Fish Pie, Cod Avgolemono, Creamy Sprouts, Ponderosa Lemons. more

Cod Avgolemono

All my own invention!    We've been doing baked cod the last few months,  as I wrote about back on 9/24/19.  That recipe has you marinating the cod, then dredging and lightly frying it and finally baking it to finish. 

So I decided to skip a step to speed things up a bit.  No more marinating!

I preheated my oven to 400F.  I had my fillets thawed and patted dry-ish.  I had my dredging station set up -- one pan for egg, another other for flour.

I beat an egg in the dredging pan, then squeezed the juice of half a lemon into it, and beat the mixture for a minute more to combine.  This creates a liquid that the Greeks would call avgolemono "egg-lemon", except they would use only egg yolks with lemon juice as a sauce base.

Dredge the fish in the avgolemono.  Then dredge it in spiced AP flour (I used a bit of Cavender'stm Greek seasoning).   Fry the fillets in a splash of EVOO, on medium heat, for about 3 minutes per side.  Then transfer them to a baking dish.

Just before you slide the baking dish into the oven, spoon generous amounts of the 'left-over' avgolemono over the fillets.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, plate and serve.

The result is a moist and flavorful piece of fish -- not dry as many baked fish dishes can create.   Try it -- I think you'll like it!

Icelandic Fish Pie
Back in 2017 Sally and I had the great pleasure of visiting Iceland for three days, as a layover on our way to Glasgow.    Beautiful and stark country, very clean, and wonderful people.  Also, great seafood -- cod, wolf fish, prawns, and much more.  One of the first dishes I had there was something called plokkfiskur. 

Not a very appetizing name, but a very tasty "fish pie" made with leftovers.  Not that you or I ever have  "leftover" cod... and we rarely have leftover mashed potatoes.    I've made this a few times since then, and tweaked the basic recipe by adding vegetables.  But I haven't made it in a year or so.    Sally mentioned it 'out of the blue' the other day, and I thought we all needed to get re-introduced to a fabulous dish.

No reason this has to be made with cod, of course.  Any firm white fish will do -- grouper, mahi mahi.  I've even added salmon.  A mix of fish is just fine, too.

4 cups Mashed Potatoes -- I use just potatoes with some Skyr yogurt and a splash of cooking water
12 oz Cod fillets
2 cups Frozen Peas
White Pepper -- to taste
Sweet and Smoked Paprika for dusting
optional -- a cup of diced onion sautéed

While the potatoes are cooking, start another, small, pot of water and bring it to a boil.  Add the thawed cod fillets, put the lid on, and turn the fire off.  By the time the potatoes are done, the fish will be perfectly cooked.

Mash the potatoes with the skyr and about a half cup of the potato cooking liquid.  Fold in the peas and optional onions and add the white pepper.

Turn the mixture out into a deep dish pie pan.  Smooth the top and dust with paprika.

Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes until you get a nice bit of browning on the top.

Here's the plokkfiskur with a side of carrots sautéed in orange juice.


Creamy Brussels Sprouts with Sun-dried Tomato
From Forks Over Knives...  My version uses shallots, theirs uses leeks.  Like every FoK recipe we've tried (many) this one, as written, was "pretty good"  but lacking something...  

What I suggest is first, double the amount of mustard and use a real, strong, mustard -- not that wimpy yellow stuff.  Second, use at least 1/4 cup of sundried tomato, not a measly tablespoon -- you literally cannot taste the sundried tomato!  Third, forget the chopped greens.  Again, the taste is lost.

1 lbs Brussels Sprouts, halved
2-3 large Shallots, thin sliced; about a cup
1/2 cup Water or Broth
1 cup unflavored Almond "Milk"
2 Tbsp AP Flour
1 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
1 Tbsp finely chopped Sun-dried Tomato
1 Tbsp julienned Greens (parsley, celery, lettuce, etc)
S&PTT

Cook (basically steam) the sprouts and shallots in the water or broth for about 10 minutes on medium low, until they can be easily pierced with a fork.

While that's happening, in a bowl whisk together the "milk", flour, nutritional yeast and mustard, then add the sundried tomatoes.   Add this mixture to the sprouts, and cook another 3-5 minutes until the sprouts are coated and the sauce thickens, stirring frequently.  Dress with the greens before serving.

Ponderosa Lemons
We went for a walk along the FPL right-of-way behind Sally's house and discovered a fruiting lemon tree with large knobby fruit.  I "rescued" these fallen fruit, and brought them home with us.

It turns out that these are Ponderosa Lemons -- not a true lemon at all. It is thought (but unproven) that they are a natural cross between a lemon and a citron.  The first ones were grown from a random seedling found in Maryland, back in 1887!  The trees run small, and are often used as ornamentals or potted porch plants here in southern Florida.  The fruit run very large -- sometimes as big as a football!  The ones I found are easily twice the size of an ordinary lemon.  Ponderosas can be used exactly as ordinary lemons -- juice, pie, zest, etc.  

Two Ponderosa made more than this pint of marmalade; it usually takes 3 oranges to make the same amount!  

The marmalade is very tasty. It  turned out a bit "chunky" for a lack of liquid (or over abundance of skin and pith) and it has a distinct taste -- lemony but not bitter -- similar to the dried citron that you find in fruitcakes.  Maybe these are lemony snicket!

Savory Scone Bread
One of my Breakfast For Two menu items for our Airbnb is Savory Apple & Cheddar Scones. Lately, I've taken to making and presenting the item not as half a dozen individual scones, but rather a single large (9") loaf of "sconebread".   Either way, the combination of sweet apple and sharp cheddar cheese makes a great taste combination for a breakfast dish.  Perfect with a cup of coffee or strong tea!

1-1/2 cups AP Flour*
1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder*
1 tsp Dry Mustard (Coleman'stm is perfect)
1/2 tsp Salt
4 Tbsp Butter or Margarine
1 cup shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 Sweet Apple, chopped (not a Granny Smith)
1 Egg, beaten
1/2 cup Milk

*  Actually I prefer using Self Rising Flour with no added Baking Powder.

Preheat the oven to 400F.  While that's going on... Mix the dry ingredients together.  Cut in the butter to make fine crumbs.  Add the cheese and toss to coat.  

In a separate bowl combine the egg and milk.  Add this to the dry mix to make a batter.  Fold the apple into the batter and stir to coat.

Turn the batter/dough out onto a floured surface and dust with flour.  Knead 10-12 times to make a not-sticky dough like a bannock; adding flour as needed.  Form into a loaf and spread into a 9" springform pan or cake tin with a parchment covered bottom (to make release easier when it's done).

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the proverbial toothpick comes out clean.