fish Archives - Pamela Salzman

Fish in Parchment with Fennel, Citrus and Olives Recipe

Some of the biggest challenges home cooks face are lack of time and accommodating different dietary preferences. I am right there with you! And this new fish in parchment recipe I am sharing is a dream come true. It is not only healthful and delicious, but it’s quick to prepare, quick to cook and customizable. You can use different fish, omit the vegetables or substitute other ones, add a spicy element, or keep it super plain for the choosier eaters.Continue reading

Spetses Braised Cod Recipe

Spetses is one of the Greek islands and a place I visited many years ago. I love Greek food and I still remember this cod dish I had in Spetses which I have recreated often for weeknights with my family and dinners with friends. The recipe is written to serve 4, but you can easily increase to 6 if you can fit that number of filets in the skillet. I am using cod here which is very commonly used in Mediterranean areas, but you can use halibut or whatever thicker white fish you have access to. I originally had the dish with zucchini, but I have swapped in fennel because it’s in season right now. Definitely try it with zucchini in the summer!Continue reading

cod dill fennel feta fish olives one pot meal one skillet meal onion seafood tomatoes

Mediterranean Fish Stew Recipe

I had some friends over for dinner recently on a Friday and remembered that it is Lent. Lent starts about 40 days before Easter on Ash Wednesday and ends the day before Easter. It is a very holy time for many Christians and I remembered observing as a child. Traditionally no meat is eaten on Fridays, but fish is acceptable. During Lent, many observers also give up something pleasurable or something that might be a challenge to go without. When I was much younger, I asked my mother if I could give up beef or chicken (which I didn’t like) or going to CCD classes (which I really didn’t like.) And she always instructed me that I was missing the point. If I needed some ideas, my mother suggested perhaps my sisters and I could give up bickering with each other. I understand my mother so much more now.

Whether you observe Lent or not, I think you should make this absolutely delicious fish stew. My family doesn’t love fish as much as I do, although they never complain when I make it. There are certainly recipes they like more than others, like fish tacos (and who can blame them?) or poached salmon (“because it doesn’t taste fishy.”) This fish stew was a hit when I made it because all the fish is mixed with other stuff, Mr. Picky explained. Whatever works!

This stew is brothy like a soup, but full of all sorts of chunkiness like a stew and you can easily make a meal out of it with a piece of crusty bread. So I’ll call it a stew. When I put this together the first time, I was thinking more bouillabaisse, the classic French seafood soup, and less cioppino, the zesty Italian tomato fish stew. Either way I think this is the perfect light, but warming dinner. It also cooks in a very short amount of time, so you’ll have it on the table in less than half an hour. You can also adjust the amount of fish in the recipe without adjusting any other ingredient. If you want lots of fish because this is your main course, then add another 3/4 pound. If you’d like to use a mix of seafood, such as shrimp, scallops or mussels, those would all work well too. The only thing I would advise is NOT to skip the butter. If you have to go dairy-free, use Earth Balance. I tried this with all olive oil and surprisingly it wasn’t nearly as good. In fact, in my next life I’m going to double the butter. And if you live where the temperature has been freezing since Thanksgiving and you’ve more snow storms than the previous 10 years combined, I give you permission to use as much butter and wine as you want in this recipe. You’ve earned it!

Mediterranean Fish Stew Recipe

Pamela

5 from 3 votes

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Servings (multiply everything by 1 1/2 to serve 6)

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter or organic Earth Balance
1 Tablespoon unrefined cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 large garlic cloves sliced
1 fennel bulb halved and chopped
2 medium carrots chopped
2/3 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped, divided
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh thyme
pinch of red pepper flakes or more to taste
2 teaspoons sea salt plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ teaspoon ground turmeric optional
¾ pound of fresh tomatoes chopped (peeled and seeded, if desired) or 14-ounce container of chopped tomatoes, drained (I like Bionaturae in glass jars.)
½ pound Yukon Gold or other boiling potatoes peeled if you like and diced
10 ounces 1 ¼ cups of fish stock (or even chicken stock or vegetable stock)
1 cup dry white wine like Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay or Sauvignon blanc
1 ¼ pounds fish fillets use halibut, cod, sole, red snapper, sea bass, cut into 2-inch pieces (or use more fish and fewer vegetables)

Instructions

Heat butter and olive oil in a heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, garlic, fennel and carrots and sauté for about 6 minutes, until tender.
Add half the parsley, bay leaf, thyme, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and turmeric. Gently cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add tomatoes and stir to combine.
Add potatoes, stock and white wine. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook, covered until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
Add fish and cook another 5 minutes uncovered or until fish is cooked through. (If you decide to use mussels or small clams, simmer with the pot covered until they open.) Add more salt to taste, if desired. Ladle into bowls and serve. Garnish with reserved parsley. Nice with a piece of toasted baguette rubbed with garlic.

Notes

I buy fish stock from the freezer case in the seafood department at my local Whole Foods. I have also tried a a good stock by Stock Options which I found in the freezer section at Whole Foods.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Wild fish in parchment with summer herbs recipe

We’re baaaack! What an amazing trip. The five of us had an unbelievable 3 1/2 weeks together in Europe. We shared so many great experiences, met interesting people and really grew together as a family. People have been asking me what was the best part of our trip and I know it sounds corny, but what I enjoyed most of all was the five of us just being together. Most importantly, and this is the mother in me talking, no one got sick, hurt or lost and we made it home in one piece. Hooray!

I learned a new expression on this trip and it’s not in a foreign language. My daughters kept saying to me, “YOLO, Mom. YOLO.” Huh? Is that Dutch? Apparently YOLO stands for “You Only Live Once.” This often came up in regard to food. The first five days of the trip I was able to avoid bread, pizza (except for that tomato and cheese pancake in Amsterdam), pasta and desserts, but my family was going for it. Big time. Eventually, I think around Copenhagen, I gave in and basically had a carb fest for 2 1/2 weeks. It was fun while it lasted, but it also reinforced what I already know about wheat and refined foods — overdoing it is never a good thing. And I’ve got my tight jeans to prove it.

Although it was a nice break to be out of the kitchen for a few weeks, I am happy to be back, cooking the food that makes me feel good. I especially have a craving for fish and vegetables since the last half of our trip focused mostly on apple strudel, meat, apple strudel, potatoes, apple strudel, and bread. This fish in parchment recipe is one of my favorite, easiest and most healthful ways to prepare fish. It’s also the perfect light dinner for summertime, especially if you have some herbs growing in your garden. Feel free to change the herbs in the recipe to suit your tastes or you can even add some thinly sliced, quick-cooking vegetables to the packets. I used baby spinach leaves in these photos, but I also like diced fresh tomatoes and zucchini. Or if you have some roasted or grilled vegetables from last night’s dinner, throw those in. You really can’t go wrong.

Lucky for me, only Daughter #2 is still holding out on seafood, but everyone else loves fish, including this preparation. Wild, cold water fish is high in important anti-inflammatory Omega-3 fats, which help support brain and cardiovascular function, as well as balance inflammatory influences in our lives, both from diet and lifestyle. Steaming the fish in parchment actually helps to protect those fats from oxidation since the temperature inside the packets is low. I am eager to start cooking for family again the way I know they and I should be eating. Because like I always say friends, YOLO.