Grouper with Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic Lemon Crème Fraîche

Hello from Dubai!

You know that song that goes, walking on sunshine, whoa oh?  That’s me.  Despite working on a sleep deficit, yesterday went like a dream.  We arrived in Dubai and fell into the hotel bed with time enough for just two hours of sleep before waking up to meet the real estate agent at the house for the Great Key Handover.  Lordy, mercy, there are a lot of keys for our new house!  Then the airfreight arrived and I was reunited with my Kenwood mixer.  And then the rental furniture was delivered so as soon as we buy and get a stove and refrigerator installed, we can move in!

But the best part was my trip to what will be MY GROCERY STORE.  It’s right near the house and I walked through like the bumpkin from the country just arriving in the big, bright city for the first time.  It is part of the Géant chain, which has ties to the hypermarket Casino in France and is gorgeously laid out with most everything a person could hope to want.  The first thing I spied were some baby tomatoes on the vine and my brain said, “Roast them and set them on top of something like fish or chicken.”  So I went off in search of fresh fish and found some lovely grouper filets.  At which point my brain said, “You need crème fraîche and lemons and garlic.”  And low and behold, all those things could be mine.  I rounded off the menu with some rocket or arugula tossed in a simple lemon vinaigrette.   I am cooking in the small kitchen in my hotel apartment so the photos aren’t the best, but this was one delicious and easy meal.

Ingredients
Small piece of fresh lemon
1 clove garlic
Olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons crème fraîche or mild sour cream
1 branch on-the-vine tomatoes per every two fish filets
1 Grouper or other white fish filet per person
Flakey sea salt  (I use Maldon’s.)
Crushed red pepper
Black pepper (I didn’t have any but you should definitely use some.)

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Finely mince your garlic and put it in a small bowl with the crème fraîche and a healthy pinch of salt.

Cut the end off of the lemon and squeeze the juice into the garlic/crème fraîche bowl.

Add just a little olive oil, perhaps a half a teaspoon, and give it a good stir.  Refrigerate until needed.

Cut your leftover lemon peel into thin slices.

Put the tomatoes in a heatproof dish that will be big enough for your fish filets later.  Drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle with salt and crushed red pepper.  Top with the slices of lemon peel.

Roast the tomatoes in the preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, season both sides of your fish filets with salt and black pepper (if you are fortunate enough to have remembered to buy some) and drizzle them with olive oil.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and carefully transfer them to another dish.

Place the fish filets in the baking dish and top with the tomatoes.

Put it back in the oven and bake until the fish is opaque and cooked through, about 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of your filets.

Serve each filet with half of the tomatoes and a generous dollop of the garlic lemon crème fraîche.  If you’d like, a side green salad rounds out the meal.

Enjoy!

Pan-fried Asian Fish with Noodles

This pan-fried Asian fish is full of flavor from the soy sauce, Shaoxing and sesame oil marinade. Once you've marinated the fish filets, it takes very little time to cook for a quick, tasty meal!

I am going back through my files and realizing that there are many dishes that I have neglected to post.  Truth is, I cook almost every day and the photos get edited and filed and sometimes the post even gets written but then I’ve moved onto other things that somehow seem more urgent to share.  This post was written back in 2011 when I had just visited the newly renovated Isetan food market in Kuala Lumpur, and, boy, howdy, was it a beautiful shop!   

Isetan is a Japanese chain and if there is one thing food-wise we can all learn from the Japanese, it is fresh fish.  Isetan always has a great selection and you know it is the freshest available because their Japanese customers would not stand for anything less.   I miss Isetan and thought it was about time I shared this recipe.  Just reading this and looking at the photos, I am hungry for this dish again!  And homesick.

~

There is something about shopping in the Isetan food market, especially the newly renovated one in KLCC, that makes me want to put a Japanese or Asian twist on things.  Could it be the lovely samples of foreign foodstuffs with names I can’t pronounce that they are always giving out or the aroma of soy and frying and sesame seed oil from the cooking of said samples?  Regardless, I buy some fresh fish filets there and I can’t help but want to marinate them with soy and sesame oil.

This quick meal requires a little forward planning but, once you have marinated the fish filets, it requires very little time to cook – 15-20 minutes tops.

Ingredients
2 filets of threadfish or any white flakey fish
2 packages of ramen noodles – any type or flavor because you won’t use the seasoning packets
1 medium tomato
6-7 cloves of garlic
5 tablespoons of soy sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese wine (Shaoxing)

1 tablespoon sesame oil plus extra for drizzling before serving
Olive oil

Method
Marinate the fish in a two tablespoons of of the soy sauce and one tablespoon of Chinese wine and one tablespoon of sesame oil - at least two or three hours, but they can be left overnight and cooked the next evening.  I find a Ziploc bag works best because you can squeeze the air out of it make sure the marinade is touching all parts of the fish.

Heat your non-stick pan quite hot and add a drizzle of olive oil.  Fry skin side up for 4-5 minutes.

Put some water on to boil for your noodles and dice the tomatoes and slice the garlic into thin pieces.

Turn over and fry another 4-5 minutes on the other side.  If the filets are thick enough, you can fry them another minute on each lateral side.

Add the tomato and garlic to the fish pan and then add the leftover marinade and the balance of the soy sauce (about three tablespoons.)  Give it a good stir then put the lid on the pot and turn the fire down a little.

Pop your ramen noodles into the boiling water and cook according to package instructions, but discard the seasoning packets or save them for another dish.

Check on your fish.  The tomatoes should have softened into a mush.  Remove the fish from the pan to allow room for mixing in the noodles.  If you are ready to eat, the fish can be put on the plates.  If not, just put them aside to return to the pan to keep warm.

Drain the ramen noodles and add them to the tomato/garlic pan.

Toss until the noodles are well-coated.

If you are not ready to serve, return the fish to the pan to keep warm.  If you are ready to serve, add half of the ramen to each plate with a filet of fish.  Drizzle lightly with olive or sesame oil.

Enjoy!  

Halloumi, Tomato and Pomegranate Salad

Here’s the part where I am supposed to tell you a lovely story about this salad and how to make it.  And I surely will!  But today is special because, for the very first time, I am guest blogging at Cooking with Books for the talented Marnely.  At first, I was nervous to put my virtual hand up when she was looking for guest volunteers because food bloggers who are actual qualified chefs sometimes intimidate me.  But Marnely isn’t like that at all!  In fact, I connected with her through two Facebook groups.  One is all about professional development but the other is called The Cookbook Junkies.  How can you not like someone who would join a group like that?!  Truth be told, it is not a self-help group because we tend to encourage each other in our addiction - sharing new cookbook finds and good-naturedly competing for cookbooks giveaways - but isn’t that how bonds of friendship form?  I knew at once that she was my kind of people.  First of all, she is into food.  Secondly, she is an expat like me, since she moved from her home in the Dominic Republic to live in the United States.  Lastly, and this may be my favorite reason of all, she has written a love letter to beets.   As a lover of beets, I only wish they could be a staple in my home.  Deep sigh. 

So hop on over and read my post and have a browse around Marnely’s site.  I know you are going to love her too!

Cherry Tomato Sweet Pepper Mozzarella Tart

This summer, I had the pleasure of cooking for my mother- and father-in-law at least a couple of times every week.  The challenge was to make beautiful, appetizing meals that would entice my father-in-law, who is in hospice care, to eat.  This particular dish was beautiful to look at and delicious as well.  We were so excited because, for the first time in ages, he cleaned his plate!  If you don’t believe me, check this out.  

Yes, we were so excited, we actually took a picture!

Give this lovely tart a try and see if your family doesn’t clear their plates as well.

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used unbleached but normal flour will do.)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening (Crisco is my preferred but I have had to use butter in some countries where Crisco is not available. It works but the crust is not as flakey.)

2-3 tablespoons of cold water

For the filling:

3 medium onions

Olive oil

Sea salt

Pepper

1 1/2 oz or 40g pine nuts

8 oz or 225g mozzarella balls or bocconcini
10.5 oz or 300g red cherry tomatoes

10.5 oz or 300g yellow cherry tomatoes

4 orange mini sweet peppers

Small bunch fresh thyme

Method

Put the flour, shortening and salt together in one bowl. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the flour into the shortening until you have small crumbs.

Add the cold water a tablespoon at a time, blending with the tines of a fork, until the mixture forms a soft dough which can be rolled into a ball.  

Wrap the ball in cling film and chill in the refrigerator for at least half an hour.

When you are ready to bake, either roll out the dough and fit your pan or, if you are at your mother-in-law’s and you don’t have a rolling pin, slice the dough into thin pieces.  

Lay them in the pan and quickly press them into a crust.  

Trim the edges with a sharp knife and turn the trimmed pieces over.  Press them in to make a nice even edge.  Cover with cling film and put it in the fridge until you are ready to bake.  (If baking immediately, you can skip this step.)  If you are using a ceramic pie plate or casserole, take it out when you start preheating your oven so the ceramic dish can warm up a little.  Some dishes cannot safely go directly from the refrigerator to the oven. 

Okay, ready to bake?  Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Slice your onions thinly and put them into a small pot with a good drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Cook the onions down slowly over a medium heat until they caramelize and are nicely browned.  Stir frequently and make sure not to let them burn.  Set aside to cool.

Cut your sweet peppers into pieces about the same size as the cherry tomatoes.  

Toast your pine nuts in a small skillet over a medium flame.  

Shake the skillet often to keep them toasting evenly.  This should take just a few minutes.  Be careful not to let them burn.  Set aside to cool. 

Pull the leaves off of all but a few of the thyme stems, reserving some of the thinner stems for adding in whole, with leaves, before baking.

In a big bowl, start to assemble your tart filling.  Add in the cherry tomatoes, cut peppers and mozzarella balls.

Sprinkle liberally with the thyme leaves and some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add the cooled caramelized onions and stir thoroughly.   

Pour the filling into the pie shell.  

Top with the reserved thyme and the pine nuts.

Bake the tart for 45-50 minutes or until the crust is crispy and browned and the mozzarella balls are melted completely.

This is a great vegetarian main course but would also be delicious served in smaller slices with grilled chicken or salmon.  I served it with poached salmon with creamy caper onion sauce on a bed of mixed greens. 

Enjoy!

This post is part of the improv cooking challenge,  brainchild of Kristen at Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.   Perhaps you’d like to join us?