Chilean Sea Bass over Angel Hair

Last summer, I had so much basil in my garden that I needed to use some before it took over everything else. I also couldn't decide if I was in the mood for fish or pasta, so I came up with a recipe that included a filet of chilean sea bass poached in a mediterranean style tomato sauce with white wine, onions, garlic, and olives. At the end, I tossed in some fresh asparagus that I had in the fridge which was a great addition and a nice way to slide an extra serving of veggies into the meal. I made this again last Sunday night and it turned out to be just as good as I remembered! I served it with the ciabatta toasts that I made for my mediterranean halibut salad recipe and it was absolutely perfect- light, flavorful, healthy, delicious. Cannot wait to make this again and hope you all try it! Also- if you want to be fancy or are serving this for guests, save some fresh chopped basil to sprinkle on top at the end as a garnish. This made 3-4 servings; if you are cooking for more people, then you will want to adjust accordingly.

Ingredients:

-3 tbs olive oil

-1 white or yellow onion, chopped

-3 garlic cloves, minced

-4 ripe roma tomatoes (or 1 small can of diced tomatoes), diced (roma tomatoes are the oval shaped tomatoes that are about the size of your fist)

-1 tbs red pepper flakes

-1 cup white wine (I used a white burgundy but only because I wanted to drink it. Any good white wine is fine)

-zest of 1/2-1 lemon (grated rind)

-1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives (I chopped them in half but you can leave them whole if you'd like. Sometimes I leave them whole but this time I was about to run out and didn't want to open a new jar so they got chopped)

-1/2 bunch asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces

-1/4 cup fresh chopped basil

-1 tsp salt (to taste), plus more for the pasta water

-1 12-oz chilean sea bass filet (ask the fishmonger for one from the middle if you can)

-1/2 box angel hair pasta

Directions:

-Salt and Pepper the fish filet. Set aside. Put a pot of water on the stove for the pasta (add  about 3tbs salt). Preheat the oven to 375 if you are making the ciabatta toasts.

-Saute the onions in the olive oil until they are translucent, about 5 minutes. Use a saucepan that has a lid so that you can cook the fish in the sauce with the lid on.

-Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, and red pepper flakes. Cook for another 5 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.

-Add the white wine and bring to a simmer to cook off the alcohol.

-Add the lemon zest, olives and the asparagus. Cook for about 5 minutes until the asparagus is cooked but still has a little crunch.

-Add salt to taste, if the sauce needs it.

-Place the seasoned fish filet in the pot and cover with some of the sauce. Put the lid on and cook for about 12-15 minutes, or until the fish flakes apart (chilean sea bass is a pretty sturdy fish so you might have to cut off a piece to make sure it is cooked).

-While the fish is cooking: cook the pasta according to the directions on the box and put your toasts in the oven.

-Right before serving, add the fresh chopped basil to the sauce and mix it in.

-Serve a piece of fish with a couple of scoops of sauce over a serving of angel hair pasta, with a ciabatta toast on the side. Enjoy!

Mediterranean Halibut- Three Ways

A few days ago, I watched a cooking show where the person made this delicious looking recipe of a halibut salad sandwich. I couldn't stop thinking about it and wondered what it tasted like, so I decided to try it out today. I was literally blown away- it was amazing! And so, so versatile. Halibut is a really easy fish to cook. I even bought frozen filets since WF was out of fresh, and could not have been more thrilled with how they turned out. While I did make the halibut filet into a fish salad sandwich which I ate for lunch, I will also serve it as a salad with greens and toasted french bread (which can also be a great appetizer), or serve the filet with the salad base on top of it for dinner. It was light, full of flavor, and totally different from what I usually make/serve. Also would be perfect to serve for a small luncheon- just double or triple the recipe. 1 filet mixed with the base will serve 2-3. Hope you enjoy this easy one as much as I do!

Halibut

Ingredients:
-1 halibut filet (2 if you are serving as a main course and not as a salad)
-1 tsp olive oil
-salt and pepper

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375.
-Drizzle olive oil on filet
-Sprinkle with salt and pepper (about 1/2 tsp of each, total)
-Bake for about 15 minutes, or until fish flakes apart easily. Set aside.

Halibut Salad Base

Ingredients:
-1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped as finely as you can
-1 tbs capers, drained
-1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
-1 tbs chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
-zest of 1/2 lemon and 1 tsp of lemon juice
-1-2 tbs mayonnaise (if you don't like mayonnaise or are making this as a topping for the halibut filets, feel free to substitute with 2-3 tsp olive oil or vinaigrette dressing)
-salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
-Mix above ingredients together. Set aside.

Ciabatta or French Bread Toasts

Ingredients:
-Ciabatta Bread or French Bread
-1 tbs olive oil
-1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in 1/2

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350.
-Slice a piece of bread off of the loaf, cut in half lengthwise.
-Drizzle with olive oil.
-Bake for 5 minutes until bread is slightly crispy but not brown.
-Rub garlic clove on the bread to give it a little garlic flavor.

Halibut Salad Sandwich and Salad Plate Assembly

Ingredients:
-Baked halibut filet
-1/2 cup arugula
-2 pieces of ciabatta or french bread toast
-sliced tomatoes and fresh chopped basil as a garnish, optional

Directions:
-With two forks, flake apart the halibut and add it to the salad base. Mix together.
-For a sandwich: place arugula on the bread toasts, top with a scoop of halibut salad, top with the other piece of toast. Serve.
-For the salad plate: place arugula on plate, top with a scoop of halibut salad, drizzle with 1/2-1 tsp of olive oil, place a lemon slice or wedge on the plate, serve with the toast on the side.
-If you would like to make each plate look complete, you can add 2 or 3 fresh tomato slices with a little bit of fresh chopped or dried basil (use less if you are using dried) and some olive oil, salt and pepper on top.

Sandwich Assembly

 Salad Plate Assembly

Halibut Filet topped with Mediterranean Salad Base

Ingredients:
-1 cooked halibut filet
-salad base

Directions:
-Place halibut on plate and put a scoop of the salad base on top of the fish. Serve with a lemon wedge. You can also serve this atop a bed of arugula to make a complete meal.

Chili

When I talked to my sister Cathryn at 830 this morning, big, beautiful snowflakes were falling and we decided to camp out at my house and sit by the fire and make a real snow day out of it. Unfortunately/fortunately as most of you now know, we are celebrating a rain day instead, but it was a great excuse to get some work done from home and make a big pot of chili. It didn't take long to make, and is going to be perfect for dinner (although we have been snacking on it all day long with tortilla chips). The recipe will turn out well even if a few of the measurements are not exact, so feel free to tweak the seasonings etc to your personal taste.

Ingredients:

-2 chopped white or yellow onions
-2 tbs olive oil
-1 lb ground beef
-3 Italian sausage links, squeeze meat out of the casing
-1 small can tomato paste
-1/4 cup dijon mustard
-1/2 cup burgundy wine (pinot noir or bourgogne)
-1 tsp garlic
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp ground black pepper
-1 tsp dried oregano
-1tsp dried basil
-2-3 tbs chili powder
-2 tbs cumin
-2 large cans diced tomatoes, juice drained

-1 large can of red kidney beans

-2 tbs fresh chopped dill

-2 tbs fresh chopped cilantro

-2 tbs fresh chopped flat leaf parsley

-1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives (optional if you hate olives, but they add a really nice flavor)

-sour cream for garnish

-grated cheddar cheese for garnish

-chopped scallions for garnish

-tortilla chips for garnish

Directions:

-Heat olive oil in a large pot. Saute onions until tender.

-Add meat and saute until it is cooked through, using your wooden spoon to break it up into small pieces.

-Add tomato paste, mustard, wine, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, chili powder, and cumin.

-Add tomatoes and kidney beans.

-Add chopped fresh dill, cilantro, and parsley. Cook on medium/low for about 30 minutes. 

-Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.

-Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle of chopped scallions, and tortilla chips on the side.