Herb and Garlic Pan Roasted Snapper

We like fish, but I find that it needs a serious injection of flavour to really taste good. This is especially true with white fish such as snapper. A combination of herbs, garlic, and lemon was just perfect with these pan-roasted fillets. I threw in a handful of grape tomatoes before putting the dish in the oven and was very pleased with the result.

Herb and Garlic Pan Roasted Snapper Fillets

2 Tablespoon butter, divided

1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon minced fresh chives

1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest

2 snapper fillets, each cut in half

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter in oven-safe skillet. Add the garlic and stir until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Do not brown. Remove from heat and stir in the herbs and lemon zest. Remove from pan to small dish. Wipe out skillet

Melt the remaining Tablespoon of butter in same skillet over medium high heat. Salt and pepper the snapper fillets. When the butter is foaming, add the fillets. Immediately spoon the herb mixture over top while the fillets are cooking. After 1- 2 minutes, add the tomatoes, then place the skillet in the oven.

Bake until the fish is opaque and flakes easily, 8 - 10 minutes. Remove from oven and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over. Serve immediately.

We ate this with sliced avocado, roasted zucchini and roasted fennel. It was a quick and easy meal, satisfying but not heavy.

Salmon Rice Salad

Last night my husband and I went out for dinner to the Creek Restaurant in French Creek. This was a belated anniversary celebration. We ordered a seafood platter for two. It came with Caesar Salads to start. They were on the small side, but that's okay because the platter was enormous. Four crab legs, four large breaded Fanny Bay oysters, a casserole of creamed shrimp and scallops, a salmon fillet and a piece of halibut. Plus vegetables, rice and two potato croquettes accompanied by flatbread. We didn't finish it all. Instead we brought home about half of the rice and the salmon. (Yes, we ate the rest.)

Today is blisteringly hot and I decided to make dinner this morning while the kitchen was cool. I flaked the salmon, added the rice and a few odds and ends. This will accompany a chilled zucchini soup and a roasted tomato and green bean salad for dinner. The amounts given below are enough to serve two, and I didn't measure anything, so you'll have to play with the ingredients. I didn't want a mayonnaise based salad, but something lighter. This is the result, and I'm pleased with it.

Salmon Rice Salad

1 large salmon fillet (you could poach one or use canned salmon)
1 cup cooked rice
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely grated
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon mirin or cooking sherry
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste

That's it. Toss it lightly, taste and add more of whatever you think it needs. Chill and enjoy.

Fish Tostados

This is a combination of a couple of recipes I saw - beef tostados and fish tacos. I was looking for something a little different than just baked or pan-fried fish. This turned out okay, not great. I'd up the heat factor - maybe season the fish with a little chipotle powder or chili powder before frying. But, for what it's worth, this recipe is a start - one I think I'll be tweaking because we really enjoyed the concept and the mixture of flavours. Crunchy cabbage with a bit of heat, lightly sauteed onions, creamy avocado, a hint of tomato, and the creamy chipotle flavoured sauce combined quite nicely.

3-4 cups shredded white cabbage
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded, finely minced
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced chipotle pepper
1 pound of boneless white-fleshed fish fillets (I used basa)
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, cut into thin wedges
1 avocado, peeled and diced
1 tomato, diced
4 tortillas (I used wheat because that's what I had on hand, next time I'd plan on using corn tortillas)

Combine the sour cream, jalapeno pepper, lime juice and salt. Mix half of this mixture with the shredded cabbage. Set aside remaining sauce.

Heat 1 T of the oil, and saute the onion until tender crisp (you want some crunch left in it). Remove the onion and keep it warm.

Heat the remaining T of oil to medium high. Cut the fish fillets into strips, salt and pepper them, and quickly fry them. Don't let them touch in the pan, do them in batches if necessary. Remove and keep warm. I piled it on top of the onions.

Toast the tortilla under the broiler, or if you like, quickly fry it until crisp.

To assemble, layer on a plate--

Tortilla
Cabbage (3/4-1 cup)
tomato
fish and onion
avocado

Top it all with the remaining sauce and squeeze fresh lime juice over.

Salmon with Beurre Blanc

This was tonight's dinner. I made a citrus ginger beurre blanc, and a huge mess. I had the white wine in the little saucepan on the stove and I was using a reamer to squeeze the orange juice over top. My hand slipped and the saucepan flipped and sent the mixture ALL over the kitchen. I was wiping orange pulp and white wine off of cupboards, the floor, the fridge and the microwave. And then I had to start all over again. But it was delicious - citrusy, not sweet, with a hint of ginger and a wonderful smoothness that made me want to eat it all with a spoon.

I plated the salmon on a bed of just barely sauteed fresh spinach, and served garlic smashed potatoes, carrots and pan-seared cherry tomatoes alongside. The potatoes, carrots and tomatoes all came from our garden. No matter how hard I try I cannot make spinach grow. It sprouts and then just sort of sits there, green and stunted. I think next year I'll just skip trying.

Beurre Blanc

1 Tablespoon minced red onion
1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1/4 cup white wine
juice of 1/2 orange
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup butter, in 1 inch cubes

In a small saucepan, combine the onion, ginger, white wine, orange juice and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat and let boil until the mixture is reduced to about 2 Tablespoons. Lower the heat to minimum and add the cubes of butter, one at a time, whisking briskly. Make sure that each cube melts before adding the next one. Don't let the mixture get too hot or it will break and the butter will separate.
Keep warm until ready to serve.

I just salted and peppered salmon fillets, heated olive oil and a bit of butter until hot, then quickly pan-fried the salmon, adding the cherry tomatoes after turning the salmon. Serve the beurre blanc over the salmon.