miso glazed spicy honey cod (20 minutes at most)

My mother must have exclaimed 23 times throughout the meal that “Lisi, this is DELICICIOUS, seriously Lisi, delicious.”  And then about 3 minutes later “this is my kind of taste, Lisi, this is so good!”  And then, “Lisi, I need the recipe – please don’t forget to send me the recipe!”  And so on…  It was hard to actually have a conversation!  But I was delighted that she loved it so as she is one tough critic and a terrific cook.  Oh and my dad liked it too!  I made it again for friends Geoff and Nora and they too said delicious – repeating it only (ha) about 3 times.  

I can’t say I did anything but follow the recipe so it is really the blogger of Foodie with Family who deserves the credit.   The hardest part is to make sure you cook the fish to just right.  Undercooked cod is a real turnoff and overcooked can feel dry (although I honestly don’t mind it).  Other than that it’s a breeze to make.  

The recipe calls for white miso and gochujang which you can now find at most supermarkets – and also online.  If you hit the link for Foodie with Family (above), Rebecca provides resources to find.  After you open, refrigerate and both keep for a long time.  

If you are someone who likes things saucy then double the sauce – I did one of the times and really coated it.  I prefer it that way…but if you like a normal coating then cook with the amount below.

I served this with a delicious napa cabbage/mango/mint/pomegranate slaw that I will write up next.  And also a variety of roasted veggies that I had on hand.  This would also be great with rice, steamed broccoli, and toasted sesame seeds.   

Ingredients

  • 4 cod filets – 5-7 ounces 
  • 2 tablespoons mild honey
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1/2 tablespoon gochujang (more to taste – I’m not the spiciest person so add more for more!)
  • 1 tablespoon white miso paste
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce (or coconut aminos if gluten free)
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
 

Directions

Mix together all of the ingredients and measure out about 2 tablespoons of the sauce.  Brush or use a spoon to coat the cod with the two tablespoons.

  • Set your oven to broil and broil the fish (about 8 inches from heat source) for about 4-5 minutes.  It should look bubbly and a little charred.
  • Change the oven setting to bake 375.  Brush, spoon, pour the rest of the sauce on each filet.  Place in the oven and cook until opaque and easily flaked with a fork.  This can take 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your fish.
  • Not in the recipe – but I finished it again for a minute under broil.  I just like that look and taste.
  • You do what you prefer!
  • Sprinkle with sesame seeds or scallions if you like.  
Enjoy – 

mango avocodo corn salsa

I wrote this at the end of the summer – but posting now because summer is around the corner.  I think we are all in the mood for warmth and sunshine, summer salads and grilled meats, and easy gatherings.

Summer is just about over and it got cool here really fast!  But I this week (here) it’s supposed to get up to 78 degrees so you have a moment to squeeze this in with end of summer tomatoes, ripe avocado and sweet summer corn.  I served this on simple oven broiled cod and it was so good.  Silly good.  I ate it the next day on top of arugula and leftover fish.  I know most people don’t like leftover fish – especially cold, but for some reason I can do it.  A little Maldon Sea salt, fresh lime juice and olive oil and I was content.  This would be great in a taco or with tortilla chips – or even added to a store bought salsa to spruce it up.  Enjoy.  

Like anything you make – adapt to your liking.  You can change all the amounts below – I prefer more mango than avocado – but you may prefer it the other way.  Most recipes like this have added chopped red onion which is delicious – but it just doesn’t agree with me sadly.  But go for it if you can!

Oh, and please remember to look at notes on cilantro to learn how to properly clean.  

Ingredients

  • 1 cup frozen or 2-3 ears of cooked fresh corn 
  • 2 -3 mangos, peeled and diced 
  • 2 avocados, diced
  • 1/4 cup cleaned, chopped cilantro
  • 1 cup chopped tomatoes – if using bigger tomatoes squish out the seeds 
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 lime – juiced
  • sea salt
  • red onion (optional)

Directions

  • Defrost corn and cook as instructed.  With frozen corn though, I prefer to pour it into boiling water and cook for 2-5 m or so (sometimes undercooked corn – esp previously frozen is a bit better in these types of salads – adding more of a bite and texture rather than a mushy kernel). But you can do what you prefer and to your taste.  Remove corn from stove and quickly drain and run continuous cold water on the corn to immediately stop the cooking.  
  • If using fresh corn, place corn in a pot that has about an inch of boiling water on the bottom.  Add the ears and simmer, covered for about 6-7 minutes.  Again, I prefer this a tad undercooked as well.  Remove ears (tongs are easiest) and place under running cold water to stop the cooking.  Once cool, cut kernels off of cob with a serrated knife.  
  • Wash, peel and dice mango
  • Wash, peel, pit and dice avocado
  • Wash cilantro – remember to look that up!   Chop.
  • Chop tomatoes and onions if you are using.
  • Add olive oil, rice vinegar, lime and salt.  Taste and re season as you like –  I happen to love lime so I will always add a bit extra!
  • Soon I will post on the basics of chopping the above – but in the meantime just google if you need some immediate instruction.

simply delicious ground meat/(optional)egg stir fry

This recipe is soooo easy.  Simple.  And you can change it up so easily picking a different protein each time.  Veggies too.  Egg or no egg.  

Everyone loves this.  Mark loved it, Greg and Sarah asked for the recipe the last time they ate it.  Beth said “thumbs up all around.  Will add to the rotation!”  Sylvie was home this week and asked if I could make a lot so she would have enough for leftovers the following day.  I too am a big fan of this dish.  Oh and Rob and Andy too!  (He makes it frequently at school.)

The recipe calls for coconut aminos which is an alternative to soy sauce for those who can’t tolerate gluten.  I find that I like the coconut aminos more (in this recipe) than soy sauce as it is a littler lest pungent or harsh on the tongue.  It sounds hard to find, but it is right there next to the soy sauces. 

I found this in Juli Bauer’s Paleo Cookbook.  I tweaked it a bit and changed the the order of operations and added egg to mine – as well as all the other veggies.  Have fun with this – play around and enjoy – if you add a lot a lot of veggies you should probably double the sauce.  Additionally – I usually double this recipe for my family – then add a lot of veggies, I then triple the sauce.

Serve with brown rice, light brown rice, white rice or cauliflower rice.  Or something else entirely.  As you can see I plated mine with baby spinach, roasted cauliflower, and string beens and it was good!

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons ghee, butter, coconut oil or canola oil.  I like to use butter when Greg isn’t around but really good with ghee and any oil really
  • 1 medium onion – chopped
  • 1-2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pound ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken) 
  • kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup coconut aminos (gluten free), or low sodium soy sauce 
  • 1-2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (plus or minus depending on your taste) 
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 
  • 2 eggs (optional) 
  • chopped scallions for garnish (not me as I taste them through the night)
  • a squeeze of lime juice if it needs it
  • pepper
Other veggies to add/try:
  • diced mushrooms
  • string beans cut small
  • shredded carrot or very thinly sliced carrot
  • red peppers
  • frozen peas
  • frozen edamame
  • baby spinach or baby kale
  • broccoli florets (if you use broccoli blanch first) 
Double the sauce if using a lot of veggies!  (I do) Triple the sauce if using more meat and more veg

Directions

  • Sauté the onions in a large pan (12 inch is good for this) using one or two of the fats above.  I like onions to be nice and golden for my dishes because I find I can digest them better and well, I like them better like that.  But you do you as they say.
  • Add the meat and salt it after you put it in the pan.  Let it sit for two minutes and flip the chunk of meat so that it browns on both sides first.  The onions will get even darker underneath.  Then break it up and continue to cook until no more pink remains. 
  • While the meat cooks, make the sauce by combining the aminos, honey, ginger and red pepper and set aside 
  • and then gently beat the eggs in a bowl and set aside
  • Add the garlic to the meat and onion mixture and stir in for a minute
  • Next add mushrooms if you are using – saute for a few minutes.
  • Add the sauce to the pan and cook until the liquid has reduced by one third – about 10 minutes.  
  • Half way through add the other veggies 
  • Cook your eggs in a separate pan and chunk up with a spatula.
  • Add to the pan when it is just about ready.  
  • Carefully mix up the ingredients and taste.  If it tastes too sweet (you overdid it on the honey) I find a squirt of lime juice helps.  I like lime either way as I like the little zing it adds.
  • pepper it if you like and top with cut scallions (if you like)
  • enjoy – 

Vietnamese baked fish

Bursting with flavor this fish dish is my new favorite.   I love love love it.  It is bold and intense with garlic, ginger, fish sauce and mint.  All of these ingredients meld together in and on top of the fish in a little foil packet that you cook for only about 16 minutes.  Seriously easy once you have the ingredients in the house.  Do not add any salt to the dish as the fish sauce does the trick.  And again – please don’t be afraid of fish sauce.  But also, maybe don’t smell it from the bottle.  Here is some fish sauce brand info.  I just learned a lot from the article myself.

I made this recipe with flounder (it fell apart but tasted great!), halibut, cod and haddock.  All so so good.  Of course the thicker the fish the longer it takes to cook so use 16 minutes only as a guide.

This is delicious with rice although I happen to just like it as it is – I added more tomatoes and carrots because I’m a little veggie crazy.  The last time I made this dish I used fresh peas instead of carrots and it was a hit.

This recipe, like the Thai Fish Curry is from my Mediterranean Way cookbook.  One day I’ll venture out of the Asian and into one of the Mediterranean dishes.  Maybe.  

This recipe calls for 6 pieces of fish but feel free to double or cut in half (as I do).  

Trying to think if anything else…but I think that is it!  Enjoy –

Serves: 6

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 16-20 minutes

Medium

Ingredients

  • 4 ripe tomatoes, diced (and more if you like)
  • 4 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil (I use a tad less as I find the flavor very strong – but do as you wish
  • 4 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (I use a little less but if you are a garlic fan go for it all
  • 2 tablespoons chopped mint
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper or more to taste (I like more) 
  • 4 6-ounce firm white fish fillets (haddock, snapper, cod) 
  • 2 julienned carrots (I used grated carrots)
  • another time I used fresh peas 

Directions

Preheat oven to 440 degrees. 

In a medium bowl, mix together the tomatoes, fish sauce, lemon juice, sesame oil, ginger, garlic mint, sugar and pepper.

Take a decent sized piece of tin foil and make a little boat for the fish.  Set the open foil packets on a baking pan.  You want plenty of extra foil as you need be able to seal the foil at the end.  This may take a few tries.  Next time I’ll take a photo of mine.

Put a fish fillet into each packet of foil.  Top with the julienned or shredded carrots.  Follow with the tomatoes and marinade portioning it equally among the fish. 

Cook for 16 minutes.  Take a peek inside but be carful as the steam inside the packets is hot.  Super hot.

If the fish is thick and looks too opaque, cook a few more minutes. If not, slide the fish and all it’s cooking liquid onto a plate and enjoy. 

I do hope you like it as much as I do!

Marcella Hazan’s bolognese sauce

This is the best bolognese sauce I’ve made to date!  Andy loved it.  He said “fire” and “the best” while he shoveled it into his mouth.  I agree with him.  I researched bolognese and found a plethora of recipes.  So how to choose?  I ended up picking one of Marcella Hazan’s recipes because several bloggers and articles said hers (and specifically this one of hers) was the best.  I was hesitant because I’ve only made bolognese with red wine – and in this calls for white.  And well, now my vote is in too.  Enjoy –

This serves 4-6 people depending on your pasta/meat ratio.  I doubled it and froze some for a later delicious date.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 2/3 cup chopped celery
  • 2/3 cup chopped carrot 
  • 3/4 pound ground beef chuck (or 1 part pork to 2 pounds beef)  
  • Salt, fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • nutmeg 
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 1/2 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, cut up with their juice
  • 1 1/4 to 1 pound pasta
  • freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano 
 

Directions

Place the oil, butter and onions in your pot on medium heat and cook until the onions are a translucent.  Stir often so as not to burn the onions.

Add the celery and carrot to the pot and continue to cook for about 3-4 minutes – until soft. 

Place the ground meat into the pot and add a healthy pinch of kosher salt and grind a bunch of black pepper.  

Cook stirring here and there until the meat has lost its raw red color.

Add the milk and reduce to a simmer – continue to cook and stir  until the milk has bubbled away completely.  

Next add a tiny grating of whole nutmeg (if you have – or measure out grated) – approximately 1/8 of a teaspoon.  A little goes a long way here. 

Add the wine and let it simmer until it evaporates.  

Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil.  Once boiling reduce to the slightest simmer.   Marcalla says “when the tomatoes begin to bubble, turn the heat down so that the sauce cooks at the laziest of simmers, with just an intermittent bubble breaking through to the surface”

Simmer, uncovered for at least 3 hours.  This is important.  The flavors will meld and the sauce will deepen in flavor.  Stir occasionally.  If your sauce looks dry add a half cup of water here and there – and continue to cook and simmer.  At the end you should cook until all the water has evaporated.

Re season with salt and pepper.  And really – don’t be shy about the salt.  Use kosher salt and keep adding bit by bit to taste.  I find that most home cooks underseason – being afraid of salt.  And yes, if you are following a low salt diet – then I get it.  But at restaurants we use salt really liberally.  And it truly brings out the flavor of your dishes.

Cook pasta and drain – add a tablespoon of butter (if you choose) and then mix in the sauce – serve with cheese on the side.

Yum.


french onion soup meatballs

I love French onion soup so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it.  So glad I did.  The caramelized onions, rich beef broth and little tasty meatballs are the makings of this perfect dish.  “Delicious” said Rob today at lunch as he ate his leftovers.  “Mmm mmm so good!” I said exuberantly to Rob and Sylvie to which they indulged me with kind smiles. 

The first time I made the meatballs with a mixture of ground turkey and chicken and used a beef/chicken/turkey stock.  I used less butter than the recipe called for but left most everything else as is.  The second time I used just chicken meat in the meatballs and beef stock.  This time I cut the cheese in half (inside the meatballs) and also put less on top figuring you can add more cheese if you like on your own.  They were equally delicious.  Really.  Well obviously the more cheese the better (if you like cheese).

Both times I did not have gruyere cheese and substituted parmesan.  But really gruyere would be great.  I just flaked on it.

In terms of stock – and this is for all recipes, purchase the richest stock/broth/bone broth you can find and afford.  Or make homemade.  The freezer section has some great options these days and yes, I know pricey but this will really make a difference.   Bonafide provisions makes good broth and I see it often in stores.  Brodo also has great stock.  If your stock tastes bland – or you only have boxed broth then I have a small trick.   More than gourmet is a product that I really love.  They sell little packets of glace stock (that’s what they call it).  The glace is chicken, veal, or beef stock and reduced so much that it lands in this little packet in the palm of your hand.  You can actually make a broth from this little packet by and adding water.  But I use it to enrich my broths and stocks – I don’t use the whole packet I use just a bit and mix it in and taste, and readjust.  A teaspoon might help, or 2 teaspoons.  In this case I added a little bit of the beef  and although my broth was tasty, this put it over the edge into scrumptious.  

The kids put it over noodles and Rob and I had with a cauliflower/veggie rice.  At lunch he heated up leftover butternut squash and ate it all together and just loved it.  I just ate mine as is – and slurped the remaining liquid right out of the bowl and into my mouth.  That is when I declared my happiness.  

I found this recipe at delish.com – if interested check out the comments at the bottom of their recipe for changes, additions and thoughts.  I’m always interested in how others change a recipe to improve it or just make it their own.  They also have a 1 minute video that shows how to make this all come together so check that out too.  

You can make the meatballs in advance and make the sauce closer to dinner to break up the time.  I listen to an audio book while I cook so it is very enjoyable.  I recommend it.  

I DOUBLED THE RECIPE BELOW

Ingredients

  • MEATBALLS
  • 1 pound ground chicken (or beef or turkey) not the leanest versions or these will be dry  
  • 1/2 cup gruyere cheese (or less depending on your diet and level of deliciousness that you want)
  • 1/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat panko but anything will work)
  • 2 teaspoons chopped parsley (I didn’t add, didn’t have don’t love)
  • 1 egg
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt (if table salt, use a bit less but get some diamond crystal in the house please)
  • ground pepper
        SAUCE:
  • 2 tablespoons butter (recipe calls for 4 and that would be delicious but 2 was enough for us) 
  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced 
  • 1-2 cloves garlic
  • 2 cups beef broth (read the 4th paragraph above for more info if you skipped it)
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme – which would be great.  I didn’t have so added some dried.
  • 1/2 cup shredded gruyere
 

Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 425, line a baking sheet with parchment, or foil (grease the foil with olive oil so meatballs don’t stick)
  • Assemble meatballs, In a large bowl combing all of the ingredients and mix gently to combine.  Don’t overmix
  • Form the mixture into meatballs.  You can decide on the size – the bigger they are the longer they cook.  Mine were prob about 1 1/2 tablespoons but next time I’ll make smaller
  • Place on baking sheet and bake until golden and cooked through – if medium sized this should take about 25 m – but check before and continue to check the meatball temp and cook until 165 reads on a meat thermometer
  • If they haven’t browned much feel free to pop under the broiler for a minute – I find them more appealing with color (and there is less color with less cheese)
  • Make the sauce – in a large skillet melt the butter and add the onions and cook until VERY soft and golden.  This is KEY.  The recipe states 25 minutes but I prob kept those onions slow cooking for 40m and when I read the comments on the original recipe,  people caramelized them even longer.  I start on medium heat but eventually to low and stir them often.  You don’t want to burn the onions.
  • Add garlic and cook until fragrant 30 secs or so (don’t burn the garlic it’s very bitter) 
  • Add broth and thyme and season with a little salt and pepper
  • Bring to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer and bubble until slightly thickened 10-15 m.  Taste the reduction now and reseason for salt and pepper.  Add the glace (mentioned in f4th paragraph above) if you have it and want to.  
  • Add the cooked meatballs to the skillet and sprinkle with gruyere and cover and cook until meatballs are warmed through and cheese is melty – this can take 5-10 minutes depending on how hot your meatballs are.
  • Sprinkle with thyme and serve. Yum. 

thai fish curry

This curry is a new favorite of ours –  I made it with flounder which was not the best choice as it fell apart a bit.  I managed to take a lovely photo but next time I’d try with a firmer fish like cod or haddock or cod.  I found this recipe in an older cookbook of mine.  Periodically I go through my books and donate a bunch that I rarely use.  This one though, The Mediterrasian Way, I always hold on to.  It is weird because the concept of the book is Mediterranean and also Asian.  The recipes are not mixed –  no fusion here.  Just simple healthy meals that are spicy and flavorful.   

Prep the ingredients before you cook as it all comes together fairly fast and easy.  Serve with rice or cauliflower rice – or over a bed of baby spinach (that will soften when you add the hot curry) or add extra veggies and eat just like that. You can also add the fresh spinach at the end – and that is also when I add peas and tomatoes and any veg that doesn’t take long to cook.  

I will give you the basic recipe here – but as you can see from the photo, I used haricot beans, baby Bella mushrooms, peas and tomato.  But have fun and make what you enjoy.  If you want your fish to have a little color to it, just pan sear right before you place it into the curry broth.  I didn’t here – but I know if I was cooking for a reluctant fish eater, I might because for some reason fish with color is a little less intimidating.  Maybe…

 

Serves: 4

medium to fairly easy

Ingredients

  • 1-2 tablespoons oil ( I used olive oil) book calls for canola or peanut 
  • bell pepper, sliced
  • 32 green beans (I did not count – but here if you need it) 
  • 2 cloves garlic, more to taste
  • 2 teaspoons finely chopped lemongrass  (I used a lemongrass puree as discussed in the cod in coconut broth recipe)  
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
  • 2 teaspoons turmeric
  • 2 cups coconut milk (use full fat if you can handle it)
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 4 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • four to five 6-ounce firm whitefish fillets (snapper, cod, haddock) each cut into thirds
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped basil (I didn’t have any but would be delicious)
  • kosher salt or Maldon Salt
  • pepper  

Directions

Prep all ingredients and set up by the stove. 

  • In a large skillet – heat the oil over medium high heat and then add the pepper and green beans – stir here and there, until the pepper has softened – about 4 minutes (I used the mushroom instead of the red pepper) 
  • Add the garlic, lemongrass, ginger and turmeric and cook, stirring constantly for about a minute.  
  • Add the coconut milk, water, fish sauce, sugar and Chile powder and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 8 minutes 
  • Add the fish and spoon the sauce over the fish to coat, and simmer, covered for about 8 minutes or until the fish is just cooked through.
  • Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, basil, and season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

a note on cilantro

Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs - but it is one of the dirtiest

Grit can ruin dish – so to clean it:

  • Fill a bowl with cool water, take the leaves off the stems (don’t be too particular, stems can be in there too) and place into the bowl of water.  
  • Use your hands to stir around.  Remove the cilantro by picking it up out of the water.  You will see dirt and grit at the bottom of your bowl.  Repeat this until the water is clean. 
  • Do not pour into a strainer because the dirt will rinse right on top of the clean leaves.  As you can see, there is a lot of grit and dirt at the bottom.
  • Dry the cilantro in a clean dish towel or paper towels.  Then chop as you desire!

Gianni Calogiuri Fig Vincotto Vinegar

Not certain what I would do without this vinegar.   It is great right out of the bottle – haha – no – I don’t actually do that, although truthfully I do lick my fingers sometimes.  If on a desert island I might just have to bring it – with one of the salads above and some ice cream :). 

 

As you can see above it is wonderful on my salmon salad and my steak salad.  I basically make a variation of this salad almost every day for lunch.  Today it was leftover chicken.  I add herbs too and usually a diced apple.  If I don’t have a leftover protein I’ll add a fried or boiled egg and add a few pistachios.  Mmmm.  Oh, and cheese is especially good on that steak salad.  I’m sure most of you know all of this and I’m just rambling. 

So, I drizzle this all over, add a tad of good quality extra virgin olive oil, Maldon sea salt and pepper and well….scrumptious.  I’ve been using this vinegar for many years now and I do not tire of it.

It is also great drizzled on roasted brussel sprouts.  Greg likes it mixed with honey and then drizzled on the sprouts.  I used to buy this at a local specialty store but now I can get it online.  Just google it and there are several choices – not just Amazon!

cod in coconut broth with lemongrass and ginger

This is my third attempt preparing a fish dinner (since the kids left) and it is a recipe finally worth writing about.  I added a ton of extra vegetables so it looks more complicated than it needs to be so please don’t be intimidated.  I will give you the basic recipe with the option to add more vegetables.  I love Thai flavors, lime, cilantro, lemongrass, ginger and fish sauce.  This all comes together so nicely – the broth is flavorful and highlights the flakiness of the cod.  I found this recipe in Foolproof Fish – America’s Test Kitchen – a cookbook that my mother suggested when I mentioned how little I know about preparing fish.  The book is beautiful and filled with recipes as well as substitutions and tips on cooking methods.  So give it a try if you think you might fancy it.  I don’t get payment btw!

I used a lemongrass puree that I found in the vegetable aisle of my local supermarket because I couldn’t find fresh lemongrass.  

Fish sauce is sold at most supermarkets these days – if you can’t find you can easily order online. 

You can use light coconut milk, but the broth will be noticeably thinner and less rich.  

This recipe serves 4 and you can substitute black sea bass, haddock, hake or pollock.

 

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon oil – I used avocado oil, the author writes vegetable oil, but I think most oils work ok
  • 1 leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin, and washed thoroughly
  • 1.5 teaspoon kosher salt 
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch long matchsticks
  • 1 (10inch) lemon grass stalk, trimmed to bottom 6 inches and bruised with back of knife (or use the lemongrass puree I used about a dollop the size of a quarter)
  • 4 (6-8) ounces skinless cod fillets – about 1 inch thick – or a little thicker is fine – 
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper – or to taste
  • 1/3 cup canned coconut milk (well shaken)
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice plus more for serving
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons chopped dry roasted peanuts (if you like!)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves (find info here for a note on cilantro)
  • 1 serrano chile, stemmed and sliced thin (or less depending on your taste) If you don’t have serrano chile substitute with a red Fresno chile if possible.  Otherwise, improvise for some heat – I used dry serrano chile and minced.
  • As you can see in the photo, I added cooked corn, zucchini and squash ribbons, peas and tomatoes.  But completely unnecessary.  If interested though, I cooked the corn first and then I sautéed these vegetables a bit before I added them to the broth.  Maybe 5 minutes…really depends on the veggies you add.

Directions

Set up your mis-en-place (ingredients):

Clean and slice leeks, mince garlic, peel and grate the ginger, wash, peel and cut carrots, bruise the lemon grass, squeeze the lime, crush the peanuts, wash the cilantro, cut the chile

  • Heat oil in a 12 inch non stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. 
  • Add leek and a bit of the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned about 5-7 minutes. 
  • Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds (don’t let it burn it will taste bitter).
  • Stir in water, carrots, and lemon grass and bring to simmer.
  • Pat cod dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper.  
  •  Nestle the fish into the skillet and spoon some cooking liquid over the top and bring to a summer.  
  • Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until fish flakes apart when gently prodded with a paring knife or registers 135 degrees, this should take 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of your cod.  Cook longer if fish still looks opaque.  
  • If adding extra sautéed vegetables, you can add them to the skillet at this point.  
  • Transfer fish to individual shallow bowls, discard the lemon grass and divide leeks and carrots (and extra veggies if you used) evenly among the bowls.
  • Off heat whisk in the coconut milk, lime juice and fish sauce and season with kosher salt and pepper to taste
  • Ladle broth over fish and sprinkle with cilantro, peanuts and Chile.  Serve with lime wedges.  So good! I’d like it right now!