Shrimp with Cilantro Pesto

One thing that will bum me out, without fail, is seeing a wilted, mushy bunch of herbs that I didn’t get to in time.  Just makes me feel terrible.  So I had this nearly full bunch of cilantro in my produce drawer and no clue what to make with it.  Aha!  How about try it in pesto?  This recipe forShrimp with Cilantro Pesto was a big hit at dinner last night!

You can cook the shrimp however you like.  Here, we just pan-fried them quickly with salt and pepper, and let the pesto do the heavy lifting in the flavor category.  This comes together so quick it’s laughable.  Make the pesto whenever you like – even the day before – and keep in the fridge until you are ready to eat.  We ate this with roasted baby potatoes and roasted broccoli.  The pesto was especially delicious on the potatoes.  Try it and see!

Shrimp with Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch cilantro
• 1/3 cup toasted pepitas
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• juice of 1 lemon or lime
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Wash and shake the cilantro and trim about half an inch off the bottom of the stems.  Place them in the bowl of a food processor.  Blend with the pepitas, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.  Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.  Pour into a bowl and store in the fridge until ready to use.
2. Prepare the shrimp: peel the shell off, remove the tail, and de-vein.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.  Heat a pan on medium-high, and quickly sauté the shrimp.  They will only take about 2 minutes per side – don’t let them get tough and overdone!  Remove shrimp from pan to a plate and serve with the cilantro pesto (and a squeeze of lemon if you like.)

Italian Tuna Wraps

I love it when a plan comes together!  I was hungry at lunchtime yesterday, so I opened my pantry.  I stared at the shelf for a good minute…eyes glazing over.  ”There’s got to be something here, some combination of flavors that will fill and delight me” I thought.  And bingo!  Inspiration struck and I made these Italian Tuna Wraps.

Okay, this is pretty much just tuna salad in a lettuce wrap.  But the addition of white beans makes it filling, contributes a creamy texture, and ups the fiber.  A handful of chopped parsley adds freshness.  This recipe serves two for lunch.  Or just do what I did, and put it in the fridge for tomorrow’s lunch.  It will still taste great the next day!

Italian Tuna Wraps

Ingredients:

• 1 can of tuna
• 1 can of white beans
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper
• pinch of garlic powder
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley
• Boston lettuce leaves (or other lettuce leaves of choice) for wrapping

Directions:

1. Drain the can of tuna and put it in a large bowl.  Drain the beans, rinse them in a strainer and then add them to the tuna.
2. Toss the tuna mixture with the lemon juice and olive oil.  Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder; toss again.  Add parsley and toss.
3. To serve, wash and shake dry the lettuce leaves, and place a large spoonful of tuna in the lettuce.  Wrap and eat.  Couldn’t be easier!

Mondo Coconut Shrimp

Yes, MONDO!  With four, count ‘em, FOUR different coconut products, you too can make your favorite appetizer from that restaurant you go to with your girlfriends!  Mondo Coconut Shrimp are really quite easy to make, and, a fun and tasty appetizer for a party.

You’ll want to use BIG shrimp for this recipe—the larger the better.  I found  some 13-15 count shrimp on sale, and they worked really well.  If you are using smaller shrimp, decrease your cooking time so you don’t make these guys all tough and rubbery.  I coated these in both sweetened AND unsweetened coconut.  Feel free to use one or the other if you don’t have both.  I was going to make this recipe just with the unsweetened kind, but I found a cup of sweetened coconut in my freezer and decided to use it up – and I’m glad I did!

To be  honest, these are fantastic with just some salt sprinkled on top when they come off the stove.  I took a photo of them with a lemon slice, and found out they didn’t even need that to be delicious!  So make these for friends, or as part of a funky dinner, and go MONDO!

MONDO Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients:

• 1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup coconut flour
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• coconut oil, for frying
• salt for serving

Directions:

1. Set up a breading station.  In the first bowl, beat the 3 eggs with a tablespoon of water.  In the second bowl, pour in the coconut flour.  In the third bowl, mix together the two coconut shreds and the curry powder.
2. Start breading:  Dip a shrimp into the egg, then the coconut flour, then back into the egg, and then the coconut shreds.  Place on a plate while you complete the breading.
3. In a large non-stick frying pan, heat one heaping teaspoon of coconut oil over medium heat.  When  hot, carefully add the breaded shrimp.  You’ll probably have to do this in at least two batches.  Let them cook for about six minutes, then flip and cook again for another five minutes.  Watch your heat here – you want it medium to medium-low, so that the shrimp cooks evenly and the breading doesn’t burn before the shrimp are done.
4. Remove cooked shrimp to a plate and immediately sprinkle with kosher or sea salt.  Add another teaspoon of coconut oil  to the pan, if necessary, and cook the next batch.  Serve hot!

I texted my husband a photo of the shrimp and he said, “Oooh, looks yummy!” so I saved him some.  Unfortunately, they aren’t as nice the second time around.  They still taste great, but you can’t get them crispy on the outside a second time.  That means Carpe Diem – Gather ye rosebuds while ye may – and eat your shrimp while they’re hot.

Baked Fish with Cilantro Sauce

Monday I went to Costco and found some really beautiful fish.  It was so yummy-looking, I couldn’t pass it up, even though I didn’t know what I was going to do with it.  Google to the rescue!  I went to a site called Epicurious.com that I’ve had luck with before, and found a recipe for halibut, but it said you could use any firm-fleshed white fish.  Bingo!  I changed a few things, and now I’m calling it Baked Fish with Cilantro Sauce!

Use whatever firm-fleshed white fish you have.  I used rockfish, which is like red snapper.  You can also use halibut, cod, and probably even tilapia.   And if you’re not really a fan of fish, I bet you could even get super crazy and make this with thin-sliced chicken breast (though you’ll probably want to cook it a little longer.)  The cilantro sauce is phenomenal!  The original recipe called for shitake mushrooms.  I didn’t have any, so I used regular button mushrooms.  But I really liked the mushroom flavor in the recipe and wished it was stronger.  I would suggest a wild mushroom mix, or maybe portobello mushrooms if you can find them.  Regular button mushrooms will work fine, but if you like mushrooms, maybe use more than the recipe calls for.  And if you can find shitakes, by all means use them!

Full disclosure:  My girls didn’t really like this.  I think this is maybe more of a grown-up dinner.  So make this for you and your adult diners, and maybe throw some fish sticks in the oven for the kids.  That meant I had leftovers.  I ate them yesterday for breakfast … and finished the rest off at lunch!  (Can you tell I really liked it?)

Baked Fish with Cilantro Sauce

(Serves 4)

• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, ends trimmed off (but use the stems too, not just the leaves!)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1-inch piece ginger, peeled
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small squirt Sriracha chili sauce, or other hot pepper sauce of choice
• juice of one large lemon
• 1 1/2 pounds filets of rockfish, halibut, cod, or other firm white fish
• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1 bunch mizuna or arugula
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450*F. Combine first 7 ingredients (through the lemon juice) in a food processor and blend until mostly smooth.  If you’d like it a little smoother, you can add more olive oil.  Taste and add salt if desired.  Set the sauce aside.
2. Wash and trim the green beans, and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Place in a covered bowl and add a tablespoon of water.  Microwave for 2 minutes.  You just want to help them along so they can bake in the oven and not still be crunchy when the fish is done.
3. In a large bowl, combine the mizuna or arugula, sliced mushrooms, sliced garlic,and green beans.  Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Place in the bottom of a very large casserole dish (like one you would use for lasagna.)  Place the fish filets on top, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fish filets.  Divide fish and vegetables among 4 plates, and serve with the cilantro sauce.

Fish Tacos

Fish tacos are a little bite of Southern California, via Baja, Mexico.  You can't have a few of these yummy tacos and a beer and NOT imagine you are near the Pacific Ocean.  If you don't live here, and don't have a Wahoo's or Green Burrito close by, you can make these at home, in a jiffy.  The key ingredient?  The lowly fish stick.  These are muy sabroso (very tasty!) and super easy.  Check out my recipe at GCH: What's on Your Plate!

Soba Noodles with Salmon and Miso

I love fish. It's my favorite protein, and I am always looking for new ways to cook it. I found this recipe in another maddeningly-generically-titled cookbook, "Homestyle Asian." Aside from the salmon itself, all the other ingredients are cheap and will keep for a while, so you don't have to rush to use them before they spoil. Miso paste can live in your fridge for a decent amount of time, and can be used to make soups or add umami flavor to everything from pan sauces and gravies to salad dressings. Soba noodles are another fun thing to keep in your pantry. It's a dried pasta, so, like spaghetti, it will be fine on your shelf until you're ready to use it again. I love its chewy texture and nutty flavor.

The recipe in my cookbook served six, so my version has been pared down to serve two (plus a toddler, if you have one that likes fish and noodles, like I do!) Also, the original recipe called for 1 cup of bean sprouts, which I didn't have, so I substituted 4 heads of baby bok choi (that I picked up at the farmer's market for a dollar.) This recipe was delicious and elegant, with subtle flavors and a clean finish. Definitely a keeper.

Soba Noodles with Salmon and Miso

Ingredients:

• approximately 2 oz. of dried soba noodles (mine came conveniently packaged in five single-serving bundles - gotta love Japanese ingenuity!)
• 1 heaping teaspoon miso paste
• 1 ounce honey
• 4 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
• 1 pound salmon filet
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 4 heads of baby bok choi, cut into individual leaves
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Cook the soba noodles according to the package directions. Drain, add back to the pot you cooked them in, and toss with a teaspoon of the sesame oil, just so they won't stick together. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350*F.  Whisk together the miso, honey, one teaspoon sesame oil, and one teaspoon water to form a paste. Brush over the salmon , then sear on a hot grill or frying pan for 30 seconds on each side. Brush the salmon with the remaining paste and place on a baking tray. Bake for 6 minutes, then cover and leave to rest in a warm place.
3. Heat one teaspoon of sesame oil in a wok or frying pan. Add the garlic, ginger, carrot, green onion and bok choi and stir-fry for 1 minute -- the vegetables should not brown, but remain crisp and bright. Add the noodles, rice vinegar, soy sauce and one teaspoon sesame oil and stir-fry quickly to heat through.
4. Divide the noodles among two plates, top with half the salmon and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.