An Asian Twist to Zucchini Ribbons

You might remember my zucchini story that I mentioned in my "About" page when my sister had way too much of the ubiquitous veggie and didn’t know what to do with it all.  Little did I know back then that the fight to get zucchini right would be an ongoing journey.  Zucchini is always so tempting at the store.  I’m not sure why.  Is it that they look so nicely organized lined in a row?  Or that they seem so hearty? Or healthy? Whatever their lure, the dilemma comes when it's time to cook with them.  They have so much water content that they tend to get soggy, and often times bland.

Several months back while I was in Miami (trying to restart/jump start my next phase in life and get this blog going) I found myself starving at midday.   A good a time as any to be hungry.  And guess what, just days earlier I was sucked in by the usual zucchini temptation and I bought a few.  Which delivers me back to my zucchini dilemma.  Since I didn’t have a ton of other ingredients in my Miami kitchen, my goal was the tastiest, easiest and quickest method to get some food in my stomach.

This is what I came up with. A true something from nothing dish. (Note: that the amounts below really only yield one serving. So adjust the quantities for the amount you need.)

Asian Zucchini Ribbons

• 1 medium onion, thin slices
• 1 large zucchini, shredded into ribbons (approx. 2.5 cups)
• lemon zest & juice of half a lemon
• 1.5 tbsp Tamari (gluten free)
• 2 cloves garlic (shredded)
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

Shred the zucchini.  You can use one of those fancy, schamcy vegetable ribbon maker, or simply pull out your box grater and grate away. That’s what I did. Then, with the same grater,  grate up the two garlic cloves and set aside.

Thinly slice the onions, and in a cast iron skillet, sauté the onions in olive oil, salt and pepper.  You do not want to caramelize these, just get them soft with some color.  

Add the shredded zucchini/garlic and sauté over high heat.  You truly only need to cook this for 2-3 minutes.  Add the Tamari and stir.  Take off the heat, squeeze lemon juice and sprinkle the lemon zest on top.

Done and done.  I ate the whole bowl. It was so delicious I decided to make another batch, this time adding the complement of rice, and saving it for the next night's dinner.

I think that this dish truly illustrates how you don’t need a ton of ingredients or skill or technique.  A few fresh items can provide so much flavor.  I kept this simple because I didn’t have much to work with (hence the something from nothing idea) but it dawned on me that you could add in some other ingredients in keeping with the Asian theme.  Like scallions or snow peas.  I do like the simplicity of this dish as I first made it, but this is one of those 'recipes' where you can enhance at will.  So I beckon your will, if you do try this one out and enhance it, please share your version with me. 

Loaded Potato - Healthy Style

I know you might find this hard to believe but I had a left over baked potato.  How is that possible, you say?  Well, my sister didn't join us for dinner one night and we had already eaten our fill of the fluffy spud. So the next day I decided to have a healthier version of a loaded baked potato.  

First, in case you missed how I cut the potatoes, you simply make slices not cutting all the way through.  Drizzle with the Magic 3 (oil, salt, pepper) and bake for 40-60 minutes. (Again, I can't take credit for this style of cutting. I saw it somewhere and liked it).   

Instead of using sour cream, I took out the Greek yogurt, every variety of the onion family I had (chives, scallions, red onion) and chopped them up.  Stirred them all together with a dash of salt and squeeze of lemon for brightness.

Chives, Red Onion & Scallions ready to be slathered in creamy Greekness.

I also had some left over roasted broccoli and it reminded me of another topping that you often find in loaded potatoes.   But the roasted version is definitely a cleaner alternative to that traditional topping that is usually swimming in cheese sauce. I love texture, and these provided that crispy element, so I added it to my potato.

I suppose if you wanted more crispiness and the bacon factor but still wanted to keep it 'leaner', you could take some proscuitto or serrano ham, and crisp them up in the oven. This would make a less fatty version for sure.  I kept mine lean and mean with just broccoli and yogurt.  Add a small salad and you have a great lunch. A filling, healthier version of the traditional.  

Skillet Roasted Salmon lifted up by Carrots & Potatoes

We eat a lot of Salmon.  It's good for you. It tastes good and you can make it a thousand ways. (Believe me, I have a few more ways coming shortly.)  I got this idea to roast salmon in a skillet for a couple of reasons.  

One: I didn't want to splatter the stove because it was all spanking clean. 
Two: I didn't want to have to wash a lot of separate pots and pans.
Three: I thought it would look nice served in the pan and make an easy one pot wonder.

Ok, enough with the reasons.  The good news is that it checked off all the above concerns and delivered a nice meal.

Ingredients

Wild Caught Salmon (I used about 1.5 lb piece.  Use whatever size fits your needs)
2-3* carrots, chunk into long diagonal cubes
6-8* fingerling potatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1* yellow onion, cut in 8 pieces
Magic 3 (olive oil, salt, pepper)

Instructions

Place the cut vegetables in a cast iron, add the Magic 3.  Roast at 400 degrees until 3/4 cooked.  

Vegetables cut and ready for the Magic 3 waiting in the background to perform their duties.

After the vegetables are 3/4 cooked, place the seasoned salmon atop the vegetables and cook for 8-12 minutes depending on the size of fish.  I like my salmon medium rare so this took about  10 minutes.

Roasted to perfection

Serve yourself a plateful with a nice glass of crisp white wine.  Have two glasses, you only have one pan to clean.

* If you have more, or want more vegetables, you can certainly make more, just cook them first., as the salmon doesn't take long.

Lunch 3 Ways, as performed by Roasted Vegetables

The Stars

Yeah, yeah, I know that you know that I LOVE roasting vegetables.  Honestly, it's one of the easiest, most efficient and delicious ways to cook them.  All the work is done for you.  Place 'em on a pan with the magic 3 (oil, salt & pepper), slide into a 400 degree oven and done and done.   

Knowing this, you won't be surprised that I've come up with 3 more ways to serve up roasted vegetables. This was yet another time when we had a handful of unused items from a party that needed to be cooked up. As usual when I looked at these, I wasn't sure what their final use would be, but before they went bad they needed one last curtain call.  

The stars of this day's performance: Introducing the Carrot, The Vine Tomato, The Beet,  The Yellow Pepper and of course, Miss Fennel.

Destined for sweetness by way of roasting.

Adding the Magic 3, Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper

I added potatoes because JC loves these roasted

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Lunch Performance #1 - The Stack 'em Up Sandwich

Place a few of the roasted tomatoes in a small food processor along with crushed garlic, pinch of salt and 2-3 T olive oil. Pulse until you get a chunky paste.

Place a few slices of your favorite cheese on one side of the bread and broil it until the cheese is melted. (I used Ojeva Negra, an earthy Spanish sheep's milk cheese.)

Add a smattering of the tomato-garlic 'jam' and begin stacking the veggies onto your sandwich. From here you can begin diving in or take it the next step and panini it.  This earthy, crunchy lunch was for JC since I don't eat bread.  Sucks for me.

The Full Stack

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Lunch Performance #2 - Quinoa Bowl

Cook up your favorite quinoa.  I used an organic multi grain one.  Ready up your roasted veggies and cut into bite sized pieces.

Once quinoa is cooked, arrange in a the bowl, top the quinoa with the tomato 'jam' and dig in.

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Lunch Performance  #3 - Pasta Toss

I don't need to tell you that this was my favorite.  I'm such a pasta monster.  You can use whatever type of pasta floats your boat.  Semolina is still my favorite but I can't eat wheat anymore so I cooked up some brown rice elbow macaroni.  

While the pasta was cooking, I sautéed 1/4 c chopped shallots, 2 cloves chopped garlic and some left over grape tomatoes equally about 2/3 cup. (Again, any amount that you have will work, so don't worry so much about amount here.)  Once those were soft, I added all the other roasted vegetables that I chopped into bite sized pieces.

To add a bit more heartiness as well as creaminess, I added a can of baby cannellini beans with their liquid, and a touch more salt & good amount of crushed red pepper.

Then came the star of this show. Can you tell I like pasta?  In went the cooked elbow macaroni. Add whatever shape you like  and gently stir together.  

Plate it up in a nice serving bowl and grate some Locatelli cheese on top.  This was satisfyingly yummy.  Add a glass of red wine, and you'll have a Joie de Vivre lunch, for sure.

I hope you love roasting vegetables as much as I do.  They are so adaptable to so many dishes. Be forewarned, roasted and grilled vegetables will make encore presentations in the future... and often.  Why not, their versatility is not to be reckoned with.  Get your veggie on!

P.S. The roasted potatoes were not called upon for lunches, but did make their appearance as a side dish for dinner.  Plus a few were eaten right out of the oven while making the lunches.  Seriously, who could resist those crunchy bites.

Stuffed Lemon Sole

Lemon Sole over carrot/chard ribs, oven roasted broccoli and potato

My sister was coming in from out of town and I had no idea what to make for dinner. As I strolled the produce section, I spotted the Swiss Chard, which was standing up at attention, bright and green, sturdy and fresh.  It got my attention, so I grabbed it.  I wasn't sure what I would do with it but it was gorgeous.  I picked up a fluffy head of broccoli and some Idaho potatoes and made my way to the fish market.  The Red Snapper looked a bit suspect but the Wild Caught Lemon Sole caught my eye.  

(Although I didn't know what I was going to buy this time around, I do shop in a similar fashion. When I have a plan for food items, if I get to the store and they don't look good, I walk on by and come up with another plan.  Buy fresh, buy what speaks to you and try to buy in season whenever possible.  This is how my 'something from nothing' style was born... what do I have and what can I do with?)

On the way home with my items in tow, I thought I would sauté the chard and stuff the sole. First, I needed to get the potatoes going. I made accordion like cuts into my Idahos, drizzle them with oil, a good sprinkle of sea salt, pepper and slid them into a 400 degree oven.  (I can't take credit for slicing the potato this way. I also can't recall where I saw it, but I like how it looks and how it cooks, so I'm sharing it here.)

Then, as I cut up the chard, I plotted my strategy.  Here's how my head works when I'm not exactly sure of the plan.

I know that some people throw out the ribs of leafy greens because they might be tough, but I try to use as much of a product as possible.  As I cut out the ribs, i know that these will be hearty and sturdy.  I thought they would be great as a bed to lay the fish on top, so they got chopped into 1 inch pieces. I then sautéed red onion, some garlic, and the ribs of swiss chard, salt and pepper.  But as I tasted it I felt like it needed something else. Something with a hint of sweetness.  Searching in the fridge, I found a carrot and shaved some pieces into the sauté mix.  This made a huge difference. 

I set that aside and started on the stuffing.  I cut up all the leafy green parts added a shallot, some garlic and sautéed them together.  I had made some shrimp broth the day before and after the greens cooked down a bit, I added the broth.  My mind was still working on the stuffing mixture and was feeling it needed some texture and body.  That's when I remembered that I had leftover polenta squares. I took 3 and mashed them up into my mixture.  

This gave the mixture the body it needed. Once it all combined, I spread it onto the fish, rolled it up.  There you have my stream of consciousness for this dish.  Now, that you've been patient, below are the more straightforward instructions.

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Ingredients for entire meal

• 4 pieces Lemon Sole

• 1 bunch swiss chard

• 1/2 c shaved carrot

• 1/4 c minced red onion

• 1 shallot, minced

• 3 garlic cloves

• polenta or bread cubes, bread crumbs (enough to help bind)

• 1/2 c fish stock (you can use vegetable stock, wine or even water but then only 1/4 cup)

• 4 Idaho potatoes

• 1 head broccoli

• Olive oil, salt & pepper

Instruction Recap

Cut deep slits into the potato and drizzle with olive oil, salt & pepper.  Place into a 400 degree oven.

Wash and cut the broccoli into small pieces.  Cut the stems into chunks. Place all the pieces on a roasting pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper.  

Cut the ribs out of the swiss chard and chop them into 1 inch pieces, setting them aside.  
Chop up all the leafy green parts, set aside.

With a vegetable peeler, shave carrot into 2 inch ribbons.

In a cast iron pan, sauté 1/4 c of red onion in 2 tbsp olive oil until tender and add 2 smashed cloves of garlic.

Add the ribs of swiss chard, salt and pepper. Once the chard softens, add the half of the shaved carrot and sauté until mixture is tender. Remove from the pan. This mixture will be used to plate the fish upon.

Sauteed Carrot & Chard rib

After the potatoes have been cooking for 1/2 hour, turn them over.  At the same time, put the broccoli tray in the oven.

Meanwhile using the same sauté pan, add some oil, minced shallot and 1/2 garlic clove, minced . Once soft, add the swiss chard greens and remaining carrots and cook until wilted. Then add the shrimp broth and polenta (or breadcrumbs)  to create a stuffing mixture.  Spread the mixture on the filets then roll and secure with toothpicks. Lightly brown on the stove top.

Carrot, swiss chard, polenta mixture

Stuffing and rolling

Remove the potatoes and broccoli once tender and nicely roasted.

Then lower oven to 350 degree and finish the stuffed fish in oven for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size of the filets.  Plate using the chard ribs and carrot mixture as a base for your fish, round out the plate with some broccoli and a potato.

I really like how the sweetness of carrots mellowed out the chard. And although I used some polenta to give the stuffing some body, this did not make it heavy like a traditional bread crumb stuffing would.  Jill and Juan Carlos loved it, and I was pleased with the results.