A Sustainable Seafood Stew

This week is crazy busy for me for some reason. Tons of reading for class, work for my internship, errands to run and events to attend. Somehow (not sure exactly how) I found time to make a pretty delicious meal tonight. Fortunately I have leftovers, so if I'm too busy to cook tomorrow, I won't have to starve.

This Spanish Fish Stew with Peppers, Almonds and Saffron is really quite healthy. I'm on phase 2 of South Beach, so I served it on top of some brown rice to make a really filling and awesome meal. I try to be really conscious about what seafood I eat; this summer I worked for an environmental non-profit organization called Oceana that does a lot of marine conservation, and I learned a lot about unsustainable fisheries and the damage to the oceans that a lot of fishing practices can do. Fortunately there are some kinds of seafood that aren't so terrible to eat, and those are what I put into my stew. Farmed clams are one of those OK seafoods - they don't have to be dredged off the ocean floor to be eaten. (Dredging kills everything that lives on the sea floor, like coral reefs and turtles.) Pacific halibut is also a fish you can eat with a clean conscience, because that's a fishery that's responsibly managed and not in huge danger of overexploitation. For a complete guide to ocean friendly seafood, Oceana publishes a great list and you can find it here.


Spanish Fish Stew with Peppers, Almonds and Saffron
Serves 4

• 1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. Spanish smoked paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1-1/2 c. dry white wine
• one 14-oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1-1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. saffron threads, crumbled into 2 Tbsp. hot water
• 1/4 c. salted roasted almonds
• 1 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
• 1-1/4 lbs. Pacific halibut, meat cut into 1-inch pieces

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy casserole. Add the onion, bell pepper strips and garlic and season with salt and black pepper. Cover and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add the rosemary, paprika, and bay leaf and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and bring to a boil. Simmer until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water and saffron and bring to a boil. Cover the casserole and cook over medium high for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, finely grind the almonds in a food processor. Stir in the almonds into the stew and simmer until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Add the clams, cover and cook until most of them open, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the fish and season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until the fish is cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Transfer to bowls; serve over brown rice if desired.

Sometimes Diets Aren't So Bad

I've been really frustrated recently because A) dieting sucks because you can't eat anything fun and B) if you're going to bother dieting you should at least be able to lose weight, right? Well, there's nothing I can do about that second thing right now (except bitch to anyone who will listen), but tonight I was determined to at least make something South Beach friendly that I would actually enjoy eating. A piece of wild Alaskan salmon solved all my problems. Behold a meal that is both delicious and healthy.


Seared Mediterranean Salmon
Serves one (because I'm a loser)

• 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
• salmon fillet (5-6 ounces)
• 1/2 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 tomato, coarsely chopped
• 1 T chopped black olives (Nicoise or other)
• 1 T fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped
• squeeze of juice from half a lemon
• 1 t capers, drained
• roughly torn fresh basil leaves (2-3)

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a heavy skillet until smoking. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper. Cook to desired doneness. I like mine crispy on the outside and a bit rare in the middle, so I cooked mine about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet to a plate. In the same skillet, add the chickpeas and all remaining ingredients except basil. Stir until warm. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the chickpea mixture on top of the salmon and top with the basil.

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging #101, hosted by Myriam of Once Upon a Tart. WHB is a weekly food blogging event where bloggers post recipes using their favorite herbs, plants, veggies, and flowers. My herb of choice is fresh basil, showcased delightfully in this dish.

Simple & Healthy Brain Food

Well, I'm back in Cambridge, and my first round of law school exams starts tomorrow. I'm much less panicked than I thought I'd be, but this week is still pretty hectic, with all the studying and whatnot. Cooking elaborate meals is something that is definitely not happening right now - I just don't have the time. Last night I was craving something fresh and simple after a working lunch of macaroni & cheese earlier in the day (hey, my pantry's pretty empty after 2+ weeks out of town for the holidays).

After running down to the store and picking up some fresh haddock, I decided on an easy recipe from the revised Joy of Cooking, which I got for Christmas. The recipe was for Baked Fish Fillets in White Wine, which I served with asparagus (steamed and sprinkled with some Herbes de Provence) and a crusty French dinner roll. Cooking the fish in the wine really kept it moist and gave it a delicious flavor. It was good healthy food to help me get through the next few days of exam time.


Baked Fish Fillets in White Wine
(from the revised Joy of Cooking)

• 1 1/2 pounds sole, flounder, cod, haddock, or other white-fleshed fish fillets
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp. dry sherry
• Salt & pepper
• Lemon wedges

Preheat the oven to 350. Place fish in a greased baking dish. If the fillets are large, they may be cut in half. Pour the wine and sherry over them. Bake until firm and opaque throughout, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve drizzled with the liquid from the dish, which you may boil to reduce slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with lemon wedges.

Suggested wine pairing:
I drank the same wine that I cooked the fish in, an inexpensive Portuguese vinho verde. A pinot grigio/pinot gris or sauvignon blanc would also be great choices that would compliment the asparagus as well as the fish.