Halibut with Romesco sauce — hold the nuts

Halibut is a luxury fish, one more commonly eaten at restaurants than at home because many people are afraid to try preparing fish themselves. But this recipe sounds worth trying, albeit without the almonds mentioned if, like me, you can’t stand nuts.

Halibut on a carrot puree at a restaurant in Milwaukee which is, sadly, no longer there.

Here are the basics, from the site lovelyfoodblog.com, minus changes I would make:

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds halibut fillets
3/4 teaspoon salt (leave out the salt)
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Sauce

1 large red bell pepper
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup slivered, toasted almonds (only if you like them, I don;t so would omit)
1 thick slice of bread, torn into pieces (find the lowest salt bread you can)
1 teaspoon salt (omit, fish is salty as is, no extra is needed)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 cup drained canned diced tomatoes (buy low- or no-salt ones)
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar

To create the dish:

To make the sauce, preheat the broiler. Quarter the bell pepper and place it, cut side down, on a baking sheet along with the garlic cloves. Broil, turning the garlic once, until the garlic is browned and soft and the skin of the bell pepper blackened and blistered. Removed from the boiler and set aside cool slightly.
peel the blackened skin from the pepper and remove the core and seeds. Put the bell pepper and garlic in a food processor along with the almonds, bread, salt and paprika. Process to a paste. Add the tomatoes and vinegar and process until the tomatoes are small and fully incorporated.
To cook the fish preheat a broiler to high. Season the fish with the salt and pepper and broil about 4 minutes. Turn and broil for another 4 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through. Serve the fish immediately, with the sauce drizzled over it.

Enjoy. And if you love halibut, try this other recipe on my site, halibut with wine and herbs.

March 17, 2023 0

10 more salmon recipes to add to your files

In another sheet of aluminum foil, place your four pieces of salmon and separate with aluminum foil. Then rub in marinades for each. — *Soon it will be time for grilling salmon outside again in my Midwest home. Can;t wait. In the meantime, check out these baked salmon recipes.*

I’ve written in the past that you can never have too many salmon recipes. So here are 10 more from MyRecipes.com. All are baked, which is healthy, ut check recipes to see if you need to eliminate any salt, fat or sugar that ingredients may bring.

Salmon with Green Beans and Smashed Potatoes, the first recipe listed, looks simple to make and tasty, I’d leave out the salt and go with a fat-free mayo. If you’re worried about sugar intake, substitute red potatoes too. This recipe shows its nutrition info, which is always helpful.

Not all the recipes have nutritional information however. Crispy Sheet Pan Salmon with Lemony Asparagus and Carrots sounds tasty too but has no nutrition info, sadly. I may try it anyway.It also includes mayo, get that fat-free. And again, leave out the salt, you don’t need it for fish.

March 1, 2023 0

Save money, buy whole fish; then use the discarded parts for fish stock

One way to save money as prices rise at the supermarket is to buy whole fish and fillet them at home rather than buying more expensive fillets.

Filleting a fish was once intimidating but there are scores of videos online these days that can lead you through the process.

Once you’ve created the fillets, you have the head, tail and spinal column left over. If you just throw these out, there goes your savings from buying a whole fish. So why not make fish stock from them instead?

I did that recently with a salmon I bought at a local supermarket. I found this relatively simple recipe for fish stock using salmon on delectabilia.com.

You can use what veggies you find on sale, feel free to vary the recipe a bit. Also leave out the butter, using olive oil to saute the veggies works fine. I liked this recipe because it doesn’t have a lot of fat or salt in the ingredients it recommends. Remember to get the lowest sodium vegetable stock you can find too.

Here’s a short video taking you through all the steps, enjoy.

February 23, 2023 0

If you love salmon, you will love some of these side dishes

Salmon is a go-to main course for anyone trying to eat less unhealthy fat and more healthy fat. I regularly make it now instead of the steaks and burgers I once ate before my heart surgeries. This piece from Myrecipes.com gives you 30 potential salmon side dishes. Match those with the salmon recipes you’ll find on our recipe page.

Avoid the ones with cream (bad fat) and if a recipe calls for salt, leave it out or cut it drastically.

You’ll see several asparagus dishes in here, I normally grill asparagus outdoors in the summer to go with salmon.

I’m planning to try the first side discussed, lemon-feta green beans, but will use the fat-free feta I regularly buy at a local supermarket. I love the idea of searing lemons. And kudos to the recipe for not adding salt — the cheese is salty enough.

May 12, 2022 0

Baked Halibut with Wine and Herbs — tasty and low-salt (if you leave out the added salt)

I wrote recently about buying some halibut at a new Amazon fresh store. I don’t often cook halibut, so I went looking for a recipe and came across this one: Baked Halibut with Wine and Herbs on Foodnetwork.com.

*Halibut on a carrot puree that I had in a restaurant long before Covid limited me to takeout options only.*

Ingredients

4 sprigs thyme

8 sprigs parsley

2 bay leaves, preferably fresh

8 cloves garlic, smashed

2 (1 pound) halibut steaks, 1 1/4-inch thick, from tail end of fish

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper [leave out the salt]

3/4 cup dry vermouth [I used white wine instead, its what I had available]

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

12 cherry or pear, red and yellow tomatoes, for garnish

The recipe goes on:

Continue reading →

May 6, 2022 1

A tasty and very simple-to-make sea bass recipe

Sea bass is usually an expensive fish, but if you get a deal on it (as I did buying in bulk at Costco), here’s a simple baked bass recipe that I found surprisingly tasty and quick to make. You can find the complete recipe on Food.com.

First, the ingredients, most if not all of which, you should already have handy:

1lb sea bass (cleaned and scaled)
3 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon italian seasoning or 1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves
2 teaspoons fresh coarse ground black pepper [I found this a lot of pepper, adjsut accordingly]
1 teaspoon salt [omit this to stay low-salt}
2 lemon wedges
¹⁄₃ cup white wine vinegar (optional) or 1/3 cup white wine [I used white wine vingar, it made the dish].

To make the dish:

Preheat oven to 450F°.
In a cup, mix garlic, olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
Place fish in a shallow glass or ceramic baking dish.
Rub fish with oil mixture.
Pour wine or vinegar over fish.
Bake fish, uncovered, for 15 minutes; then sprinkle with parsley or Italian seasoning and continue to bake for 5 more minutes (or until the thickest part of the fish flakes easily).
Drizzle remaining pan juices over fish and garnish with lemon wedges.

I served my sea bass with a side if steamed carrots as you can see in my photo.

March 7, 2022 0

Looking for a New Year’s Diet — try this 7-day Mediterranean plan

While I’m not a big believer in the idea that what we eat can impact our health to any major degree (I think heredity plays a much larger role), I do follow guidelines for cutting salt, fat and sugar in my diet because of my past heart health issues. figuring I should use all the weapons available to keep my heart ticking. And when it comes to such efforts, the Mediterranean Diet has repeatedly been recognized as healthiest.

Roasted salmon caprese, one of the seven recipes included in this 7-day plan.

Wondering how to follow it? Here’s a seven-day recipe plan from EatingWell.com that puts you well on your way to be a Mediterranean Diet aficionado.

There are a few meals in this plan I wouldn’t eat, such as the one involving white beans. And, as with any recipe, check the nutrition information before you make any of these.

Watch for levels of salt, fat and sugar. Remember, almost no one eats what is defined as one portion in such recipes, so do the math for how much you think you’d eat to get true salt, fat and sugar content.

February 4, 2022 1

Salmon is always tasty, I wouldn’t worry about losing weight with it

Salmon is still on the healthy fat list, so you can eat it as much as you like, unlike those fatty beef steaks you once ate. I’ve written before you can never have enough salmon recipes and often get mine from EatingWell.com.

Your salmon feast awaits. — *I love making salmon in a variety of ways.*

But this latest piece from EatingWell, 17 Salmon Dinners That Can Help You Lose Weight, made me chuckle. If you cut the salt, fat and sugar from your diet, i.e. stop eating everything you like to binge eat, you’ll lose weight naturally, so there’s no need for special diets.

Plus, the intro of this piece talks about sauces and creamy pastas — how much salt, fat and sugar are in those?

Still, all that said, take a look, you might find some fun recipes. And you can likely modify those that have too much salt, fat or sugar, by taking offending ingredients out. You have to click through to the actual recipe and then its nutrition information to get the information you need.

February 2, 2022 0

Rosemary roasted salmon — another one-pan dinner option

One-pan dinners have become a thing during Covid as people who never cooked before look for simple recipes to make at home. I wrote about one salmon one-pan recently and here’s another from EatingWell.com, rosemary roasted salmon.

**Rosemary roasted salmon. All made in one pan.**

It includes salmon, asparagus and potatoes, all roasted together in one sheet pan. The sodium per portion, 711 mgs, seems a little high. I’d leave the salt out of the recipe. One teaspoon of salt has 2,325 mgs of sodium, much more than one day’s worth for anyone monitoring their salt intake.

The recipe and prep details, along with nutrition information:

Continue reading →

January 20, 2022 0

A one-pan salmon dinner recipe

Here’s a recipe to combine salmon, tomatoes and zucchini into what looks like a tasty — and with some modification healthy — dinner. The recipe comes from FoodNetwork.com.

Here are the ingredients:

Ingredients

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (leave out the salt)

2 large plum tomatoes, halved crosswise

Nonstick cooking spray (use spray olive oil for a healthier fat)

2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

One 12-ounce center-cut salmon fillet, skin removed (about 1 1/2 inches thick)

And the directions (just leave out the salt wherever it’s mentioned here):

Position a rack in the top third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Toss the panko, Parmesan, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper together in a small bowl. Arrange the tomatoes in the center of the prepared baking sheet, cut-side up (trim a small slice from the bottom of each tomato if they will not stand upright) and spoon the panko mixture evenly over each. Spray the breadcrumbs lightly with cooking spray. Lay the zucchini halves cut-side up on one side of the tomatoes. Drizzle zucchini with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until the vegetables begin to soften and the panko topping begins to brown, about 18 minutes.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place the salmon fillet on the other side of the tomatoes. Drizzle the salmon with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until the zucchini and tomatoes are completely tender and browned in spots, and the salmon is cooked through but moist, about 12 minutes more. Divide salmon and vegetables between two plates and serve.

December 17, 2021 0

Category: seafood

Halibut with Romesco sauce — hold the nuts

10 more salmon recipes to add to your files

Save money, buy whole fish; then use the discarded parts for fish stock

If you love salmon, you will love some of these side dishes

Baked Halibut with Wine and Herbs — tasty and low-salt (if you leave out the added salt)

Ingredients

A tasty and very simple-to-make sea bass recipe

Looking for a New Year’s Diet — try this 7-day Mediterranean plan

Salmon is always tasty, I wouldn’t worry about losing weight with it

Rosemary roasted salmon — another one-pan dinner option

A one-pan salmon dinner recipe

Ingredients

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