Posts Tagged "Fish"
Citrus Grilled Salmon
Whew!! This was one of the longest weeks I’ve had in a long time. Generally I only work part-time at my day job however we had a big fundraising event this week (of which I am in charge) and frankly I barely had time to sleep and eat. I believe I punched about 50 hours in a little over 4 days. The good news is that things went great! I’ll be sharing some pictures on here because the event was literature based around books. It was a lot of fun!
We’re down to under two weeks before our big vacation and things are coming together too. I will continue to post and will be posting more regularly. Some of you took part in my survey a few weeks ago. Thank you so much for your input it has really helped me to refine the focus and direction of things. Some things that have come out of it are that overall people do like giveaways, however I am going to really work at making sure they are things that really fit – more food focused, Moroccan and Islamic, green and sustainable. I think that fits with what my goals are for my blog. Another big “wish list” item from the reader survey was more about Moroccan travel and culture. These are things that I really want to work in. I may end up creating some type of “themed” days (nut not in obnoxious way). My upcoming trip should help develop a ton of new ideas, images, and experiences.
The final outcome was more recipes. More traditional Moroccan recipes as well as more recipes from other influences. So I’ll be doing that too. I hope that you’ll continue to keep up the conversation so that I can make this site the best resource possible for you!
Onto the main course – today’s recipe is Citrus Grilled Fish or Shrimp. It’s taken me a really long time to eat and enjoy fish but I can safely say that I would take fish just as soon as I would pick chicken or beef on any given day. It’s all about the preparation.
Ingredients Instructions
Oven Baked Fish with Charmoula
So how hot is it by you? It’s scorching here – the heat index soared above 100F today and sweat beads were dripping off my face anytime I set foot outside. It’s safe to say I’m not cooking in the house. Why you might ask…we don’t have central air. So today’s recipe is one from my archives. I’ve got 5 weeks of posts coming up that have been planned and are being tweaked as we speak so there is going to be a lot of new things coming your way! If you’re getting ready for Ramadan I encourage you to sign up for my Ramadan newsletter (see the right hand sidebar over there – go ahead and sign up!). Also if you’re looking for even more iftar ideas consider picking up a copy of my e-book.
Onto today’s recipe for a baked fish recipe with charmoula marinade. This is fast, tasty and healthy!
Ingredients
- 4 fillets of white fish such as tilapia, perch, or cod
- 1 lemon
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp crushed garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 2 roma tomatoes
- 1 zucchini or eggplant
Tajine of Fish and Vegetables
Before I met my husband fish and seafood was something that I ate on a very rare occasion and in small quantities. Not to mention it was usually the deep fried type. I didn’t really “like” it. But fish was something my husband had grown up with, especially sardines and anchovies (I’m not there yet!) So the first time a fish tajine graced the table in my presence I shuddered. I stepped back from the table and politely declined and munched on some bread. My husband kept coaxing me to just try it and I decided I had to not to offend the cook. Very gingerly I took a little bite and BAAM – can you believe I liked it? This did not taste like any fish I had ever tasted! Over the years I’ve adapted the traditional method a little because I don’t like fish skin, or bones or heads (usually this is made with a whole fish). This is pretty fast and very tasty – even for people who don’t “like” fish they might be surprised!
Ingredients:
1 lemon
2 fish fillets (I usually use salmon, or a white fish like cod or talapia but any fish will work)
4-5 small red potatoes (any potatoes work but red cook faster)
1 small onion
1/2 eggplant
2 zucchini
2 large tomatoes or several small
3 tbsp cumin
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp hot paprika
handful of chopped cilantro
2 tsp minced garlic
3 tsp olive oil
Directions:
Wash and remove skin of all vegetables (you can leave it on the tomatoes and red potatoes if you’d like). Slice all of them very thinly, as thin as you can get them as this will aid in cooking time. Keep the tomatoes separate but add the remaining vegetables to a large mixing bowl. In another bowl combine all of the spices and mix together. Reserve 2-3 tsp of the spices, and pour 1 tsp of olive oil onto the vegetables – combine well and then sprinkle the rest of the spices onto the vegetables. Mix well so that they are covered.
In a flat baking pan arrange all of the vegetables – trying to keep them as flat as possible. Layering them will cause them to take longer to cook through.
Preheat the oven to 350 at this time.
Wash and dry off the fish. If using a fish with skin , you can choose to remove the skin or keep it on. I always remove it because I don’t like even looking at it! Once the fish is ready place it into the baking sheet on top of the vegetables. Take the tomatoes and arrange them on top of the fish and the other vegetables. The liquid will help cook them. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the fish and the vegetables, and top the fish and tomatoes with the reserved spices. Squeeze the lemon over the entire dish, being careful to remove the seeds.
Place into the preheated oven and bake until the fish starts to flake the vegetables are tender. If you have a fast cooking fish, you could pre-steam the vegetables before seasoning and adding to the oven so that the fish doesn’t cook too long, waiting for the veggies to catch up!
Eat while hot with crusty bread. I usually serve with a quartered lemon for guests to squeeze more lemon if they desire. 
Broiled Whitefish with Mustard Sauce
I gave Julia another shot, but this time it was just a sauce and a method for cooking mushrooms. All in all this was a really great dinner. I paired the fish with a whole wheat couscous and vegetable side dish. Me and the husband really loved this. The best part was it was fast and tasty!
I used some orange roughy that was in the freezer, defrosted and topped with salt, pepper and lemon. I put two small pats of butter on each fillet. Then I broiled in the oven until cooked through. The mustard sauce starts with a roux of butter and flour, combined with vegetable stock and some more butter and a little bit of mustard. Stewed mushrooms are also a part of this dish although no wholly visible. These are easily done by combining a 1/2c of water, 1/2 of a lemon squeezed, salt and pepper and 2 tbsp butter. Once they are cooked through, about 5 minutes. I further reduced the liquid and used it in the mustard sauce.
For the couscous salad I used an instant whole wheat couscous (Moroccan friends don’t lambaste me! I only did it to save time and I’m sure if I would have cooked it properly it would have been much better!) I picked up some Ziploc steamer bags to try them out. I LOVE them! I tossed in some broccoli and carrots, with 2 tbsp of water, and microwaved for 3 minutes. I chopped up the veggies and tossed them with the cooked couscous, topped with 1/2 lemon squeezed, salt and pepper, and a tsp of hot paprika.
This whole meal took less than 30 minutes to get together and was very good! It’s pretty open for many different interpretations and I’m sure just changing the sauce would change the entire dish.
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