Grilled Bluefish Salad

Grilled Bluefish Salad

Grilled Bluefish with Curry and Lemon

Grilled Bluefish with Curry and Lemon

Isn't it neat how the weather directly effects our eating habits?  A month ago, a dinner of soup or stew or pasta wasn't out of the question.  But now the mere thought of turning the oven on makes me sweat.  Thankfully, I have a talented grill-master of a husband who knows how to cook fish perfectly, so we've taken most of our food preparation outside.

Over the last few weeks, we've been preparing a lot of bluefish.  Caught along the East Coast, bluefish is meatier and more oily than a lot of other seafood from this region.  It's a turn off for some, but I find that grilling it takes care of the "fishiness."  The price of bluefish, which is usually found in local stores for $7 or $8/lb, makes it very appealing as well.  We'll often buy an extra portion or two to make this salad, which we enjoy for lunch throughout the week.  Credit must be given to our friend, Kat, who served a bowl of this when we were together on the Cape last month and had mixed in some minced lemon slices.  It's a wonder I hadn't thought to do the same before, since I'm known for adding lemon zest or juice to almost everything I make.  It provides a surprising amount of zip, which is exactly what I want in summer fare.

Grilled Bluefish Salad

Grilled Bluefish Salad

Servings Grilled Bluefish (alone): Serves 4 for dinner Grilled Bluefish Salad: Approximately 8-10 people for lunch

Ingredients

For the grilled bluefish 2 - 1 lb bluefish fillets, bones removed 4 tablespoons olive oil Coarse ground black pepper 2 garlic cloves, sliced 1 tablespoon minced ginger Curry powder 1 lemon, sliced into thin rounds, seeds removed Soy sauce

For the salad 1 tablespoon mayonnaise 1/4 cup chopped cucumber 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped 1/2 shallot, minced 1 teaspoon minced flat-leaf parsley 2 grilled lemon slices, minced

Pita bread, for serving

Instructions

1. Prepare the bluefish for the grill.  Place the fish fillets in a large glass baking dish. Rub each fillet of fish with 1 tablespoon olive oil, curry powder, and black pepper. Spread and gently smoosh (yes, smoosh) garlic slices and ginger into the flesh of the fillet.  Top with lemon slices.  Pour 3 tablespoons of soy sauce over the fillets. Let sit for 30 minutes.

2. While the fish is marinating, prepare the grill.  Pour some canola oil on a paper towel and rub this over the grates of the grill.  Preheat the grill to medium heat.  Once it has preheated, place each fillet, skin side down, on the grill.  Close the cover of the grill and cook for approximately 10-12 minutes until the fish is firm and starts to flake as you lift it.  If necessary, cook for an additional 3 minutes and check again.

3. Transfer the fish to a large platter.  At this point, you can eat some of the fish as a meal and just use leftovers for bluefish salad, or you can make one large batch of bluefish salad.

4. Before you make the bluefish salad, make sure the fillets have cooled. Once they have cooled, remove the skin from the fish.  Don't worry if a little remains.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and flake the fish with a fork.  Add the cucumber, carrot, shallot and minced grilled lemon slices.  Add the mayonnaise and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and, if necessary, add salt and black pepper.

Shrimp Shu Mai

Shrimp Shu Mai from A Thought For Food #recipe #seafood

Shrimp Shu Mai from A Thought For Food #recipe #seafood

Shrimp Shu Mai from A Thought For Food #recipe #seafood

I dabbed heaping spoonfuls of gingery shrimp mixture in the center of wonton wrappers and clumsily attempted to fold them into little dumplings.  Not a single one met my expectations.  Eric watched as I struggled and provided silent emotional support. Often, he stays out of my way when I'm cooking, afraid that I might jump down his throat if he makes the smallest comment. I definitely get territorial and oddly sensitive when I'm in the kitchen. It's my personal space and I'm usually not in the mood to have someone around to tell me I'm doing something wrong (which I almost always am).

It'd been my plan to make shu mai for quite some time.  Growing up, I was a voracious eater, never turning down food, even if it was something a bit out of the ordinary.  But my connection to cooking stems from a single moment from my childhood.  It was over summer break and my sister was away at camp, leaving me with my parents for a full month.  They filled each day with trips to the pool, art projects, and film festivals (one year we watched all of the James Bond films). One afternoon, they suggested that we make a recipe from a Chinese cookbook tucked on the shelf.  We all agreed on shrimp shu mai and went to the store for the ingredients.  Back at home, I peeled (heads and all) and deveined each one, a process that for a 9 year old took a lot longer than it should have.  We chopped the scallion, herbs, garlic, and ginger by hand.   A wok was placed on the stove, a bit of water added to the bottom, and was then covered with a bamboo steamer.  A feast followed, the result of all the hard work.

It's been almost 20 years since I last made shu mai, and I thought it was about time to try it again. The process was almost exactly how I had remembered.  Except this time, I was joined by my husband.  I didn't want to push him aside, I wanted this to be something we experienced together.  We stood there and made a few.  I looked up at him and realized, at that moment, a new memory had been created.  

Shrimp Shu Mai from A Thought For Food #recipe #seafood

Shrimp Shu Mai

Ingredients

1/2 lb fresh, uncooked white shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tbsp ginger, peeled and minced

3 scallions, green parts only, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro (or parsley if you're not a cilantro fan), chopped

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2 tbsps soy sauce

1/2 tbsp distilled white vinegar

Directions

1. Place half the shrimp in the food processor and pulse until it becomes a thick paste.

2. Add the remaining shrimp in the food processor, along with the garlic, ginger, scallions, and cilantro, and pulse five times to chop the shrimp, but make sure the remaining shrimp does not turn into a paste.

3. Place the wonton wrapper on a work surface.  Using your finger, slightly moisten the edges of the wrapper with water.  Spoon a heaping teaspoon into the center of the wrapper.  Squeeze the edges of the wrapper up and around the shrimp mixture, making sure to leave some of the mixture exposed on top.

4. Set a steamer basket in a large pot (one that contains a top) over an inch of water.  Bring the water to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.

5. Gently place the shu mai in the steamer in a single layer.  Cover the pot and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the mixture turns pinkish.

6. Meanwhile, mix together the soy sauce and rice vinegar in a mixing bowl.  Red chili peppers can be added as well if desired.

7. Transfer shu mai to a serving platter and eat immediately (they're never as good when they get cool).  Serve with the dipping sauce.

8. Cook the remaining dumplings and enjoy!

Bean Salad with Lemon-Anchovy Dressing

Bean Salad with Lemon-Anchovy Dressing from A Thought For Food

Bean Salad with Lemon-Anchovy Dressing from A Thought For Food

Bean Salad with Lemon-Anchovy Dressing from A Thought For Food

I know I'm strange. I like weird things like fish sauce and smoked salmon and whitefish salad and pickled herring and gefilte fish and all those things that make the majority of the population go Ewwww.  Oh and I can't forget anchovies.  I'm pretty much sold if a dish has anchovies in it.  Salad Nicoise remains one of my favorite dishes to order.  It stems from my childhood, on nights when my father had to work late and my mom and I created large platters with stacks of seared tuna, green beans, hard boiled egg, olives and anchovies (the latter two are on my dad's list of despised foods, hence why we made it when he wasn't around).  If I had a last meal... you know, if we were playing that game where we said what we'd want our last meal to be if we were on death row... that salad would be on the list (along with sushi, cheesecake, linguini with clam sauce, and a warm, freshly baked baguette served with a wedge of triple creme cheese).  I just can't get enough of the textures, the bright flavors, and the depth that the anchovies bring to the salad.

On the day that I made this dish, I did my very best to save some for dinner.  However, my will power failed me and half the bowl quickly disappeared, which is often the case in these situations.  As wonderful as this is on its own, or would be paired with roasted salmon, I can attest that it works when tossed with pasta, served hot or cold.  No matter what you do with it, though, you can't go wrong.

Bean Salad with Lemon-Anchovy Dressing from A Thought For Food

Bean Salad with Lemon-Anchovy Dressing from A Thought For Food

Bean Salad with Lemon-Anchovy Dressing

serves 4 as side dish

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs green beans, rinsed and ends trimmed

1 - 16 0z can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 garlic clove, minced

3 anchovy fillets, from can, drained of oil

1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions

1.Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

2. Cut the green beans into 2 inch pieces.  Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook for 2 minutes.  Drain green beans and rinse under cold water. In a serving bowl, mix together the green beans and cannelli beans.

3. Using a mortar and pestle (or with a bowl and metal spoon), blend together the anchovy fillets, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, garlic clove, and parsley.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the smashed anchovy mixture, the remaining lemon juice, olive oil, and red pepper flakes.  Season dressing with salt and pepper.

5. Pour the dressing over the beans and toss to coat.  Season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.