Soy-Butter Basted Scallops With Wilted Greens and Sesame
New York Times
This simple dish was inspired by a recipe for steamed scallop and butter rice found in “Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking” (Ten Speed, 2015) by Naoko Takei Moore and Kyle Connaughton. Here, sweet sea scallops are seared in a hot pan and basted with melted butter and soy sauce to finish cooking. Tender greens are sautéed in garlic oil, then the scallops are placed on top and everything is drizzled with the remaining soy-butter and a bit of sesame oil. Finish the dish with a good squeeze of lime, thinly sliced scallions and a smattering of sesame seeds. It’s wonderful served over steamed white rice, so be sure to get that on the stove before you begin cooking the scallops, as the rest of the meal comes together in no time at all.
INGREDIENTS
Yield: 4 servings
1 pound large sea scallops, patted dry
Kosher salt and black pepper
3 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)
1½ pounds baby spinach or other tender greens
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Lime wedges, for serving
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallion greens
Sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)
Steamed rice, for serving
PREPARATION
1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Season the scallops well with salt and pepper. Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil and, when it shimmers, add the scallops. Cook undisturbed for 2 to 3 minutes, until they begin to brown and form a crust on the bottom.
2. Flip the scallops, add the butter and soy sauce to the pan and use a spoon to repeatedly drizzle the sauce over the tops of the scallops to finish cooking, 1 to 2 minutes more.
3. Set the scallops on an oven-safe plate and pour the butter mixture on top. Place the plate in the oven to keep the scallops warm while you finish the rest of the dish.
4. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil to the skillet and heat over medium. Add the garlic and red-pepper flakes, if using, and cook until the garlic is pale golden, about 2 minutes, adding a teaspoon or so more of grapeseed oil if needed. Return the heat to medium-high and add the spinach, in batches, if needed, and season with salt. Toss until the spinach wilts, adding a few teaspoons of water to help it along, if needed, and scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat.
5. Add the scallops back to the pan and pour any residual butter-sauce over top. Drizzle the dish with sesame oil and a good squeeze of lime. Top with scallions and sesame seeds, if using, and serve with rice.
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Horseradish Roasted Salmon with Mustard Potatoes
New York Times
Slathered in a creamy horseradish mayonnaise, salmon fillet is a weeknight winner. (You can cook smaller fillets or one larger center-cut piece, whichever you prefer.) The key to moist, flavorful salmon is to roast it at a high temperature for a short length of time. Here it’s baked alongside tangy mustard potatoes, but asparagus, broccoli or even green beans would be nice, too. If using less hearty vegetables, just cut the initial bake time down to 5 to 10 minutes.
INGREDIENTS
Yield:4 servings
1 pound baby Yukon Gold potatoes, halved if large
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons drained prepared horseradish
2 limes
1½ pounds skinless salmon fillet (preferably 1 single center-cut piece)
PREPARATION
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. On a rimmed sheet pan, toss together the potatoes, olive oil and mustard. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, tossing once halfway through.
3. Meanwhile, combine the mayonnaise and horseradish in a small bowl. Finely grate 2 teaspoons lime zest and then cut the remaining lime into wedges. Add the lime zest to the mayonnaise mixture and season to taste with salt and pepper. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and then slather the sauce all over the top and sides.
4. Remove the potatoes from the oven and use a spatula to make space in the center of the pan. Add the salmon, skinned side down. Return the pan to the oven and cook until the potatoes are browned and tender and the salmon is cooked through to your liking, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon.
5. Serve the salmon and potatoes with lime wedges.
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Fuyu Persimmon Rice Pilaf
Epicurious
INGREDIENTS
Makes 4 servings
¼ cup finely chopped shallot
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chicken broth
¾ cup water
½ lb firm-ripe Fuyu persimmons, peeled, seeded if necessary, and chopped
½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Fresh lemon juice to taste
PREPARATION
1. Cook shallot in oil in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, 2 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, then add rice, ginger, and cinnamon and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes.
2. Fluff rice with a fork and stir in persimmons, cilantro, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Oven-Roasted Chicken Shawarma
New York Times
Here is a recipe for an oven-roasted version of the classic street-side flavor bomb usually cooked on a rotisserie. It is perfect for an evening with family and friends. Serve with pita and tahini, chopped cucumbers and tomatoes, some olives, chopped parsley, some feta, fried eggplant, hummus swirled with harissa, rice or rice pilaf. You can make the white sauce that traditionally accompanies it by cutting plain yogurt with mayonnaise and lemon juice, and flecking it with garlic. For a red to offset it, simmer ketchup with red pepper flakes and a hit of red-wine vinegar until it goes syrupy and thick, or just use your favorite hot sauce instead.
INGREDIENTS
Yield:4 to 6 servings
2 lemons, juiced
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
½ teaspoon turmeric
A pinch ground cinnamon
Red pepper flakes, to taste
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 large red onion, peeled and quartered
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
PREPARATION
1. Prepare a marinade for the chicken. Combine the lemon juice, ½ cup olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon and red pepper flakes in a large bowl, then whisk to combine. Add the chicken and toss well to coat. Cover and store in refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
2. When ready to cook, heat oven to 425 degrees. Use the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to grease a rimmed sheet pan. Add the quartered onion to the chicken and marinade, and toss once to combine. Remove the chicken and onion from the marinade, and place on the pan, spreading everything evenly across it.
3. Put the chicken in the oven and roast until it is browned, crisp at the edges and cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to rest 2 minutes, then slice into bits. (To make the chicken even more crisp, set a large pan over high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan, then the sliced chicken, and sauté until everything curls tight in the heat.)
4. Scatter the parsley over the top and serve with tomatoes, cucumbers, pita, white sauce, hot sauce, olives, fried eggplant, feta, rice — really anything you desire.
Oven-Baked Polenta
The Slow Mediterranean Cookbook
This is hands down the best polena recipe I know, especial since it doesn’t require string I first presented this recipe in my Mediterranean Grains & Greens: I repeat it here for new readers. This no-stir method - combining cornmeal, water, and a little salt in an oiled casserole and roasting it in the oven, as opposed to frequent stirring in a pot on the store producers wondrous, creamy and seductive polenta. Cooking it this way takes longer than on top of the stove, but it will are you free to take care of whatever else you'll be serving
Varying the proportion of water to cornmeal enables you to adjust the consistency of the polenta from runny to firm and enables the polenta to take on many guises from a simple steaming bowl of cornmeal mush served with a little grated cheese to a delicious bed for stews and ragouts.
FOR SOFT POLENTA 5 parts liquid to 1 part cornmeal
FOR MEDIUM POLENTA 4 parts liquid to 1 part cornmeal
SERVES 6
2 cups medium-coarse or coarse-grind corn-meal, preferably organic stone-ground cornmeal
8 to 10 cups cool water (see proportions above)
2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-inch cazuela or ovenproof casserole. Add the cornmeal, water, butter or oil, and salt and stir with a fork until blended. (It will separate, but don't worry-it won't come together for more than half the cooking time.) Bake uncovered for I hour and 20 minutes.
2. Stir the polenta with a long-pronged fork, season with additional salt to taste, and bake for 10 minutes more. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before pouring onto a wooden pizza shovel or into a buttered bowl.
