etc. At the grocery store, the closest approximation was Asian basa fillet, a thin catfish. We adjusted the recipe to serve 5 people.

ROASTED WHITE FISH WITH LEEKS AND BACON

serves 4

16 baby leeks washed and trimmed (We used 3 large leeks)
4 7 oz. fillets of white fish (We used Asian basa fillet)
1 large lemon cut into 8 thin wedges
4 sprigs of rosemary
8 rashers of smoked streaky bacon

For the marinade:

A couple of sprigs each of rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place a baking tray in the oven to warm up.
To make the marinade, bash up the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves with the salt in a pestle and mortar until the salt has turned green. Pour in two glugs of olive oil, a pinch of pepper, and the lemon juice and give it a stir.

Parboil the leeks in salted water for about three minutes. Drain in a colander and let them steam dry.

Put the fish, lemon, rosemary sprigs and leeks into a bowl. Pour in the marinade and toss to cover everything.

Place the fish into the preheated tray. (We lined a Pyrex baking dish with aluminum foil; it made clean-up a breeze.) Scoop the lemon, rosemary leeks, and marinade out of the bowl and place over and around the fish and roast in the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes until the fish is just cooked and the bacon is crisp.

Pile up on a plate and serve.

Fish en Papillote with Julienned Vegetables and Truffle Oil

I have several recipes for fish en papillote (that's "butterfly" en Francais due to the shape of the parchment paper), but yesterday I tried a version from Sara Moulton. It was originally published in her book, "Sara Moulton Cooks at Home." At another time, I'd like to test Alton Brown's take on it, with salmon, dry vermouth, and orange wedges.

I cooked dinner for three people, so I adjusted the amounts of the following ingredients.

FISH EN PAPILLOTE WITH JULIENNED VEGETABLES AND TRUFFLE OIL

makes 2 servings

1 1/2 tbs plus 2 tsp unsalted butter
2 carrots, julienned (I julienned baby carrots)
1 large leek, julienned
1 celery rib, julienned
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Vegetable oil, for brushing
2 thin fish fillets, no thicker than 1/3 inch, such as pompano or flounder, about 6 ounces each, skin removed (I used flounder)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp white truffle oil (I substituted olive oil)

Melt 1 1/2 tbs of the butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the carrot, leek, and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Cook gently, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut out a 13 x 15" parchment paper rectangle. Fold in half crosswise. Unfold and brush the whole rectangle lightly with some oil. Lay the fillets on one half of the parchment, skinned side down, and season with salt and pepper. Drain the vegetables of as much liquid as possible and divide among the fillets. Drizzle with the lemon juice. Top each vegetable mound with 1 tsp butter and drizzle each with 1 tsp of the truffle oil.

Fold the other half of the paper over the fillets and, starting with the top, make 1/4" folds all around the perimeters and press to crimp and seal. Close the final crimp with a paper clip. Place the packet on a baking sheet and bake until puffed and lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a warmed serving plate and serve at once, preferably while the packet is still puffed.

Wagamama

This summer, I've formed a weekly dinner club of sorts with my friends Brendan and Kyle. Really, it's more of an "eating club:" we go out to restaurants in the greater Boston area instead of actually preparing our meals!

Tonight, we ventured to Wagamama in Harvard Square. The cuisine is a fusion of Japanese, Chinese and Southeast Asian dishes. It's kind of an upscale ramen noodle bar. As noted above, the Wagamama chain has spread across the globe. The interior of the restaurant is that of a sleek noodle bar/canteen-style restaurant--somewhere between a pho noodle dive and David Chang's Momofuku in New York. All of the dishes are made-to-order, so entrees often arrive to the table at different times. Servers write on your paper placement to keep track of your order.Brendan had Yaki udon, or teppan-fried udon noodles with curry oil, shiitake mushrooms, egg, leeks , shrimp, chicken, yaki chikuwa, bean sprouts, green and red peppers, black and white sesame seeds, fried shallots, pickled red ginger, and a spicy cilantro vinaigrette.Kyle had the Yasai Katsu curry, which consisted of deep-fried slices of sweet potato, eggplant and butternut squash coated in panko breadcrumbs. The dish was served with a light curry sauce, rice, mixed leaves, and red pickles.For a starter, I had duck gyoza, which I have ordered in the past. They were filled with duck and leeks, deep-fried, and served with cherry hoisin sauce. Basically, some of my all-time favorite ingredients...deep-fried!I also had teriyaki salmon. It was grilled and served with rice and steamed baby bok choy. The dish was garnished with mixed sesame seeds, nori, and teriyaki sauce.

Saumon à l’Unilatéral

This recipe is from Mireille Guiliano's "French Women Don't Get Fat." It's so simplistic that I feel guilty about posting it here. Still, it's light and healthy, and you can get creative with vegetable sides.

SAUMON A L’UNILATERAL

serves 4

4 pieces of wild salmon
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp coarse saltHeat a nonstick frying pan. Place the salmon in the pan, skin-side down. Pour the lemon over the salmon, add the salt, and cook for about 6 minutes over medium heat until the skin is crispy. When it is cooked to medium-rare, it will be pink at the center.

Serve immediately. Season, if you like, with a dash of extra-virgin olive oil and a sprig of fresh thyme.

Tray-Baked Salmon with Green Beans, Anchovies and Tomatoes

When I'm at home, I often ask my mom to make this Jamie Oliver recipe. It's "easy peasy," to borrow his terminology: everything cooks at the same time, and you only have to clean one pan and one bowl! It's a great go-to for a no-fuss weekday dinner yet it's also simply elegant fare for a casual dinner party. I love the vibrant color combination of the greens, reds, pinks, and purples. The briny anchovies complement the green beans and oozing cherry tomatoes perfectly.
TRAY-BAKED SALMON WITH GREEN BEANS, ANCHOVIES AND TOMATOES

serves 4

7 oz green beans
20 small cherry tomatoes
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 (8 oz) thick salmon fillet steak, pin-boned, with or without skin
2 lemons
1 handful of fresh basil, picked
12 anchovy fillets

Tail the green beans, blanch them until tender in salted, boiling water, and drain. Put in a bowl with the tomatoes. Toss in the olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice of hald a lemon over the fillets, on both sides, then season both sides with salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil over the top.

Preheat the oven and a roasting tray at the highest temperature. Put salmon at one end of the roasting tray. Toss the basil into the green beans, olives and tomatoes and place this mixture at the other end of the tray. Lay the anchovies over the green beans. Roast in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and serve with lemon quarters.