Seared Yellowtail in Lemon Dressing
From Arabesque by Claudia Roden

I went searching through about 15 different cookbooks to find this super simple seared tuna recipe. Most of the other recipes I found piled on enough seasonings that the flavor of the fish would be lost. This yellowtail was far to lovely to cover up. What loved about the Arabesque recipe was how delicate the dressing is… it brightens and enriches the flavors already in the fish. I substituted hazelnut oil in the dressing, which I thought brought even a new dimension to the flavor. The original recipe also recommended pairing the seared fish with mashed potatoes, but I had some left over roasted butternut squash that I smashed up with a little OJ and a little cream which went beautifully with the citrus sauce on the fish. A little mache salad on the side brings a little more springtime to the plate.

1 lemon
2 T hazelnut oil
salt & pepper
1 thinly chopped green onion (or fresh chives)
2 T olive oil
1 thick-cut fillet of sashimi grade yellowtail (or tuna)

Zest and juice the lemon into a small bowl. Add the hazelnut oil, green onion and freshly cracked pepper. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a pan on high heat. Just before the smoking point, add the fish. Sear for only 1 minute on each side. Remove from heat. Slice into thin slices and sprinkle with sea salt flakes. Pour the dressing over the top to serve.

Yellowtail Sashimi in Miso Dressing
From Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking

Here’s another lovely recipe from Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking. This is so simple, but does require the best fish you can find, with a good amount of fat on it. The fat helps give a wonderful silky mouthfeel, not to mention a richer taste. You’ll need a few ingredients that you’ll probably have to go to an Asian market to get. Red miso paste and mirin can be hard to find in some supermarkets.

1/3 lb sashimi-quality yellowtail (or tuna)
3 T red miso paste
1 1/2 T casters (super-fine) sugar
1/2 T mirin
1 t rice vinegar
1/8 t dry mustard
1 1/2 c chopped green onion or chives
1 T finely grated ginger

Mix together the miso, suar, mirin, vinegar and mustard, until smooth and the sugar has dissolved.

Cut the fish into little cubes, about 1/2 to 1 inch each, and place in a medium sized bowl. Start adding the dressing a little at a time, stirring gently, until each piece is nicely coated. You may not need to use all the dressing… and I think it is best not to add too much dressing or you won’t taste the fish.

To serve, place in individual bowls, and top each with the green onion and a little dollop of freshly grated ginger.

Salmon Noodle Soup

4 cups fish stock
2 carrots, small-dice
1 stalk of celery, small-dice
2-3 new potatoes, small-dice
1-2 fresh salmon fillets
3 scallions, chopped into small rounds
2 cups of pasta, cooked but not sauced
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
olive oil
Salt and pepper

Heat the fish stock in a large soup pot.

In a medium skillet on medium-high, heat the olive oil and add the chopped carrots, celery and potatoes. Saute until the vegetables start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add a ladle of stock and cook for another minute as some of the stock is absorbed. Then, dump the whole concoction back into the rest of the broth, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 7-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, wipe out the skillet and heat it up again on medium-high heat. Brush the salmon fillets with a bit of olive oil, and place flat (skin) sides up in the hot skillet. Cook for 2 minutes. Then, flip the fillets over and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Remove the fillets from the pan and remove the skin. Break the salmon into bite sized pieces. It’s ok if it’s still a bit rare in the middle… it will cook more in the broth.

Add the salmon, scallions, tarragon and pasta to the broth. Add salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve up as is, or for a little more indulgence, a small pat of butter.

Preheat the oven to 400F (200C).

Peel the carrots and slice into 1 inch chunks. Place them in a baking dish and fill about 1/2 way up with water. Add the cardamom pods and bay leaf. Cover with foil, and bake for about an hour or until the carrots are very soft. Remove the carrots from the baking dish and let them cool.

Mix the juice from the orange with the sugar in a small sauce pan and heat over medium-high until the liquid reduces by about half. Let cool.

In a food processor, blend the carrots until they are smooth, adding a bit of the reduced orange juice if it gets to thick. Transfer the carrot puree to a bowl and add the yogurt and remaining reduced orange juice. Stir to just combine. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.

Polenta-Garbanzo Bean Blinis
Makes 25-30

1/4 cup garbanzo bean (chick pea) flour
1/4 cup polenta corn meal
1/8 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the garbanzo bean flour, polenta, baking powder and salt. Add the egg and stir to combine until all the flour is moistened. Add the yogurt and milk. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes.

Heat a griddle to medium heat and lightly brush with olive oil. Drop small spoonfuls (a bit smaller than 2 inches across) of batter onto the griddle. Let them cook until you start to see small bubbles bursting throughout and the edges just start to pull away. If the griddle is to hot the blini’s will rise more in the middle and get a bit weird looking so reduce the heat. You don’t want them to rise too quickly. Flip and cook on the other side for about the same amount of time. Let them cool on a baking sheet (it’s best not to stack them when they are hot).

1 cup dried black eyed peas
1/2 cup vegetable stock
2 T olive oil
1 Meyer lemon
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, julienned
salt and pepper to taste
oil for drizzling

Place the dried peas in a bowl and cover with water. Let sit over night.

Drain and rinse the peas and place in a heavy bottom sauce pan. Add the vegetable stock, cover and cook on low for about 1 hour until the peas are quite soft and have lost any of the mealy texture. Remove from the heat and let them cool.

Put the softened peas into a food processor with the olive oil, and juice from the lemon. Blend just a little until the oil has been incorporated and the peas have broken down a little. Don’t blend too much though, you don’t want a paste.

Place the puree in a bowl and stir in the basil leaves. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with your choice of oils.

Bacon and Cheese Cream Scones
(adapted from the Macrina Bakery Cookbook, p 62)
Makes 10 to 12 scones

4-6 slices of bacon
1 cup sharp white cheddar, grated
1/2 c parmesan-reggiano, grated
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
2 T baking powder (yes, Tablespoons!)
1 t salt
2 1/2 c heavy cream
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Fry up your bacon until it is quite crisp. Drain on a paper towel lined plate, and set aside.

Combine the two cheeses in a bowl and toss with a fork to get them well mixed.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a medium to large bowl. Crumble the now cooled bacon into the flour mixture and stir to coat. Add the cheese, and mix well.

Beat the cream with a whisk or mixer until you get medium soft peaks. Fold half of the cream into the flour mixture, mixing carefully. Try to get all of the flour off the bottom of the bowl. Then, mix in the other half of the whipped cream and fold in very gently. You don’t want to over mix the dough.

Lightly flour a work surface, and carefully pour the mixture out onto the surface. The dough will probably still be a bit wet, with dry bits of flour here and there. Flour your hands, and carefully shape the dough into a 1 inch thick rectangle. Then, fold the dough in half over itself and flip it over. It should start to become somewhat moldable. If it seems too wet still, sprinkle a touch of flour on the top and shape and fold again. However, don’t do this too many times or you’ll kill the advantage of whipping your cream first. Once it will basically hold together, form a 3×16 rectangle about an inch or so thick. Cut the rectangle into triangles (about 10 to 12).

Lift scones and place onto the parchment very close together. They should almost be touching, but not quite… maybe 1/4 or 1/8 of an inch between. This will help them keep their shape.

Make a quick egg wash of a beaten egg and about 1 t of water. Then, lightly brush the scones with the mixture. A tiny bit of smoked salt sprinkled on top would be a nice addition at this point.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Scones should cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack.

Udon
1 cup lukewarm water
5 t salt
3 1/2 c bread flour
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

Dissolve the salt in about 1 T of the water, then add the rest of the water. Set aside.

In a very large bowl that you’ll be able to knead the dough in, combine the two flours with a fork. Make a little well in the center, and add the salted water. Use the fork to pull a little bit of flour into the liquid, and then start to use your hands to work the moistened flour into the rest of the flour. Depending on the moisture content of your flour, you might need to add a bit more water… as the dough comes together, it should form into a lumpy ball. If it stays as too ragged, sprinkle a bit more water on and work it in.

Start seriously kneading the dough as hard as you can for about 10 minutes, on a board dusted with bread flour. If the dough is too sticky, knead in a touch more of the bread flour. To knead, fold over from the top, and use the heal of your palm to press it flat again. Turn the dough 45 degrees and repeat.

Now comes the fun part. Wrap the dough in a heavy duty plastic bag. I like to use left over produce bags.. but they are thin so I double wrapped to be safe. Then, wrap the the plastic bag in a largish kitchen towel. Set it on the ground and stand on it. Move around, do a little dance, hop up and down, take a stroll. Your whole body weight on the dough will work it like your hands never could. This helps make the noodles good and chewy. After a few minutes, take the dough out of the bags… it will be pretty flat, but with a rolling pin, roll out any irregularities. Then give it a fold, put it back in the bag, wrap it in the towel and walk on it some more. Repeat this process about 4 times. Then, leaving the dough in the bag, let it rest for 3 hours in a warm place.

After it’s had a chance to rest, take the dough out and form it into a ball. Place it back in the bag & towel and walk on it one more time… this time making a point to try to spread the dough as much as possible. The thinner you can get it by walking on it, the easier the rest of the process will be.

Take the dough out from the bag again, and roll it out on a floured surface until it is a square about 1/8 inch thick. The dough may be pretty stiff and springy, so this may be a bit challenging. If you can’t seem to get it thin enough with a rolling pin or if you want a more refined udon, cut it into 4 pieces and run it through the thickest setting of a pasta machine, and give them a good dusting of flour.

Next, fold the dough from the top to the center and then from the center to the bottom (like an accordian). Then, with one of the long edges facing you, slice off the dough in 1/8 inch pieces. Dust the sliced pieces with a bit more flour as you go to prevent them from sticking.

Boil the noodles immediately, or cover with a towel while you are waiting for the water to come to a boil. The noodles will need to boil for about 7 minutes, stirred with a chopstick to prevent them form sticking together.

Traditionally, the noodles are served hot, with a dashi-based stock. But, they are also delicious stir fried with a splash of sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy, sesame seeds and some veggies or meat of your choice.

White Bean Soup with Sausage
Adapted from Donna Hay issue #33, p 104

Soup
2 T olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 lb cannellini beans, fresh or rehydrated
4 cups chicken stock
salt & pepper to taste

optional toppings
1 red chile pepper, seeds removed, and finely chopped
truffle oil
crispy sausage (see below)

Heat a large soup pot on medium heat. Add the oil, onion, garlic and celery, and stir about 2-3 minutes or until they are translucent. Try not to brown the onion. Add the beans and stock, and bring to a boil, stirring to ensure the beans don’t stick to the bottom. Reduce the heat to get a very low rolling boil, almost more of a simmer, cover and let cook for about 1 hour, or until the beans are very soft. Stir the soup occasionally during this time.

The next step is to blend the soup. If you have one, use a hand blender. It’s easier than taking the soup out of the pot. Otherwise, a food processor or standing blender will work too. Puree the until it is smooth. Then, place the soup back into the pot, and season to tase. Continue to cook, uncovered, until it’s the thickness you want. While it’s continuing to cook, prepare the sausage, if desired.

To serve, ladle the soup into the bowl, and top as desired. The soup is great with one, or any combination of the topping above.

Crispy Sausage

For the sausage slices, use a flavorful cased sausage like a spicy Italian or a chorizo. Cook the sausage through first, so it can be sliced. Then, slice to rounds, on a bias, a little less than 1/2 inch thick. Heat a skillet with a small splash of olive oil over high heat. Add the sausage and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, or until browned and crispy.

Fava Bean & Cream Cheese Rotollos
Adapted from The Produce Bible’s Fava Bean Rotollo with salad greens
Makes 6 to 7 bite sized pieces

1 lb fava beans in their pods
1 clove garlic, crushed.
2 t olive oil
1 t butter
3 eggs
2 T fresh basil, roughly chopped
3 T plain cream cheese
manchego cheese (or parmesan)
salt & pepper to taste

Remove the fava beans from their pods. Bring a pot of water with a touch of salt in it to a boil. Add the favas and cook for about 2 minutes. Then, remove from the heat and run under cold water. Squeeze each bean until it pops out of it’s thick skin.

In a small skillet, heat 1 t of olive oil, and add the garlic. Cook for about 1 minute, and add the fava beans. Saute for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 315F.

Whisk the eggs together with about 1/2 of the basil and a bit of salt an pepper, and set aside.

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set close by the stove.

Place a large, heavy bottomed skillet on the stove on high till hot. Now, turn down the heat to medium-high, and add the butter and allow it to melt. Add the remaining olive oil and stir to combine. Pour the egg mixture into the center of the skillet, trying to create a fairly circular and thin layer, a bit thicker than a crepe. It doesn’t need to reach the sides of the pan. Cook until the whole egg mixture is set on the bottom. It will still be a bit runny inside, but just a little. Then, carefully slide the flat egg disc onto the parchment with the wet side up, close to the bottom edge of the parchment.

Dot the egg with the cream cheese, and sprinkle the whole thing with the favas, remaining basil and a bit of salt and pepper. Grate the manchego cheese all over, making sure you get plenty on the sides. Then, using the parchment as a guide, carefully roll the whole thing up as tightly as you can. Then, roll into the parchment, and carefully fold under the ends to keep it in the log shape and place in the center of the baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes. Unwrap and allow to cool slightly on a rack with the seam down for a few minutes.

Carefully remove the roll from the parchment. Slice into rounds.

These are tasty served on their own, perhaps on toothpicks, or with some fresh romaine hearts, drizzled with a good olive oil, salt and toasted pine nuts.