Super Simple Sweet & Spicy Summer Salmon Salad

Friday, July 29th, 2011 | posted by wendy

A little spicy, a little sweet works well with this rich, flavorful king salmon. Serves 4.

  • 1-11/4 lb. Wild king salmon (or any other fresh wild or farmed salmon
  • 10-12 oz. Mixed greens
  • 1/2 of a large red onion – sliced thin and cut into 1 inch lengths
  • 1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes halved- use local tomatoes if in season
  • 1 T capers

You can add cucumber, avocado thinly sliced fennel, or whatever you like. We sprinkled some chopped fennel fronds on tops of ours.

Vinaigrette

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 T rice wine vinegar
  • 1 t finely chopped jalapeño
  • 1 T sweet chili sauce
  • Juice of ½ lime
  • 1 t finely chopped garlic
  • 1 t honey

Shake it in a ball jar

To prepare the salmon:

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Place salmon fillets skin side down on a lightly oiled sheet tray or baking dish. Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning (available at Monahan’s—it’s similar to Pruhommes Cajun Magic). Baste with Monahan’s Irish Whiskey Maple Glaze (pure maple syrup, Irish whiskey and a splash of our teriyaki marinade). I added ¼ t Wright’s Liquid Smoke to the glaze.

Bake for 10 min per inch of thickness or until fish is barely opaque in the center. Let cool.

To assemble the salad:

Portion greens, onion, tomatoes on plates and flake, in large chunks, the salmon over the greens. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Sprinkle with capers and fennel fronds.

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Schwartz' Wild Gulf Shrimp Banh Mi

Thursday, July 21st, 2011 | posted by wendy

(Makes 4 sandwiches)

Here’s the recipe for the components  necessary for the sandwich…you can save them to use in other things like salads as well.

Pickled Carrots and Daikon Radish
1 cup warm water
¼ cup distilled white vinegar
2 T sugar
2 tsp Salt
½ pound carrots (grated through a medium fine grater)
½ pound Daikon Radish (grated through a medium fine grater)

Mix the water, vinegar, sugar and salt until the sugar and salt dissolves. Place the carrots and Daikon radish in a container and pour the liquid over. Let pickle for one hour. Can be stored in the Fridge for up to a week.

For the Shrimp
2 T Sugar
2 T water
1 T Fish Sauce
1 T oil
1 shallot finely diced
2 cloves Garlic finely chopped
1 pound wild gulf shrimp
1 T Fish Sauce
½ tsp black pepper

Heat the sugar and water in a pan on medium high heat until the sugar caramelizes and turns dark brown. Carefully (it will splatter) add the water and Fish Sauce and stir over low heat until the caramel dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add Shallot and Garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes until soft. Add Shrimp, caramel sauce, fish sauce, and pepper and cook until shrimp is pink all over about 3-4 minutes. Let cool.

Assembling the Sandwich
1 Baguette
4 T Mayonnaise
1 t Soy Sauce
1 lb. large wild Gulf Shrimp (see above)
¼ cup pickled Daikon Radish (see above)
¼ cup pickled Carrots (see above)
½ cup thinly sliced Cucumber
1 bunch Cilantro
1 Jalapeno or 2 Serrano chilies thinly sliced (optional)

Cut baguette into four pieces and slice in half. Mix Mayo and Soy Sauce together in a bowl and spread on bread.   Divide Shrimp among 4 sandwiches, place the remaining ingredients on each sandwich and enjoy!

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The Ultimate Salad Nicoise

Friday, July 15th, 2011 | posted by mike

A true meal in itself. You can cook the potatoes, eggs and green beans in the same pot to cut down on cooking time and dishes. Salad Niçoise is a composed salad that looks gorgeous on a platter, and there’s lots of room for improvisation when it comes to ingredients (you can add roasted red peppers, feta, toasted walnuts, or other Mediterranean components). The following recipe is the classic style of southern France, but topped with seared, fresh, sashimi-grade tuna. Serves 4.

Ingredients for vinaigrette:

  • 1 minced clove of garlic
  • 1/2 t Dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 T red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 lemon, juiced
  • 1 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 T minced fresh tarragon
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Ingredients for Salad:

  • Fresh baby greens, Boston lettuce or Romaine to line the platter
  • 1/2 lb. small new or fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 lb. French green beans, stems removed
  • 1 lb. fresh sashimi-grade tuna
  • 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup niçoise olives
  • 8 anchovy fillets
  • 1/4 cup capers

Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together until emulsified then set aside for the flavors to meld.

Bring potatoes to a boil in a kettle of salted water. Simmer for about 10 minutes, then add the eggs. You can either steam the beans above the boiling water for about 5 minutes, or simply add them to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. In the end, you want the potatoes to be fork-tender and the beans to be slightly crisp. Drain everything in a colander under cold water, then put back in the pot with cold water and ice to shock and chill the ingredients.

Heat a heavy bottom skillet or cast iron pan over medium-high. Rub the tuna with olive oil and a bit of the vinaigrette and salt & pepper. When the pan is hot, sear the tuna for 2 minutes or so per side…you don’t want it to cook all the way through. Remove from pan and place on a cutting board while you compose the platter.

Composing the platter
Line the platter with lettuce or fresh baby greens. Use a bowl to coat the individual ingredients (potaotes, beans, capers, tomatoes, olives and anchovies) in vinaigrette before arranging the separate ingredients like a dial around the platter. (We actually mixed all the ingredients together, but the classic version keeps things in separate piles so guests can choose how much of each ingredient to add to their plate.) Halve or quarter the eggs and arrange on the platter then slice the seared tuna and arrange attractively in the center of the dish. Drizzle the platter with remaining vinaigrette.

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Ahi Poke

Thursday, July 7th, 2011 | posted by mike

  • 1 lb. Sashimi grade tuna cut in 1 inch cubes
  • 1/4 cup Maui onions (or sweet onion like vidallia) chopped
  • 3 scallions finely sliced- use part of green part
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce- use Japanese it’s lighter salt than U.S. Soy sauce
  • 2 t oyster sauce (optional)
  • 1 t  brown sugar
  • 1 t sriracha chili sauce (or to taste)
  • Pinch of Hawaiian sea salt or kosher salt
  • 1 T toasted macadamia nuts finely chopped (toasted, see below)
  • 2 t toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 t sesame oil
  • A not traditional but nice addition if you’d like is to add about 2 T Wakame salad—coarse chop – available at Monahan’s

Roast Macadamia nuts at 300 degrees for 5 to 8 min. Until golden brown.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, gently stir in tuna and refrigerate for about 1/2 hour. Serve as is or on romaine leaves or in lettuce cups.

Alice Fukushima says the new craze at their store is Ahi Poke on top of sticky rice on a Nori sheet.

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Wild Striped Bass Ceviche

Friday, July 1st, 2011 | posted by wendy

You can substitute red snapper, halibut, or firm fleshed sushi grade fish in this recipe if you aren’t able to get wild striped bass.

1 lb. super fresh wild striped bass fillet—skinned and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Juice of 10 fresh limes
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 a red onion, finely chopped
1 large or 2 small jalepeno peppers fine chop
2 T red pepper fine chop
2 T green pepper fine chop
2 T orange of yellow pepper fine chop
1 bunch cilantro chopped (stems removed)
2 medium tomatoes (in season) or cherry tomatoes halved
2 T olive oil
2 T pickled ginger (gari) fine chop
2 ripe avocados cut into 1/4 inch cubes (save a few pieces for garnish)
2 slices lime (for garnish)
Tortilla chips

In a glass bowl, combine citrus juices (enough to submerge fish) add fish and cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours.

Pour off most of citrus juice (leave enough for a light sauce). Gently stir in rest of ingredients. Serve in small bowls or martini glasses and garnish with extra avocado cubes and lime slices. Serve with tortilla chips

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