One of the best parts of my job is that I tend to get a lot of free food. Even food that I winds up on the set is still edible when I’m done. Oh, I wouldn’t go feeding it to guests or anything… afterall, it is usually cold and always has been poked and prodded by my fingers. But, it’s also made from the highest quality of ingredients I can find, and is (almost) always, delicious.

Most of the time, this free food is simply left over from a shoot that I’m doing. Sometimes, it’s sent to me by companies that are looking for feedback, really excited about sharing their product with someone who thinks a lot about food, or someone who is simply looking for extra press. I certainly understand that there are some bloggers out there who prefer not to accept free stuff… but I’m not one of them. When I get free stuff, I never promise to write about it on this blog. It takes something pretty special, in fact, to make it on here. And, sometimes, I still don’t even get around to it. But, sometimes, like today, I do.

Today, I want to share with you a fish that I am really excited about. When I got mail from Hannah asking if I’d be interested in trying some Kona Kampachi from Kona Blue, I was intrigued. I’m a huge fan of sushi, and will always have a hard time turning away from sashimi-grade yellowtail. But, what really struck me is that Kona Blue is a company trying new methods of fish farming that attempt to solve some of the problems of related to traditional “aquaculture.” In-shore fish farm can create serious pollution problems, releasing waste and excess nutrients into water at rates that can’t be cleaned up by natural processes. Those farmed fish also tend to suffer from mercury poisoning. Kona Blue is fishing in large sea-cages sunk into deep water far off shore, so the fish can basically school as they would in the wild and the pollution problems can be avoided. And, at the same time, the natural fish population is not being depleted. The fish also boast a 30 percent fat content, high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, and no detectable mercury.

I think it’s really early to tell whether these new fish farming practices are a good thing or if they introduce problems of their own. But, I applaud companies for trying to solve some of these problems in a responsible way. Plus, I can tell you this, the fish is beautiful.

My package arrived well packed in ice, but not frozen, so the two, large fillets were immediately ready to use. The fillets are thick and fatty… perfect for a nice lunch of sashimi, with a ton still left over.

In fact I’ve been playing with a variety of preparations… the fish is so fresh, it’s almost a crime to cook it… but in addition to a sashimi miso salad, some simple nigiri sushi, I also lightly seared a good chunk and served it with a butternut squash mash and a fresh lemon dressing. Yum. I still have a whole fillet left that will have to be put to use quite soon. In the meantime, I thought I’d share a few shots and recipes with you.

If you want to try to find some of this fish on your own, you can order it from their website… but shipping is quite expensive. If you are in Seattle, Uwajimaya sometimes has it in stock and several area restaurants, like Canlis and Oceanaire have it on their menu. Or you can check out Kona Blue’s extensive “where to find” list.

PS: Thanks to Matt for correcting my initial mis-statement that Yellowtail is Tuna. In fact, it is its very own fish. All these years of ordering hamachi, and I always thought I was eating tuna!!!

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.

So, I had these fava beans. And I needed to figure out what to do with them. When I bought them at the market, I was going to do a simple mashed fava bean spread for some little grilled toasts. Simple and yummy. And, quick, if you discount the time it takes to prepare the fava beans in the first place.

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.

Wednesdays, in Seattle summers, are organic market days. The cobblestone road outside the Pike Place Market gets blocked off to traffic, and organic farms set-up their stands with all organic, locally grown produce. Sure, the rest of the Pike Place market is teeming too, with other fresh ingredients and flowers a plenty, but not all of that is local or organic. This early in the year, the number of organic stands and the variety of their offerings are still pretty small, but that’s no worry. There is still plenty of early season deliciousness to choose from… fruits and greens that I’ve been longing for now for months.
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I did it. I got back on the horse. Or, at least, on the mandolin. This time VERY, VERY safely. But, there was just no way, despite the havoc it’s created on my poor hand, that I can give up such a great device. It’s just too useful, too irreplaceable. And dishes like this salad just could not exist without one.

The idea for this salad came to me when I was looking at another photographer’s work. Oddly, it wasn’t a food photographer at all, but a children’s portrait photographer. My friend Robert sent me a link to Audrey Woulard’s portfolio, and her absolutely gorgeous child and family shots. Like Jinky Art, her work is mesmerizing. Her use of color, and the way she captures eyes is outstanding, and it got me to thinking about color and food, much in the same way that the chapter on cooking by color in Heidi’s Super Natural Cooking did. All of a sudden, I was fixated on the idea of a snow white salad of shaved fennel dotted with juicy dark red cherries.
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No, don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten about this blog! It’s just taken me a few days to get back in the swing of things from our Fernie trip. That, and I’ve been eating out a ton for another project that I’ll tell you about sometime later in the spring. So, there’s been less chance to get into the kitchen over the past few weeks, and will likely continue that way for the next few.

Today, however, I managed a few hours in the kitchen, playing with my new fantabulous Kylie Kwong cookbook, Simple Chinese Cooking. I was already excited about this book, as I was just mentioning to Cam the other day that of all the cookbooks I have, I have none on Chinese cookery, which is quite funny because I really do like both cooking and eating Chinese. What made the whole thing more exciting however, is that Kylie was in Seattle yesterday, and I got to go hear her talk at Third Place Books up in Lake Shore Park. Despite arriving a tiny bit late (I thought it was the other Third Place Books location…), I did get to catch most of her chat about how she got into cooking in the first place and what inspired this particular book. Kylie had a fantastic laid-back casual elegance. She’s a comfortable speaker that clearly loves what she is doing. She created the book to help people step in to Chinese (and therefore other Asian) cooking even without a trip to Chinatown (or, if you are in Seattle, the more PC International District) and reshape some of the Westernized thinking of Asian food. Her goal was to have every recipe based on ingredients you can get from any supermarket, no specialty stores required. Each recipe was worked out cooking in her own home kitchen as well. Everything to make the cuisine more approachable for the home cook to achieve.
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Whoever said that you shouldn’t take shortcuts in cooking never had to make lunch everyday. There are days when nothing can stop me from making every ounce of a recipe from scratch. And, then there are days, like today, where I just want a tasty bite without any hassles.

I had grander ideas of what I’d cook today. There is a blood orange salad in Jamie’s Italy that has my name all over it… fresh radicchio, arugula, mint, fennel mixed up with warm new potatoes and a blood orange dressing. But, with new snow and ice on the roads in Seattle this morning, I decided to stay put and cook with what I had already at home.

Luckily a few pieces of fresh citrus (Rising C Ranches) and a mini golden nugget pumpkin (from my CSA basket several months ago! It’s amazing how well these keep.) in the house made this a no brainer.

A sliced blood orange, cut neatly from its pith, a handful of pumpkin or squash chunks cooked till just softened in the oven (or microwave!), a splash of a tasty salad dressing (Annie’s Sesame Shitake vinaigrette) and a sprinkle of freshly chopped cilantro. It’s really not even a recipe. It’s playing with food. But oh, so tasty.

And, while I’m thinking about it, check out these other amazing looking yet simple citrus salads:

Grapefruit Salad with Toasted Coconut by Vita&C
Elise’s Cardamom Citrus Fruit Salad
Jicama and Orange Salad on Chow
Pinch My Salt’s Orange Cranberry Salad with Walnuts and Blue Cheese

Technorati Tags: citrus, Cookbook, Food, Photography, recipe

How could I pass up the big grab bag of apricots when it costs almost the same as the little pints? The juicy fruits hidden away in the bag may be a little bit smaller or maybe a little bit blemished, but they still came from the same tree, picked the same day and are still honey-sweet. And, I get to make so much more. I just couldn’t pass them up… could you?

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