June 11, 2016 by Marios

Red Curry with Fish

It was my first year out of college and I was in the process of coming out to all of my friends. It was exciting and exhilarating but also a little terrifying, like a roller coaster ride. Every time I told someone I was gay, I felt my lungs expand, my heart beat stronger. Beyond the emotional changes I felt physical ones too. I slept better than ever and had a voracious appetite. I was ready to eat the world.

When I came out to my college friend Linda over the phone she suggested I come to Chicago, where she lived at the time, to visit her. I booked my flight as soon as I could. The first night there, she took me to a local Thai restaurant for dinner. I hadn’t really experienced Thai food before. There weren’t any Thai restaurants in Philadelphia where I lived for four years and I didn’t know of any in New Jersey either, where I lived at the time. I ordered some kind of curry and I fell in love. The flavors were classic: coconut, peanut, chilies, and lime. But to me they were magical. The constant back and forth between sweet and spicy, salty and sour, made me feel like a kid with ADD, not knowing which to experience first. I couldn’t wait for the next bite.

The following night Linda asked me if I had any requests on where to eat. “Let’s go back to the Thai place,” I said immediately. It didn’t matter that I was in Chicago, a city with amazing food. I wanted to eat Thai food again.

Since then, I have eaten a lot of Thai food. In New York city there are countless Thai restaurants, some right next to each other, but much like the equally countless Chinese restaurants here, most of them make terrible food. Overly sweet or watery, loaded with cheap bell peppers or drowning in cloying sauces. Some friends told us to always ask for our food “Thai style” when we order it, but it doesn’t seem to make a big difference. At least not for us.

This recipe may not have its origins from a remote region of Thailand or be the dish Thai mothers make for their children, but it’s simple and adaptable and very flavorful. It’s quick to make and does not require any special expertise or equipment. You might even like it enough to make it two nights in a row.

Red Curry with Fish – Adapted from Bon Appétit

Ingredients:

1 large shallot
6 garlic cloves
1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons red curry paste
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1½ cups whole peeled tomatoes, plus juices from one 15-ounce can
1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar
4 kaffir lime leaves (if not available, substitute with three strips of lime peel, using a vegetable peeler)
Kosher salt
1 pound carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 large shallots, peeled, edges trimmed, and halved lengthwise
1 pound firm white fish (such as halibut or cod), skin removed, cut into 2-inch pieces

Directions:

Pulse shallot, garlic, and ginger in a food processor to finely chop. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add shallot mixture and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add curry paste and turmeric; cook, stirring, until paste is darkened in color and mixture starts to stick to pan, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, breaking up with your hands, then juices. Cook, stirring often and scraping up browned bits, until tomatoes start to break down and stick to pot, about 5 minutes.

Stir in coconut milk, sugar, and kaffir lime leaves (or lime peel) and taste, then season with salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until mixture is slightly thickened and flavors meld, 8–10 minutes. Add carrots and shallots and pour in enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 10-15 minutes.

Season fish all over with salt and nestle into curry (add a little more water if it’s very thick). Return to a simmer and cook just until fish is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove kaffir lime leaves (or lime peel).

Spoon curry over plain white rice and serve with a lime wedge to be squeezed over curry before eating.

May 30, 2015 by Marios

Marinated Sweet and Sour Fish

The words “sweet and sour” have a special place in my heart. Sweet and sour chicken was one of the first Chinese dishes I ever tasted. It was when I was a kid and my parents splurged one night to take us to the only Chinese restaurant in our town. It was an upscale place, with lazy suzan tables that my sister and I couldn’t get enough of.

The combination of sweet and sour is not found in Greek savory dishes. So, for us, sweet and sour chicken was incredibly exotic. It was a main dish and a dessert all in one! Eventually, my mom found a recipe for a version of it and she would make it often enough that it became a little less exotic, though it still remained a favorite.

When I came to the U.S. to study, there were several food trucks on campus, and one of them was Chinese. At least once a week, I would pay them $5 and they would hand me a white styrofoam clamshell container, heavy and warm. I would open it as soon as I could find a place to sit. Inside it, waiting for me, was some white rice, topped with battered and deep fried nuggets of chicken, and smothered with that golden syrup, of sweet and sour fame. It was divine.

So, when Steve and I were going through the Jerusalem cookbook for a recipe to try out a couple of weeks ago, we were intrigued when we saw the name of this particular one. The colorful photo didn’t hurt either. So we gave it a try and, as with everything in this cookbook, we were not disappointed. The dish really is better after it sits in the fridge for a day or two, and is best eaten at room temperature. I did make one change though. I reduced the amount of coriander. It overpowered the dish and took away from that perfect combination: sweet and sour.Marinated Sweet and Sour Fish – Slightly adapted from Jerusalem: A Cookbook

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, cut into 1/2 inch slices (350 g)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed in mortar and pestle
2 bell peppers (one red and one yellow or orange), cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch strips (300 g)
2 cloves of garlic, crushed or grated on microplane
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 tablespoon curry powder
2 cups (320 g) of dice tomatoes in juice (from two 14.5 oz cans, some will be left over)
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons cider vinegar (or sherry vinegar)
1 lb (500 g) white fish fillets (such as cod, halibut, pollock, etc.)
all purpose flour for dusting
2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375º F.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large ovenproof deep pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and crushed coriander seeds. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add peppers and cook for another 10 minutes. Add garlic, bay leaves, curry powder, and tomatoes and cook for another 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sugar, vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and some black pepper and cook for another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a separate frying pan over medium high heat. Sprinkle fish with some salt, dip in the flour, then in the eggs, and fry for about 3 minutes, turning once. Transfer fish to paper towels to absorb excess oil. When all fish is cooked, add to pan with the peppers and onions, pushing the vegetables aside so that the fish is at the bottom of pan. Add enough water just to immerse the fish in the liquid.

Place the pan in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the fish is cooked. Remove from oven and let it cool to room temperature. The fish can be served now or put in the fridge, covered, for a day or two to let the flavors combine. Before service add salt and pepper, if needed.

January 3, 2014 by Marios

Savory Tomato Jam

We spent New Year’s eve in Corsica with a group of friends. Given that we were in a house situated in a tiny village of 40 inhabitants, and considering that around the holidays everything is pretty much closed in France, I have nothing to report in terms of food discoveries. We pretty much bought a bunch of groceries on our first day, and we cooked simple meals every day.

Corsica, or at least the small part we saw, is a beautiful island, with rugged mountains that come down straight into the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean. There are fig trees and citrus trees everywhere, as well as rosemary and laurel and a strange, edible fruit-bearing tree we had never seen before called Arbutus or Strawberry trees (Arbousier in French). The mountain side on which our house was located was covered with paddle cactuses, though the delicious, red prickly pears they produce had all been picked clean by now.

The weather was beautiful. Sunny and high 50s everyday. Very different than the weather back in New York where we are getting ready to return to. With a high of 17º F, it’s a veritable Arctic landscape in the Northeast. So, if you are trying to survive the first snow blizzard of 2014 and want something that provides some spicy warmth, I give you this recipe for a savory tomato jam. It’s a delicious combination of tomatoes and spices, cooked slowly together until they form a thick sauce that is a perfect accompaniment to seafood. Though I would guess that it would also pair well with chicken or pork.

Enjoy, and stay warm out there.

Savory Tomato Jam – Slightly adapted from BonAppetit.com

Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped peeled ginger
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
salt and freshly ground pepper
fresh mint, chopped

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, coriander, and cardamom and cook, stirring often, until mustard seeds begin to pop, about 1 minute. Add shallots, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add fish sauce, sugar, turmeric, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute.

Add diced tomatoes with their juices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring often, until tomatoes are softened and mixture thickens, 35–45 minutes. Mix in lime juice; season with salt and pepper.

Serve over cooked fish or chicken and top with chopped fresh mint.

October 25, 2013 by Marios

Swordfish with Aji Panca Paste

“There are worms in the fish!”

I turned to Steve with a look of horror and sadness. Horror because, well, there were worms in the fish. And sadness because I was so hungry and ready to eat something that the thought of throwing away the fish, just as I was ready to cook it was really dispiriting.

Let me start from the beginning. I had prepared a marinade using Aji Panca paste, made with a peruvian pepper that is immensely packed with flavor, combining sweetness, heat, and smoke. I bought two super fresh swordfish steaks and marinated them in it for two hours. I had just taken them out of the fridge and was ready to place them in a pan coated with hot oil when I noticed something white and and squirmy on the surface of the fish. Then I saw another one in the marinade.

Worms!

After the initial shock and overcoming the instinctive reaction of throwing everything out, we went to Google for some more information. Turns out, worms called roundworms are commonly found in fish flesh. In fact, there is a standard process for removing them in seafood processing facilities called candling. The fish fillets are examined under strong light which the worms are attracted to. This only gets rid of the ones on the surface though, leaving those buried deeper in the flesh. We also learned that they are generally harmless to humans, especially if the fish is cooked to 140 degrees or more.

So, feeling a little calmer and happy we didn’t just throw everything out, we removed the worms we could see, we cooked the swordfish (a little more than we would have usually), and enjoyed it with some zucchini fries. And probably some marinated worms to go along with it.

Swordfish with Aji Panca Paste Adapted from Epicurious.com

Ingredients:

1/2 cup aji panca paste
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 (6-oz) steaks swordfish
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Combine all marinade ingredients (from aji panca paste to garlic). Add swordfish and marinade in refrigerator, covered, for 2 hours, turning once or twice.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in large non-stick pan and cook swordfish on both sides until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the steaks.

September 20, 2013 by Marios

Oven Poached Fish in Olive Oil

I’ve always loved cooking for people. I rarely cook just for myself. This is partly because cooking is an activity with a very specific end result. When I cook, I create something. And that’s something I want to share. Often it’s something I want to show off. I’ll be the first to admit that humility is not an ingredient in my cooking.

So, I’ve always loved having dinner parties. Even when I lived in apartments with impossibly small kitchens, I’d have friends over for dinner. Out of a half size oven and a workspace the size of school desk, I have produced multi course meals for eight people. When Steve and I met, we found our love for food was mutual. So, the dinner parties continued and became more elaborate. We started pairing wines with every course. We printed menus.

The only problem with such extravagant affairs has been that at times we ended up spending more time in the kitchen than at the table with our friends. So, over the last few years I’ve adjusted our menus, opting for dishes that can be prepared ahead of time and served easily and quickly. This recipe is one of our favorites. It takes 15 minutes to put together but the result is delicious and impressive.

Fish is especially difficult for dinner parties. It so often requires cooking right before eaten, it smells up the kitchen, and it can easily be overcooked. By poaching it gently in the oven in olive oil, this recipe takes care of all of those problems. In fact, I’ve often left it in the oven for 30 minutes past what the recipe says and I’ve never had any problems with it. The fish always comes out tender, moist, and flavorful.

If you are worried about the amount of olive oil, don’t be. The fish absorbs almost none of it. And in the end, you can strain the olive oil and keep it in the fridge. Use it whenever you cook anything with seafood. It will have only the slightest hint of the fish, capers, and lemons.

Oven Poached Fish in Olive Oil – Slightly adapted from Epicurious.com

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup capers, rinsed
2 – 2 1/2 lb (1-inch-thick) skinless, firm, white flesh fish fillets (such as halibut or chilean sea bass)
1 1/2 large lemons, very thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
About 2 cups extra-virgin olive oil (enough to cover the fish)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250°F.

Chop half of capers and pat fish dry. Sprinkle fish with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and let stand 10 minutes at room temperature. Arrange half of lemon slices in 1 layer in an 8-inch square glass baking dish and arrange fish in 1 layer over lemon. Top with all of capers, remaining lemon slices, and 3 tablespoons parsley, then pour oil over fish. Bake in middle of oven, uncovered, until fish just flakes and is cooked through, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Serve fish with some of lemon slices, capers, and oil spooned over. Sprinkle with remaining parsley.