Grilled Sardines - Sardinhas Assadas

Yesterday, for very first time, I prepared grilled sardines.

They were absolutely irresistable and what a revelation it was! I have worked with many Portuguese guys back In Toronto and they were talking about grilling sardines on barbecue every summer weekend. For some reason I was never tempted to give it a try. Too bad that I didn’t try it back in Toronto because during summer months one fish market where we used to shop had fresh sardines flown in from Portugal every Friday and they were sold out within hours. Now I know why.  Is this meal ever simple and good and when I say that it is simple, I mean that it is simple to prepare as well as cook. All you need is about 4 large sardines per person (scaled and cleaned), coarse sea salt, black pepper, caramelized onions (optional), lemon, olive oil and nice crusty Portuguese or Italian buns. As for cleaning the sardines, watch the video from YouTube, it is very detailed.

Needless to say, I bought another bag of frozen Portuguese sardines and when the weather is decent enough I will be grilling again.

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Makizushi

What will I do with all the salmon I bought plus extra sushi rice and other sushi roll ingredients I always have on hand? I think that the decision was made for me, as usual. This time I wanted to add pickled ginger to the roll and in the process I forgot to use Tobiko or Flying Fish Roe. They give the sushi such a nice crunch. Oh, well, next roll. Pieces of Makizushi with a soy sauce in a bowl and some pickled ginger on side is such a nice snack!

Here is my process I did today (it will not be the same next time):

Tuna and Salmon Sashimi

Yesterday morning we went to Zehrs to get some salmon portions that were on special. As I was talking to fish counter manager I asked what the tuna looks like. To my delight they have just received it but she didn’t open the box yet. When she showed me I was so delighted! The freshest looking and smelling tuna I have seen since moving out of Toronto 6 years ago! So, I bought a nice chunk and the meal for a day was decided.

All I had to do is to steam some rice, make a wasabi, get gari, slice cucumber, cut the fish, heat up sake and serve. It was the best we had in years. It is nice to know that I can get high quality tuna in this town!

Nice dining experience.

Pacific Cod Tempura

I know, it looks just like ordinary fried fish with potatoes and Tartar sauce, which it is but, since I used Panko instead of some sore bought regular stale bread crumbs, I have decided to call it Tempura. I call it tempura despite the fact that I did use the regular 3 layer method of seasoning with flour (flour, salt, chili powder, white pepper), egg wash and Panko and fried in 350 °F oil till golden brown on all sides. It wasn’t oily at all and as you can see on the picture, very, very crispy. I have served it with Tartar sauce made from scratch with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Wasabi and chopped capers, gherkins and pinch of sugar. On side I had boiled potatoes with caraway seeds.

Salted Cod with Potatoes, Tomatoes and Olives.

Patate e Baccalà

This is another comfort food. Again, this is not a dish you decide on in the afternoon for that night’s super. Salted cod takes time to soak and remove most of the salt. First day change water every 4 hours or so and next day after 36 hour soak rinse under running water and boil for 20 minutes. Rinse again, then remove all traces of bones and skin. Some bones will be very short. Regardless of how careful I was in removing the bones and then double checking I have always found 1 or 2 on my plate. This is very tasty meal and worth the extra effort.

Ingredients:

1 medium-large onion, thinly sliced

1 large clove garlic, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound salt cod, weighed after it has soaked for 36 hours, and cut into
1/2-inch thick slices

3/4 pound red potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

2 canned peeled plum tomatoes, with their interior juices

12 black olives, pitted and halved

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 cup white wine

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

§    Preheat oven to 350 °F.

§    In a 10-inch Dutch oven or stove-top proof ceramic baker, sauté the onion and the garlic in the olive oil until the onion is golden, about 10 minutes. Remove and reserve about half the onion and garlic mixture.

§    Place layer of salt cod over the onions remaining in the pan, then arrange sliced potato in a ring with potato slices overlapping. Spread around the reserved onion mixture in centre. Cut or crush the tomatoes directly into the pan and spread them in centre. Spread the olives over tomatoes and pour the wine over all, then drizzle with the additional tablespoon of olive oil.

§    Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat, then place on middle rack in oven and bake for 45 minutes.

§    Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes, during which time the potatoes will become softer, absorbing some of the juices; the juices left in the pan, although reduced in volume, will become a rosy colored sauce. For maximum visual effect, bring the pan to the table undisturbed and serve, hot or warm, directly from the pan.

SERVES 4 TO 6

Loosely based on Sicilian classic.

Pacific Cod with Rice

With Christmas and New Year behind us it is time to start cooking and eating light. Fish and rice fit the bill very nicely. All I did was steamed the rice in a rice cooker, sautéed the cod in a teaspoon of butter and tablespoon of olive oil. At same time in another frying pan I quickly sautéed julienned red pepper and zucchini and sliced sweet onion. The cod and veggies were done at the same time, about 5 – 7 minutes. I served thinly sliced cucumber in honey and rice vinegar dressing on side. Definitely goes on a repeat list.

Ocean Smelts Tempura

While shopping at Zehrs yesterday morning I passed by fish counter and Ocean Smelts caught my eyes. Suddenly I had craving for Tempura. We never eat fried food but light tempura is exception. Since I wanted super crunchy coating I opted for additional coating in Panko. Here is my version of tempura:

Heat oil in heavy Dutch oven to 350 °C.

Batter:

1 large egg

1 cup beer

¾ cup flour

3 T. corn starch

2 t. baking powder

1 t. sea salt

Hot sauce to taste

Panko bread crumbs

In a bowl beat the egg, add beer, salt and hot sauce and mix.

In bowl mix flour, corn starch and baking powder. Put flour mix into egg & beer mix and mix. Do not over mix, leave some lumps.

Dip cleaned smelts into batter, shake excess batter off and drop into bowl with Panko. Toss till evenly coated, remove to wire rack and repeat till all smelts are ready for fryer. When oil reaches 350 °C drop smelts in and move them around so that they don’t stick to each other. In about 3 – 4 minutes they should be nicely golden and crispy. Remove to rack lined with few layers of paper towel. Place on serving platter and serve with wasabi mayonnaise sauce.

Wasabi Mayonnaise Sauce:

2t. wasabi paste

1/3 cup mayonnaise

Mix wasabi paste and mayonnaise until well combined.

Note:

Every recipe dealing with tempura recommends to make batter in small batches and ice cold. I made my in one large bowl about 1-1/2 hour ahead, coated the smelt and placed in fridge on a wire rack. They came out perfectly crisp and they were not oily at all. I lost only less then 1 teaspoon of oil frying 12 large smelts. Go figure. I guess some old rules can be broken after all.

Second batch waiting for fryer. These smelts were sitting in fridge for 90 minutes, all coated, before hitting the oil.

Light and crispy.