Simple Summer Fare

I thought I'd keep things simple this week, after those time-consuming unctuous seafood dishes of the last couple posts. Never fear, there will be more unctuous to come.

Spinach-Chickpea Quiche
with Sauteed Peppers

Sally found this recipe in a doctor's office copy of the Food Network magazine and asked me to give it a try. 

Pretty straight forward, except I've never seen the 'preheat a baking sheet' technique; which I guess helps the quiche cook through better, from top and bottom, since it cooks at a pretty high temperature

1 15-oz can Chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3 packed cups Baby Spinach

4 Green Onions, chopped, white and green parts separate

1 tsp ground Coriander – the essential spice of the dish

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

3 large Eggs

1 cup Half & Half

1 Tbsp fresh Basil, julienned

1 tsp Lemon Zest

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 9-inch pre-made Pie Crust, thawed

3 oz crumbled Feta cheese

2 large Bell Peppers (any color), sliced into strips

Place a baking sheet in the oven as you pre-heat it to 475F.

Fry the chickpeas for a few minutes in a splash of EVOO. Add the coriander, green onion whites, and salt&pepper. Cook another couple minutes. Now add the spinach, toss, cover, and cook until the spinach wilts. Transfer to a colander to cool. Wipe the skillet and set aside.

Whisk together the eggs, dairy, basil and lemon zest with a bit of salt&pepper.

Spread the chickpea-spinach mixture in the pie crust. Top with the crumbled feta. Pour the egg mixture over all. Place the quiche on the hot baking sheet and bake 30 minutes or until just lightly brown on top and the eggs are set.

While the quiche is baking, slice the peppers and saute them in your skillet with the onion greens, until softened. Add the lemon juice, stir and reserve. Serve warm alongside a slice of quiche.

Purple Cauliflower!

We got a head of this vibrant vegetable in our Co-op box last week. 

 I'd seen it but never tried it before. Cooks the same (I steamed the disassembled head) and tastes the same (what does purple taste like, anyhow?). However it sure makes a statement on the plate!! Combine that with some bright fresh salmon and it'll knock yer socks off!

Stone Crab Stew, Mango goodies, Avo-Skyr-Egg Salad

Enchilado de Cangre de piedra 

(Cuban Stone Crab Stew)

That's enchilado not enchilada. No tortillas were harmed in making this dish!

Enchilado in Spanish means piquant or spicy. In Cuba it's a spicy tomato-based Cuban seafood stew; in this case featuring Stone Crab claws.

Stone crabs are unique in the world of seafood. They're a renewable resource! That's right. Renewable. Catch your legal-sized crab (2.75” claw). Remove the large fighting claw (if you take both claws the crab will starve to death). Throw the crab back in the water. The claw will re-grow and can be harvested again when it regenerates.

Normally here in Florida we usually steam the claws and dip the meat in some sort of sauce. But after you've had Stone Crab that way a few dozen times, the sauces all begin to taste the same, and you begin to yearn for something more.

We were gifted two dozen Medium to Large claws by the same person who gave us spiny lobsters a couple weeks ago. Many, many thanks!! The donor thought my Lobster Bisque was pretty good, and wants to see what I can do with Stone Crab. So this week it's Stone Crab Enchilado, and who knows what next week will bring!

I wanted my Enchilado to have lots of vegetables – like the upcountry Cuban Ajiaco stew but with tomatoes and seafood instead of beef and pork, so here's what I used:

12 medium to large Stone Crab Claws, steamed and cracked or sawn

3 lbs medium-to-large Tomatoes, diced

1 can Tomato Paste

1 Sweet Onion, chopped

2 Red Bell Peppers, sliced

1/2 cup chopped Cilantro

1-1/2 cup Yuca cubed

1 cup Plantain, peeled and sliced into rounds

1 cup Boniato, cubed

2 cups Sweet Potato

4-6 cloves Garlic, sliced

2 tsp Cumin

1/2 teaspoon each:

* Smoked Paprika

* Hot Paprika

* Cayenne Pepper

* Cajun Spice Blend

1 tsp Black Pepper

1 Lime, juiced

4 cups Broth – chicken or seafood

I prefer to use powdered chiles (cayenne, paprika, etc) rather than fresh because it's easier to control the amount of heat that each adds to the synergy of the dish.

Cook down the diced tomatoes for a few minutes on medium heat, with the cumin, cilantro, black pepper and a pinch of salt. Add the onion and lime juice, and cook 10-15 minutes until everything is soft.

Now add the spiciness – paprikas, cayenne, cajun blend, etc.  You can certainly go hotter if you wish.  Mash the tomato-onion-spice mixture – use a stick blender, jar blender, or a star masher (I love my Pampered Chef tm Star masher!) Do not totally puree things, you still want a chunky tomato soup texture.

Taste – the tomato sauce should be a bit spicier than you want the finished product because you'll be diluting it later. Stir in the tomato paste. Reduce heat to low, and simmer some more; say 20 minutes...

Add the broth and "chunky vegetables", yuca, boniato, yam and plantain; cook until they're tender (45 minutes or so). You can par-cook them in the microwave (6 minutes), to speed up the process.

Plantain on the left, round Boniato center, elongated Yuca above center

If you can't find fresh or frozen Caribbean vegetables at your mega market, you can substitute potatoes, carrots, turnips and rutabagas (Swedes), but it won't be quite the same.

With things at a boil, add the crab claws – I used 6 for bowl garnish and a further 6 as follows. After 10 minutes at a boil, the claws should be done. I took the six prettiest claws and put them aside, then cracked the other six, removed the meat, chopped it into pieces and returned the meat to the stew. I saved all the shell bits for the future (seafood stock? Bisque?).

Add the bell peppers, and simmer another 15 minutes until the peppers are just done.   Plate with a single claw for garnish and serve with crusty bread to mop up all the  goodness.  Use a cracker to get the meat out of the garnish and add it to the stew before you dive in!

No-Bake Mango Pie (tart)

We've had a huge harvest of mangoes this year, and I realized I hadn't made a mango pie or upside down cake yet. So here goes:

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 envelope unflavored Knox Gelatin tm

1/2cup Hot Water to dissolve the gelatin

8z bar of Cream Cheese, softened

2 cups soft-ripe Mango pulp

Pre-made Crust (I like the Oreo cookie one)

Bloom the gelatin in the hot water, stirring like mad until it all dissolves, and allow it to cool. Combine the milk, mango, cream cheese and gelatin using beaters or a blender (best). Fill the crust and put it in the fridge to firm up for an hour or more.  

Mango Bread

More mango mania – this is really simple and reaaaalllyyy tasty!

2 cups AP Flour

2 tsp ground Nutmeg

2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1 cup Sugar

2 large Eggs

3/4 cup Vegetable Oil

2-1/2 cups Mango cubed, puree or both

1 tsp Lemon Juice

1/2 cup Raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all of the dry ingredients.

Beat eggs with oil and add to flour mixture. Add the mango, lemon juice and raisins. Mix well.

Pour into loaf pans. I used 6 of those mini-loaf pans and a couple silicon cupcake cups.  

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until the top is nicely browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

Siggi's Avocado-Skyr Egg Salad

I combined two recipes from the Siggi's website www.siggisdairy.com, to make enough egg salad for two large sandwiches:

1 Hass Avocado, or 1/8 of a large Florida Avocado (I used a Red Avocado)

4 Hardboiled Eggs

4 Tbsp Siggi's Plain 0% Skyr yogurt

Fresh cracked Black Pepper to taste

Florida Hardee cultivar avocados have red skins when ripe but normal green-yellow interiors 

Chop everything together. If you mash too much the salad loses its texture.

Lobster Bisque, Cajun Pancakes and Mango Summer Salad

Lobster Tail Bisque

So here I am with two remaining lobster tails (see last week's post) to turn into something resembling Lobster Bisque. First time for everything! I never had enough lobster to make bisque before!

Lobster bisque is basically tarted-up broth. The meat is almost just a garnish, the flavor comes from the shells and things. This isn't a hard recipe, but it's gonna take some time... say three/four hours!

There are tons of recipes out there – written by wealthy cooks who can afford 4 or 6 whole lobsters, or who live in Maine where lobster gets sold for dogfood when there's a glut on the market!

My first task was to find a recipe that would work with the just-under-a-pound amount of lobster that I had on hand.

Other than lobster, you're going to need:

2 sticks Celery

1/2 cup diced White Onion

1/2 cup shredded Carrot

3-4 Tbsp Tomato Paste

1/4 cup chopped Mushrooms or 1 tsp Mushroom Powder

2 shots Sherry

1/2 cup White Wine

2 cans Evaporated Milk

2 cups Chicken Stock
1 cup packed, cooked White Rice

4-6 sprigs fresh Tarragon

Spices to make boiling liquid (see last week's post)

Step 2 – Cook the Lobster – see last week's post. Save the flavored cooking liquid! Some of it will become the base for your bisque broth. Save the lobster shell for step 3 (I had also saved the shells from the previous 2 lobsters for added flavor).

Step 3 – Break up the shells into, say, 2” pieces, flatten them, and brown in about 1/2 stick of butter and 1/4 cup of olive oil. The fats help pull out the color and flavor from the shells. When the shells are nicely browned transfer every bit of liquid and shell to a 6-8 cup stock pot.

Step 4 – Simmer the broth. To the stock pot add mirepoix – equal amounts of celery, onion and carrot. Throw in some tarragon. Let things cook until the veggies start to brown, say 10-15 minutes.

Now start adding liquids. Start with a couple shots of Sherry or Brandy. Cook for a couple minutes. Then add half a cup of White Wine of your choice (I like sweeter whites). Now add two cups of that reserved cooking liquid and two cups of chicken broth.

Simmer this mixture for an hour, then strain through a wire mesh colander, pressing the accumulated shells and cooked veg to remove every unctuous drop of yumminess. At this point I had 4-3/4 cups of broth.

Step 5 – Blending. Put the broth and 1 packed cup of cooked rice in a blender or food processor and take it for a loooong whirrrr so the rice gets really creamed.

Add 2 cans of evaporated milk, and stir. Turn the heat 'way down and simmer for at least 1, preferably 2 more hours.

Step 6 – Final Blending – Return the mixture to your blender or food processor (blender is actually better) and take it for a second spin. You're looking for a very creamy texture.

Step 7 – AT LAST, it's time to chop up the lobster meat, and saute it in a bit of butter for a couple minutes. Put a nice mound of meat in the middle of each bowl, and gently ladle the bisque around the meat. Serve with nice crusty bread to mop up every fabulous drop!

If you've read this far, you've gotta know that this is the single best dish I have ever prepared!! Worth every bit of the effort, but only once in awhile for very special occasions!

Cajun Red Beans & Rice Corn Cakes

by Chef Suzanne Duplantis

Baton Rouge, LA

My chef-friend Suzanne "Makeover My Leftover" Duplantis came up with this recipe as a way to use up leftover Red Beans & Rice.   I seldom have leftover red beans or rice, but this sounded so good I just had to make it!

1 box/package Cornbread mix (I use the Jiffytm brand, prepared according to instructions) 

1 cup leftover Red Beans (or a can of red beans simmered with some Cajun spice and diced onion)

1/2 cup leftover White Rice

1 link Andouille sausage, cubed

1 tsp Vanilla

powdered sugar and/or maple syrup for topping

Add the andouille sausage to a food processor. Mince. Cook in a skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly until crispy, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

(Don't have Andouille?  Any tangy sausage will do)

To the prepared cornbread batter, add the beans, rice, and vanilla. Mix well. Let stand 5-10 minutes.

In a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat, drop batter by tablespoons. When first side is full of bubbles, about 1 minute. Flip. Cook an additional minute.

(I used 1/3 cups of batter to make 3"-4" cakes about 1/2"thick)

Serve red beans and rice cornbread cakes with crumbled andouille "bacon”.

Top with powdered sugar and/or maple syrup, if desired. My “test panel” liked them just plain, as a warm bread, but also liked them with cane syrup.  I like them with a dollop of tangy salsa!

Mango Feta & Spinach Salad

Inspired by a Sunday supplement recipe for a peach, arugula and blue cheese salad!

2 firm ripe Mango fillets, sliced into crescents

2-3 handfuls Baby Spinach, stemmed

2-3 handfuls sliced Romaine lettuce

4 oz Feta crumbles

1/4 cup Hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds

Deli sliced meats and cheeses of choice – ham, turkey, cheddar, swiss, etc.

Dressing

1/3 cup EVOO, basil flavored, if you have it...

2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Salt & Pepper to taste

Toss the greens together then fold in the mango, feta and nuts.

Whisk the dressing ingredients together and drizzle over the salad. Toss to combine. Top with sliced deli meats and cheeses as desired.

Lobster Fest, Greek Pattipans, Fish Stew, Fruit Pizza and More

Greek Pattipans and Tripletail

Last weekend we went to Bailey's Grocery on Sanibel, an island institution that has pretty much everything you could ask for even in a much larger mainland grocery, and very reasonable prices. 

There I saw these fabulous mini-Pattipan squash, smaller than silver dollars, and just had to try them. 

Back in the seafood department I found a wonderful Tripletail steak that would serve the two of us, for less than half the price of Grouper! Tripletail has a texture similar to Grouper and an equally mild flavor. See Fishy Facts below for more information.

I decided to bake the squash and pan poach to fish on a bed of citrus slices. First I trimmed the stem ends off the squash, then I rounded up a nice little 5” x 8” Pyrex baking dish to hold them.

I'd surfed the 'Net looking for pattipan cooking ideas, and seen one involving basil, olive oil and feta cheese. What I had on hand was some “Greek Salad” that I'd also picked up at Bailey's... So I added about a quarter cup of the olives, pepperoncini, pimento and feta cubes with the accompanying olive oil, and tossed that with the squash to get everything well slathered in oil. Into the 350 F pre-heated oven it went, to spend 45 minutes while I concentrated on the fish.

I wanted to keep the flavor of the fish, so I enhanced it just slightly with a dash of Cavender's Greek seasoning. It was pan-poached on a bed of orange slices.

Lobster Fest, Part 1

The other day we were gifted with four beautiful Florida Spiny Lobster tails – over 1-3/4 pounds total! What do you do with that much lobster (other than dip it in butter and go face down)? Make your two favorite dishes, and share the bounty! This week and next week I'll feature two great things to do with those “sea bugs”.

Lobster Mac&Cheese

Not your kid's Mac&Cheese, this one is just for us adults! Big hunks of lobster, several kinds of cheese, milk and breadcrumbs. This recipe is based off that of Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. I like a different cheese mixture, for one thing, and less pasta.

Kosher salt to taste

1 Tbsp Vegetable oil

1/2 lb Cavatappi or Elbow Macaroni

1 pint milk

1/2 stick unsalted Butter, divided

1/4 cup all-purpose Flour

1 cup shredded Smoked Gouda cheese

1 cup shredded Six Cheese Italian Blend (Parmesan, Mozzarella, Asiago, Fontina, Romano, Provolone)

2 cups shredded sharp White Cheddar

1/2 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper

1/2 tsp fresh grated Nutmeg

3/4 pound cooked Lobster meat

3 slices fresh White Bread (crusts removed) air-dried and fine diced or crumbed

Cooking the Lobster

Ours, like yours, were frozen, not live. They were caught down around Key West during the recreational spiny lobster season.

Thaw the tails overnight in the fridge, then let them sit on the counter for an hour, to come to room temp before prceeding. Bring a large pot of water to a roiling boil – enough water to cover what you're cooking. Add spices if you like – Crab Boil, Seafood blend, etc.    I used a tablespoon of Hungarian Seafood Seasoning from Pride of Szged, one of my favorites; then I added about a teaspoon of a three-paprika blend that I have.

Place the lobsters in the boiling water, and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for 3-1/2 minutes, then check for done-ness. If the thick end is white (not translucent) to the middle inside, they're done. Remove from the liquid, cool, shell, and then get on with the rest of your recipe(s).

Lobster and cheeses

Finishing the Mac & Cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Add a bit of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions to al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in the microwave, but don't boil it. In a large pot, melt half the butter and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, whisking as you go. Still whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until the mixture is thickened and smooth.

Off the heat, add the cheeses, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and lobster and stir well.

Place the mixture in an 8X12 Pyrex or ceramic baking dish.

Melt the remaining butter, combine with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on top of the mac& cheese mix. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

Suggestion: Next time (if there ever is a next time), I would halve the amount of cavatappi listed above, to increase the ratio of lobster to pasta. This was really good, really rich, but we both wanted more lobster per bite! The recipe as written made a full 8X12” baking dish of goodness, with lots of leftovers for a second meal. I would have preferred a 9x9” dish with a better lobster ratio!!

French Style Fish Stew

Keeping up the maritime theme, here's another recipe from the 8-week Blood Sugar Diet book, this one a dinner stew that features fennel as a main vegetable component! 

I've never really cooked with fennel before, and the interesting thing to me was that there is little if any residual 'licorice' flavor or aroma once the bulb is disassembled and cooked.

I suspect that you could make this dish much cheaper (fennel is expensive) by using the butt end of a large head of celery – the part below where you've snapped off the stalks – that always gets thrown away.

Serves two:

EVOO as needed

1 Shallot, finely chopped

1 Fennel Bulb, finely chopped

1 Garlic clove, finely chopped

Splash White Wine

1-1/4 cup Broth

1 can Diced Tomatoes (1-3/4 cup fresh tomatoes)

1/2 lb Assorted Seafood – I had Red Snapper, Tilapia, and Shrimp on hand

2-3 handfuls stemmed Baby Spinach

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook the fennel, garlic and shallot in a splash of oil a couple minutes until softened. Add the wine and broth and bring to a boil. Season with salt & pepper. Add the tomatoes and seafood and cook until the seafood is done. Lastly, add the spinach and cook until it wilts. Stir to combine, then serve with a nice crusty bread.

Light Summer Salad Florida Style

We're often looking for something light for Sunday dinner, especially if I've made something like Cottage Pie or other heavy meat dish for dinner with Mum.

This one just came into my head when I started assembling things for our dinner last night. Everything except the tuna is available fresh nowServes 2.

1 firm Mango, cubed

1 firm Avocado, sliced

1 large handful of Romaine, chopped

1 can Tuna, flaked

2 thick slices of Tomato, wedge cut

1 Red bell Pepper, large diced

Divide the ingredients between two plates, starting with the lettuce as a base. Serve with the salad dressing(s) of your choice.

Fruit Pizza

I made this old standby as a birthday 'cake' for one of the doctors where Sally works. I made it on the Fourth of July and his birthday was the Fifth, hence the flag

1 tube Crescent Roll Dough

1 8 oz container plain Whipped Chream Cheese

2-3 Tbsp Sugar

Berries of choice

Back when I first learned to make these you had to get ordinary crescent roll dough and tack together the triangles to make the crust; these days they market crescent roll dough sheets as well! Roll out the dough and bake it according to package directions, being sure to dock the sheet well.

Back then there was no whipped cream cheese either, you had to schmear it on with a knife and/or spatula. The whipped product is so much easier to use!

Sprinkle the surface of the pizza with a bit of sugar, or fold a couple tablespoons of sugar into the cream cheese before spreading.

Clean and dry the berries and arrange them in a pleasing design. Slice and serve.

Fishy Facts

Tripletail you say! What the heck is that?? The Atlantic tripletail (Lobotes surinamensis) is a warm-water marine fish found across the tropics; it can grow to over 30 inches long and weigh nearly 40 pounds. They are found on the Gulf Coast from April to October and then migrate to warmer waters during winter. In the spring, tripletail concentrate just offshore at Port Canaveral, Florida and Jekyll Island, Georgia (April–July).

Tripletail are known for their unusual behavior of floating just beneath the surface with one side exposed to the sky, mimicking a leaf or floating debris. This is thought to be a feeding strategy because of the locality of their prey items and the floating structures associated with this behavior. The behavior has resulted in a rapidly increasing incidence of recreational fishermen sight-fishing for the floating tripletail, resulting in severe bag and length restrictions in Florida and Georgia to ensure future populations. 

A few tons of tripletail are fished commercially on the east and west coasts of Florida, and marketed fresh, frozen, or salted (this is what I got). Tripletail is targeted by recreational anglers for its delicious flesh. 

Raspberry-Mango Smoothie, Chicken & White Beans, Tuna Tacos

Dateline Sanibel Island:

We're spending the weekend through July 5^th relaxing at an AirBnb condo here in Paradise. As I write, I look out the window to see the gentle waves washing the white sands.

Chicken on White Beans

This is a recipe from The 8-Week Blood Sugar Diet, British version; translated into American by yours truly.

The beans in this recipe are reminiscent of Spanish Mongetes (fried white beans) which I wrote about a year or so back.

2 Chicken Breasts, boneless, skinless

Spices of your choice, to taste

1 can Cannellini Beans, drained & rinsed, or 1-1/2 cups cooked-from-dry beans

1 Shallot, peeled and sliced

2 cloves Garlic, chopped

1 cup chopped Flat Leaf Parsley

Spice the chicken breasts to your taste, and cook them on medium heat, 7-8 minutes per side, until done through. Remove from the skillet and reserve.

Add another splash of EVOO to the skillet, and cook the shallot about 5 minutes; add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more.

Add the beans to the skillet along with a bit more oil, if needed, and fry them for a couple minutes. Roughly mash the beans with a fork or meat tenderizer mallet, and continue cooking them, adding 1/2 cup water or stock to loosen things up. Stir in the parsley, cover, and let the greens wilt for a couple minutes.

Plate the chicken on a bed of the bean mixture, and serve with a green veg on the side

Frozen Mango-Raspberry Smoothie

Got a packet of red raspberries in our SWFL Produce Co-Op box this week, combined with Co-Op Banana and Mangos from Sally's tree!

1 cup Frozen Mango, about 3 fillets depending on size of your fruit

1/2 cup Frozen Red Raspberries (other colors will work too)

2/3 cup Almond Milk (had some leftover from a project last week)

1 Tbsp Honey

Combine everything in a blender and pulse until things are smooth and creamy. Freezing the ingredients first makes the resulting smoothie very thick!

Tuna Tacos

These were the very first fish tacos I ever tasted, down at an adventure resort called Costa Azul, north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Later that week I had the very best tasting fish tacos ever, when we wrapped a tortilla onto a beach-roasted, open-fire, fresh-caught wahoo, and dressed the succulent meat with pico de gallo!

If you really want to be elegant, buy a tuna steak, cook it, then make tuna salad from that!

Like all tacos, these tuna tacos are a concept, not a fixed recipe. The ones photographed had big diced tomato chunks added to the basic tuna salad; you can add sliced black olives, diced green chiles, etc. Add cheese, tomato, avocado, or onion. Make the salad with mayo or ranch or bleu cheese dressing; add Mexican seasonings or just a touch of pepper and a hint of cayenne.

Be “true to the taco” though. Don't over stuff it. It's supposed to be a slip of flat bread surrounding a couple of tablespoons of filling, not a stuffed burrito. In Mexican cuisine, tacos are street food, an appetizer, not a full course meal. Don't tart it up with a bunch of nuevo cocina stuff like kale or pomegranate seeds, kimchi or cauliflower “rice” or other trendy nonsense.