Midwinter Seafood Fra Diavolo

I had a craving for shellfish today, so the wife and I splurged a little and picked up some fresh PEI mussels and wild caught cod filet during the weekly grocery shop. Well...I guess it wasn't so much of a splurge, since the mussels were on sale and we only bought 1/2 lb. of the cod - the whole thing came to about $9.

Anyway! I fixed my craving with this flavorful pasta-free Seafood Fra Diavolo. I've flavored the broth with tomatoes, garlic, hot pepper flakes, oregano and a smidge of basil. This is a quick 1-pot meal that takes less than 30 minutes to prepare.

Seafood Fra Diavolo

1/2 - 3/4 lb. Cod Filet (skinless), cut into 2" or 3" chunks
4 lbs. Fresh Mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1 28 oz. Can Tomato Puree
1 C. Fat Free Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
2-6 Cloves garlic, smashed/cracked open
1 pinch - 1 t. Hot Pepper Flakes (to taste)
1/2 t. Basil
1 t. Oregano
Salt to taste

Heat 1 T. olive oil in a large pan. Add garlic and cook on medium heat until it just starts to brown. Add  pepper flakes and cook 1 more minute. Add tomato puree and broth and heat to simmering. Add basil, oregan, and salt and stir to combine. Gently drop in the cod filet and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add in mussels, cover, and allow it to simmer for 3 minutes. Check every 1 minute after that and remove from heat as soon as the mussels have opened.

I served this family style in a big shallow bowl with all the broth and pan juices and I imagine it would be delicious with crusty bread for dipping. This serves about 4-5 hungry non-gastric bypass diners.

The nutritional info (from sparkrecipes.com): Calories: 288.7, Total Fat 7.5 g, Cholesterol 88.2 mg, Sodium 824.7 mg, Total Carbs 13.7 g, Dietary Fiber 1.3 g, Protein: 38.4 g.

My wife, stealing a taste during the photo shoot. :-)

A Fish to Keep - Salmon Rillettes

As a child, I pooh-poohed all manner of fish. It smelled funny, it looked funny, it tasted funny, and the texture was....not beef. I have never been a picky eater, but up until my mid-20s the thought of voluntarily allowing anything past my lips that came from the ocean other than the occasional scallop or shrimp was just Not. On.

Since then, my palate has matured and my willingness to be adventuresome with things from the sea has greatly expanded. I ran into this particular recipe in a hand-me-down issue of Bon Apetit magazine (Sept. 2012, p16). I made a few minor adjustments for taste and fat and served it on cucumber slices for a lighter alternative to baguette. It's a delicious cold smoky salmon dip with just the right hint of onion from the chives and a powerful punch of protein. Apparently, this is a recipe that originally came from famous New York restaurant, Le Bernardin!

These incredibly rich smoky bites of heaven were the perfect way for my wife and I to ring in the New Year. Give them a try at your next gathering or special dinner. (Bonus: I'm only 3 weeks post-op and on soft solids and I was able to eat this with no problems and it's something my wife looooved!) Can't get better than a culinary win to start the year off right!

Salmon Rillettes

2 C. Dry White Wine
2 Small Shallots (about 1.5 T.), minced
1 lb. Salmon Filet, skinned and pin bones removed
3 oz. Smoked Salmon (lox), cut into 1/4" pieces
1/s C. Mayo (I halved this with Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt to reduce the fat)
2-3 T. Fresh Chives, minced
1-2 T. Fresh Lemon Juice
S&P to taste

Bring wine and shallots to a simmer in a small sauce pan. Reduce heat to medium-low and add salmon filet. Poach gently until salmon is just barely opaque all the way through (roughly 5 minutes.) Using a fish spatula or slotted spoon, remove salmon from wine and drain on paper towels. Strain shallots out of the wine, reserving the shallots and discarding the wine. Place shallots and salmon in a bowl, cover and refridgerate until cold.

Add all remaining ingredients to the filet and shallots and stir gently to break up filet slightly. Avoid overmixing - you want the filet to retain some flakiness. Adjust seasoning, adding additional lemon and mayo, as desired. Serve on toasted baguette, slices of cucumber, or fold into an omelette.

Servings: 6-8 (the original recipe says 6, I say 8 - this dish is rich and very satisying)

Nutrition (according sparkrecipes.com) based on 8 servings and using Greek yogurt in place of half the mayo:  Calories 145.8, Total Fat 7.1 g, Cholesterol 45.2 g, Sodium 586.3 mg, Potassium 397 mg, Total Carbohydrate 2.2 g, Protein 17.3 g.

 

Happy New Year and blessings to you and your family for 2013!