Tilapia with Mushrooms, Artichokes, White Wine, Lemon and a Completely Unreasonable Amount of Cream

Calling all heathens.  You know who you are.   We are about to have a biblical lesson.  Not a Bible lesson exactly but I want to talk about fish.  And listening to your mother, because she is probably right.

Who remembers when we didn’t know what tilapia was?  Never heard of it and then, seemingly, it was ubiquitous.  On every fishy crushed ice spread in every grocery store.  And bags and bags of frozen filets in the freezer section as well.  When tilapia first came to my attention, my mother and I were discussing it and she told me that tilapia was most likely the fish that the apostles were catching in Sea of Galilee.  How does she know these things?  She goes to church, people.  And apparently pays attention during the sermon.  After just a little research, I discovered she was so right!  In fact, in many regions, they call tilapia St. Peter’s fish.  I think that is kind of cool.

This dish is one of my summer favorites because my sister, Marta, always makes it when we are home for the long school break.  Upon finding lovely fresh tilapia filets in my local Carrefour supermarket, I wrote and asked her for the recipe.  Her instructions included the method and the ingredients but no amounts so I will try to quantify it for you.  But I imagine if you put a little more of this, or a little less of that, this will still be just as delicious.   I am pretty sure I put way more mushrooms than she would but they looked lovely and fresh that day.

Ingredients
1lb 10oz or 750g button mushrooms
6 filets of tilapia
Sea salt
Black pepper
3/4 cup or 170g butter
Drizzle of olive oil
1/2 cup or 120ml lemon juice
2 cans or jars of artichoke hearts (not marinated) - drained weight about 5 3/4 oz or 165g each
1 cup or 240ml dry white wine
2 cups or 480ml heavy cream
Optional:  flat egg noodles to serve this over.

Method
Rinse the tilapia to make sure all the scales are gone.  I also tidy up the margins with a sharp knife because I am like that about fish.  You don’t have to.   Give the filets a good sprinkling of sea salt and a couple of good grinds of fresh black pepper.

Clean and slice your mushrooms and squeeze your lemons, if you are using fresh juice, which I highly recommend.

Drain your artichokes.  I had jars of the tiny ones so I didn’t cut them but you can half or quarter larger ones if you’d like.

Melt your butter in a large saucepan, preferably non-stick and add a drizzle of olive oil to keep it from burning.

Gently cook the fish in the butter, for a few minutes on each side.

No one said this was a diet dish. 

Remove the filets to a plate when just cooked through and cover them.

Tip your mushrooms and artichokes into the saucepan and sauté until the mushrooms have given up most of their moisture, stirring occasionally.  I put the lid on and turned the fire down because I wasn’t in any hurry but this shouldn’t take more than about 5-7 minutes.

Add in the lemon juice, white wine and whipping cream.  Give it a good stir and lower the flame to a simmer.  Cook until it thickens slightly, stirring occasionally.

(If you are serving this over egg noodles, this would be a good time to cook them according to package instructions.  If they are ready a little before the fish, drain them and put them back in the pot with a good glug of olive oil to keep them from sticking together.)

Slide the fish back into the sauce, making sure to add back all the juices that have accumulated on the plate as well, and carefully redistribute the filets around the pan.

Heat gently until the fish is warmed through and then serve.

I was serving this for a dinner guest so I put the noodles in a dish, added the tilapia and ladled the sauce over the whole thing.  It occurred to me afterwards that a light sprinkling of chopped parsley would have looked pretty but never mind.  The dish tasted delicious.  Kind of a stroganoff of tilapia, if that makes any sense to you.

Give each person a healthy serving of noodles, topped with mushrooms and artichokes and one filet.

Enjoy!

I’m on a touring holiday right now with my mom so if I don’t answer comments right away, please know that I am still delighted when you leave them and will respond as soon as I have internet access again. 

Quick Lemon Curd

This photo is a hint for the next recipe to come!

Why is this called curd?  I would like someone out there to tell me, because, by ingredients and method, it should rightly be called something waaaay more attractive, like, say, lemon custard.  Seriously.  Curd?  If you’ve ever spooned delicious, bright, lemony curd straight into your mouth from a pan or even a store-bought jar, I am not talking to you.  You are excused.  But, hey, you out there still reeling from the words lemon and curd together:  Come over here close and repeat after me:  “It is really lemon custard.  Fresh lemon CUSTARD.  And it only takes a few minutes to make.  I will try this!”  Let’s go.


Ingredients (Makes about 1 1/4 cups or 295ml)
2 small lemons
2 large eggs
Heaping 1/3 cup or 80g sugar
1/4 cup or 50g cold, unsalted butter
2 teaspoons cornflour or cornstarch


Method
Grate the zest off of your lemons and ignore the photo of me using my zester.  Even after I chopped the pieces with a big knife, the lemon zest was rather big and there were hurtful comments about same from my recipe testers.  Sniff.

Juice the lemons and strain out the seeds.

Cut your butter up into cubes and set aside, back in the refrigerator.

In a small bowl, whisk together your lemon juice and eggs.

Add in the rest of your ingredients, except the butter.

Still whisking constantly, cook the mixture in a saucepan over a medium heat until it thickens.

Add in the butter and mix thoroughly, simmering for a further minute or two.  Your lemon curd, or custard, is now done!

Spoon it straight into your mouth (let it cool a little, silly) or await further instructions as I have two recipes coming up, starting Sunday, that will use that lovely lemon curd.  I mean, custard.  If you aren’t using it within a couple of hours, cover with cling film and refrigerate.

Enjoy!

This lemon curd can be used in a variety of ways. Here are the links to the recipes I mentioned above:

Hot Lemon Curd Soufflés

Citrus Lust Mini Bundt Cakes with Lemon Curd

Lemon curd recipe originally from Delia Smith's How to Cook Book 1.

~~~

I've entered this lemon curd recipe in Tea Time Treats for January, where the theme is citrus.  The hosts are Karen from Lavender and Lovage and Kate from What Kate Bakes.  If you have a citrusy item to add, just click on Lavender and Lovage or the photo caption below.

Tea Time Treats Link

                                            

Pan-roasted Asparagus with Lemon and Butter

This is the easiest recipe when you are in a hurry.   Fresh asparagus require very little cooking and lemon, butter, sea salt and black pepper make the simplest of seasonings which allow the vegetable to shine.  You will want to eat these one at a time with your fingers.  Then lick them clean.

Ingredients

450g or 1 lb fresh asparagus

Juice of 1/4 lemon

20g or 1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Sea salt

Black pepper

Olive oil

Method

Cut the woody ends off of the asparagus, usually at least 2-3 inches or 5-6 cm.

Heat a non-stick skillet to roasting, and throw in the asparagus.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Leave the asparagus to brown, stirring occasionally.  

This will take just a few minutes if your fire is high enough and your pan is hot enough.  Sprinkle with sea salt and a good couple of grinds of fresh black pepper.  Just keep tossing them around.

When the asparagus is nicely caramelized and brown in places, turn your fire off and add the butter.  

Squeeze the lemon juice into the hot pan and stir the asparagus around until the butter melts.  Taste one and add more salt if necessary.  Serve!  This goes great with the Parmesan Chicken Breasts with Crispy Prosciutto.

Enjoy!

Tarragon Chicken

Tarragon Chicken is lovely dish of chicken, cream and tarragon - a classic in France. Serve it over rice or pasta.

I read cookbooks like novels. Every recipe evokes an emotion and hints at a story, the person who invented the dish, the culture that nurtured the tradition or the landscape that grows the local produce used. Jamie magazine’s 22nd issue is all about France and French cooking.

The whole issue was like snuggling into a warm bed in the dead of winter, while cold rain falls outside. We lived in Paris for three years and, while it wasn’t all a bed of roses and I can acknowledge the highs and lows of Paris, all in all it was a happy three years full of family, friends and fun and fresh food.

When I read this recipe, I knew I had to make it. Just the word tarragon brings me back. (Does anyone use tarragon but the French?)

Tarragon Chicken

Call it Tarragon Chicken or Petite Blanquette De Poulet a L’estragon, if you are feeling fancy. This recipe is adapted from one in the cookbook Boundary by way of Jamie magazine, Issue 22. 

Ingredients
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 x 3 lb or 1.4kg chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 large carrot, roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
5 1/4 oz or 150g button mushrooms, quartered
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon or 50ml white wine
1 bunch of thyme, tied with string
5 bay leaves
2 cups + 1 tablespoon or 500ml chicken stock
1/3 cup or 40g flour
1/8 cup or 40g butter, softened
Juice of 1 lemon
Scant cup or 220ml whipping cream
2 egg yolks, beaten
3–4 tbsp chopped tarragon

Method
Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pan over a high heat. Add the chicken, in batches if necessary, and cook until browned on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Wipe out the pan then heat the remaining oil. (I skipped this step because I couldn’t bear to wipe away all the beautiful caramels of the pan. I don’t know why on earth you would want to get rid of all that flavor!) Add the carrot, celery and onion and cook over a medium heat for five minutes, until the onion is translucent.

Add the mushrooms and cook for a further five minutes. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half. 


Return the chicken to the pan with the thyme, bay and stock. Simmer, covered, for 40–50 minutes or till the chicken is falling off the bone.

Spoon the chicken and vegetables into a serving dish and keep warm. Strain the cooking liquid into a saucepan. 
(I simply used a slotted spoon.)

Whisk together the flour and butter, (which we all remember is called beurre manie, right?) add to the cooking liquid, whisking continuously, and place over a medium heat.

Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes. (I don’t know if my simmer is hotter than the Jamie test kitchens, but I didn’t have a whole lot of juice let after the chicken and the vegetables were scooped out so I had to add about 3/4 cup of water to make the sauce easier to stir.)

Add the lemon juice and season to taste.

Combine the cream and egg yolks in a jug and whisk into the sauce.

Stir in the tarragon, pour the sauce over the chicken and serve. 



I served this over some lovely linguine. It was indeed delicious! Enjoy!