Tilapia with Peach Salsa

My mission this month: to cook with as much local produce as I can.

After picking up peaches at a farm stand, I searched the web for new recipes. I have lots of peach dessert recipes but my belly doesn’t need that kind of temptation. I found this recipe in a slide show on Food & Wine’s site. I’m not a fan of this increasingly common website feature – slide shows – because I want to skip through them more quickly than the pages usually load. But, this time my tested patience had its reward.

The original recipe used chicken, but I wanted fish for dinner. After a review of likely candidates at the fish counter, I decided on tilapia. I added a few ingredients to Food & Wine’s salsa recipe – red bell pepper and red onion. I substituted panko for regular bread crumbs because I like panko’s heftier crunch. I also added an egg to the dredging process so the coating would adhere well.

The recipe was a big hit, even with the guy who’s not a fan of fruit on his dinner plate. He’s learning. I served the tilapia with summer squash “pasta” – another surprising hit, I’ll share that recipe later this week. Parmesan and Lemon Roasted Broccoli completed our plate — an old stand-by for a night with two new recipes.

I love the idea of fruit salsas with fish. Maybe a plum salsa next time? Know any good recipes? I’d also love to find a fruit salsa that’s bold enough for wild salmon. Any ideas?

Tilapia with Peach Salsa

You’ll need a bowl for the salsa, two shallow bowls for dredging (or one bowl and one plate), large frying pan, and a paper towel-lined plate.

• 2 large peaches, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/3-inch dice
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 tilapia fillets
• 2-4 tablespoons peanut or canola oil, for frying

In a bowl, combine the peaches, jalapeño, red bell pepper, red onion, lime juice, and sugar.

Put egg in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl or plate, toss together the flour, bread crumbs, cornmeal, salt, thyme, and cayenne. Dredge fish in the egg. Let the excess egg drip off and then dredge both sides of the fish in the bread crumb mixture, patting it with crumbs so it’s thoroughly coated.

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet. Add the fish and cook over medium-high heat until golden on the bottom, about 2 minutes for tilapia (adjust for thicker fillets). Turn the fillets and cook, turning occasionally, until the pieces are golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes for tilapia. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve with the peach salsa.

Original recipe: Chicken with Peach-Jalapeño Salsa, Food & Wine

 

 

Cod with Pistachio-Crumb Coating

The last time I served this pistachio-crumb cod for dinner, Jim said, “You really have a thing for cod, don’t you?” Guilty.

I bought two large fillets of cod since it was on sale. One was enough for dinner for the two of us. The other fillet would be my lunch for several days – small pieces of cod with lettuce, in between sandwich thins, with a bit of cheese, maybe with some mayonnaise too. My version of McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish. I’d eat that for breakfast. And I have. Yup, I have a thing for cod.

You don’t have to use pistachios for this recipe, although you’d miss out on the flecks of pretty green in the coating. You could substitute walnuts or pecans. And if cod isn’t available, any hearty fish, like salmon, halibut, snapper, or even the ubiquitous tilapia would work.

Cod with Pistachio-Crumb Coating

You’ll need a baking sheet and shallow bowl.

• 1/2 cup shelled pistachios
• 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cod fillets (4 to 6 oz. each)
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or Dijon mustard)

Heat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with greased (or sprayed) foil.

Chop the pistachios into medium-fine pieces. Combine the nuts, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss with a fork until the crumbs are evenly moistened.

If using fillets with tapered ends, loosely fold the ends under to create a fillet of even thickness. Spread the top of each fillet evenly with the mayo. Press the mayo-coated side of each fillet into the crumb mixture to generously coat the fish. Set the fillets, coating side up, on the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the fillets to form a thick coating.

Bake the fillets until the topping is crisp and browned and the fish is opague and cooked through, flakes easily separated , 10 to 12 min., depending on thickness.

Original recipe: Pistachio Crusted Cod Fillets, Fine Cooking, March 2002

Brazilian Fish Stew

This certainly isn’t an authentic moqueca, but it’s good enough. Better than good enough, it’s delicious. This could be a 30 minute meal if not for the 3 hours of marination. I suppose you could skip that step if you don’t have time, maybe I will some day to see if I will love this stew any less.

The original recipe on Leite’s Culinaria calls for dendê oil – a reddish/orange Brazilian palm oil. You can probably find it in a Latin American market, but I didn’t bother looking. I used olive oil instead. I added hot pepper and sweet potato (instead of hearts of palm) and paprika to the mix, and used canned tomatoes instead of plum tomatoes. I thought sweet potato would work well with the rest of the flavors and I was right. I can’t even remember what hearts of palm taste like but I wasn’t going to spend nearly $4 for a can of them.

I ignored the instructions in the original recipe to bake the fish first in its marinade with lemon juice — why dirty another dish – and just cooked the fish in the stew. I didn’t care if the fish broke apart while cooking. Watch your fish so you don’t overcook it to the point of mushiness.

If you like cod but this moqueca recipe doesn’t rock your world, try this one – Baked Cod with Andouille and White Beans. I made it again on Thursday night and boy oh boy it is good.

Brazilian Fish Stew – Moqueca

You’ll need a small bowl, resealable plastic bag for marinating, shallow bowl, and a Dutch oven or large deep pan with a lid.

• 1 scallion (white and green parts), chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1-1/2” piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or dendê oil, if you can find it)
• 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1-1/4 pounds of any meaty white fish, cut into 2” chunks (I used cod. You could also use swordfish, striped bass, halibut, tilapia, grouper, red snapper or shrimp.)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or dendê oil, if you can find it)
• 1/2 cup freshly chopped green bell pepper
• 1/3 cup freshly chopped orange, yellow or red bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper, minced
• 1 sweet potato, boiled until just tender, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups fish stock (you can substitute clam juice, low-sodium chicken broth, or equal amounts of both – that’s what I did)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 can diced tomatoes

In a bowl, mix together half the scallion, half the onion, half the ginger, and half the garlic. Add 4 tablespoons of oil and half the cilantro. Place the chunks of fish in a resealable plastic bag and add the marinade, pressing the bag to evenly coat the fish. Remove the air from the bag and seal it. Place the bag in a shallow bowl, making sure the fish pieces are completely covered by the marinade, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Take the fish out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 350. Place the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the remaining scallion and onion along with the green and orange bell peppers, and cook until softened, about 3 minutes.

Add the hot pepper and the remaining ginger and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring to combine, for another minute. Add the sweet potatoes and fish stock and let it come to a full boil. Add the coconut milk and tomato paste and return to a boil. Immediately lower the heat to medium-low and simmer the sauce.

Add the fish, marinade and lemon juice to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to low, and cook just until the fish is soft and tender, 10 to 15 minutes, depending on your fish.

Uncover the pan, add the paprika and tomatoes, and let them heat for a minute or two. Taste the stew, if needed, season it with additional salt and pepper, and sprinkle with the remaining fresh cilantro. Serve it plain or over rice.

Original recipe: Brazilian Fish Stew, Leite’s Culinaria

Salmon with Citrus Pesto

Last weekend I added basil to my herb “garden” on the deck, as well as sage, dill and thyme. Last year’s rosemary, oregano, mint and lemon thyme survived the mild winter and already have new growth. I’m still on the hunt for tarragon. My local Lowe’s and Ace Hardware didn’t have any. I’ll probably have to visit the State Farmers Market for that.

Luckily I still have 2011 pesto in the freezer, so I made this delicious Giada recipe using salmon instead of swordfish. I never thought of adding citrus to my pesto – it’s amazingly good!

I included two variations of the recipe in case you have to make pesto from scratch. Since I already had pesto, all I had to do was thaw it out and add the lemon and orange zest and juice to it. I also added Parmesan cheese since I don’t include cheese in my pesto before freezing it.

It’s worth growing a few basil plants so you can always grab a few leaves for whatever you’re cooking (or for your salad) or make your own pesto. Just keep trimming off the growth so they don’t start flowering. Once they start flowering, the leaves become more bitter. My father’s green thumb doesn’t extend to me – my brother got that gene – so if I can grow basil, you can grow basil.

Yeah, we really piled on the pesto.

I served the salmon with my favorite Broccoli Rabe with Onions and Sun-Dried Tomatoes and a brown/wild rice mix.

Salmon with Citrus Pesto

You’ll need a food processor (if you’re making pesto from scratch), small bowl, and a skillet or grill pan.

Pesto from scratch ingredients:

•  2 cups of fresh basil leaves — I usually fill up the processor with leaves.
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts, toasted
• 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1/2 cup olive oil — eyeball in batches
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Pesto on hand ingredients:

• 1/2 cup prepared pesto
• 1/2 lemon, zested and juiced – some of the juice, probably won’t need it all
• 1/2 orange, zested and juiced – some of the juice, probably won’t need it all
• Optional: 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (because my pesto didn’t have any cheese in it, I had to add cheese, you probably won’t)

Additional ingredients:

• 2 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blend the basil, nuts, garlic, salt, zests and juices in a food processor until the mixture is finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the Parmesan.

Place a grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Brush both sides of the fish fillets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook the fish about 3 to 4 minutes on each side for a 1-inch thick fillet.

Transfer the fish to serving plates, top with the citrus pesto, and serve.

Original recipe: Swordfish with Citrus Pesto, Giada de Laurentiis, Food Network

Flounder with Spiced Breadcrumb Topping

When I saw a recipe on The Communal Skillet blog for broiled flounder that only took 15 minutes to prep and cook, I knew what was for dinner that night. Then I saw mayonnaise in the ingredients.

Jim hates mayonnaise. I mean hate. He put a skull and crossbones on the mayonnaise jar in the refrigerator. But when I reviewed the recipe, it said the mayonnaise would transform during broiling to a golden glaze. Hmm, he’d never know it was there and I could have my 15-minute flounder.

Or would he know? What if he got suspicious about that glaze? I’m not out to deceive him, I just want quick fish, and I was intrigued by the mayonnaise. What if I added some type of topping to absorb the mayonnaise?

I searched online for other recipes using mayonnaise on broiled fish. I found a good-looking one on Epicurious with an onion, green bell pepper and breadcrumb topping. I took ingredients from both recipes, added a little parmesan, et voilà, dinner.

The flounder was delicious. I served it with spinach sautéed with garlic and hot pepper, and sweet potatoes with caramelized onions. Could you make it without mayo? I supposed, but the mayo helps the topping adhere to the fish and a little of it goes a long way.

Flounder with Spiced Breadcrumb Topping

You’ll need a skillet, baking pan large enough for fish and pastry brush.

• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon parmesan
• Salt and pepper
• Paprika
• Ground cayenne pepper
• Cooking spray
• 4 flounder fillets
• 2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise, use just enough for a thin coat

In a skillet, cook the onion, bell pepper and garlic in oil over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened. Stir in the bread crumbs and parmesan. Add salt, pepper, cayenne and paprika according to your taste.
Preheat oven to 400. Coat a pan with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange fillets on the pan and coat evenly with mayonnaise using a pastry brush. Pat the bread crumb mixture onto each fillet.

Place under the broiler about 6 inches from the heat and bake or broil 6-8 minutes, or until the fish is opaque and the mayonnaise transforms to a golden glaze, although you may not be able to see the actual transformation, bummer, I know. Tent with foil if the topping browns too much before the fish is cooked.

Original recipes:

• Broiled Flounder, The Communal Skillet
• Broiled Flounder with Bread Crumb Topping, Epicurious

Yankee Cod Cakes with Red Pepper and Tarragon Remoulade

Friday is a good day for cod, especially for those of you observing Lent and eating only fish on Fridays. Me, I prefer pizza or pasta on Fridays, but usually eat leftovers instead.

Yes, this is the second cod recipe this week. I’m definitely true to my Massachusetts heritage with my loyalty to cod, the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts: fish and chips, baked cod, stuffed cod, scrod, Cape Cod, Cape Codders, I love them all.

If you’re tired of eating fish in fillet form, give fish cakes a try. You might even inspire the fish-averse crowd to indulge. I found this recipe on The Perfect Pantry blog. Lydia’s a Rhode Islander so she gets the whole cod thing, and her blog always has interesting (and I mean that in the good way) recipes. She adapted this one from a salmon cake recipe she found in Yankee magazine, so I gave the Yankee moniker to her recipe.

I made these cod cakes for a main course with roasted parmesan broccoli and brown and wild rice on the side. I love the idea of using Greek yogurt for the remoulade. If you’re pressed for time, you could just use tartar sauce or mix together some mayonnaise and relish, but the remoulade is so much better. You can see how the remoulade looks on The Perfect Pantry blog, I was too distracted by dinner to take a photo.

Yankee Cod Cakes with Red Pepper and Tarragon Remoulade

You’ll need a large skillet, food processor, shallow bowl for dredging, wire rack, small bowl and a paper towel-lined plate.

For the cod cakes:

• 1/2 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon diced onion
• 1 tablespoon diced celery
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1 cups dry plain bread crumbs, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce
• Dash of hot sauce
• 3/4 pound cod, skin removed, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons cup finely diced red bell pepper
• Canola oil for frying

 For the remoulade:

• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon capers, chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
• 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• 1/4 large roasted red bell pepper (fresh or from a jar), minced

Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon of oil, the chopped onion, celery and garlic, and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until the onions are translucent. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

To the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, add the cooled onion mixture, 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, parsley, tarragon, mustard, salt, Worcestershire, hot sauce, cod, and bell pepper; pulse 5-6 times to chop the fish and incorporate the ingredients. Form the mixture into 5 large patties.

Place the remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumbs in a bowl, and gently turn each cod cake in the crumbs to coat. Set the patties on a wire rack and let dry 15-20 minutes.

While the cod cakes are drying, combine all of the remoulade ingredients in a bowl. Stir together and refrigerate until ready to use.

In a skillet, heat 1/4 inch of canola oil over medium-high heat. Carefully add cod cakes, not too close together and in batches if necessary, and fry until browned and crisp, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel. Serve warm, with remoulade sauce.

Original recipe: Cod Cakes with Red Pepper, Tarragon and Yogurt Remoulade, The Perfect Pantry

Cod with Olive and Sundried Tomato Crust

Whenever I see Jacques Pépin on TV, I get a warm feeling inside. He is such a good teacher, a gifted chef, and a damn good artist too – find some of his handwritten menus to see what I mean.

I’ve watched him for so many years that I can sometimes hear his voice when I’m cooking. What I especially love about him is that he cooks for the home cook. His meals are simple and fast, but oh so good, and healthy too.

Here’s a recipe from one of his PBS series, More Fast Food My Way. This is a perfect meal when you have no time. Get the topping going in your food processor. Or chop the dickens out of it if you don’t want to pull out the processor. Spread it on the fish. Pop it in the oven or broiler, et voilà!

Jacques says, “If your fillets are about 1 inch thick, they will need 5 to 6 minutes under the broiler. Adjust the timing if your fillets are thinner or thicker.” Sorry Jacques, I know the fish will continue to cook after it’s removed from the oven, but I tend to cook it longer than you’d like. Except with salmon, I don’t mind that a bit underdone, so I stick to the cooking rules then.

I always end up with more topping than I need, but I pile it all on anyways. This dish is full of bold flavor, so it’s not for those with bland tastes. Happy cooking!

Cod with Olive and Sundried Tomato Crust

You’ll need a food processor (or blender or a good sharp knife) and a foil-lined baking pan.

• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (if oil-packed, drain them first)
• 1/4 cup pitted black olives, I like Kalamata
• 1 tablespoon chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 2 cod fillets, about 6 oz each, or you could use any meaty fish, like halibut or mahi mahi
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the broiler and line a baking sheet with foil. Put tomatoes, olives, green onions, Parmesan, rosemary, thyme and garlic in a food processor. Process until you have a rough purée that holds together.

Rub the fillets with the 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Cover the fillets with the tomato-olive mixture and slide them under the broiler, so the fish is about 4 inches from the heat source. Broil for about 5 minutes, until the fillets are just tender. Jacques cooks them until they are still slightly undercooked inside since they will continue to cook once you remove them from the oven. You do whatever you like.

Original recipe: Cod in Olive-Tomato Crust, Jacques Pépin, More Fast Food My Way

 

Baked Cod, Sausage and White Beans

Fish and sausage?! Does that sound weird to you?

If you’re Portuguese, you’re saying, oh no, not weird at all. The Portuguese are longtime masters of mixing seafood and pork. One of the most famous examples is Porco com Amêijoas à Alentejana, or Alentejo-Style Pork with Clams. That’s going on my “recipes to try” Pinterest board. Another popular dish, Amêijoas na Cataplana, is made with clams and sausage. It’s cooked in a cataplana, a pot with a hinged lid that is sealed with a clamp during cooking, and looks a bit like a clam shell

I found this recipe on the Eating Well website. The original recipe calls for 1-1/4 pounds of cod and only 2 ounces of chorizo. I didn’t want that much cod because I was only making dinner for two. Even though I used less cod, I kept all the other ingredient the same,  and increased the sausage. The original recipe calls for chorizo which would have been great, but my market didn’t have any, so I used andouille instead. The andouille’s spiciness was perfect for this recipe. If you’re in Portuguese-American country (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, California), linguica would also be fantastic.

For sides, I roasted asparagus with some garlic and then tossed it with lemon juice and zest once it was done. I also parboiled cubes of sweet potato and then sautéed them with onions and smoked paprika. I softened the onions before adding the sweet potatoes to the pan.

Holy moly, everything was so good. I will make this dish again and again. I may go lighter on the sausage to make it healthier, or try to find a chicken sausage with that same type of heat and flavor. You can tell from the photo that my dish was quite liquidy. That was a surprise because it wasn’t that liquidy when it went into the oven. Maybe I didn’t need those extra tablespoons of wine.

I highly recommend this one!

Baked Cod, Sausage and White Beans

You’ll need a medium saucepan, baking dish large enough for your fish fillets and deep enough for sauce on top, and foil.

• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 5 ounces andouille (2 sausages) or chorizo, diced
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup dry white wine, divided
• 1 15-ounce can great northern or cannellini beans, rinsed
• Salt, to taste
• 3/4 pounds Pacific cod, cut into 2 pieces
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot, sausage and thyme and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and 1/4 cup wine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are broken down and the wine is almost evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in beans and salt, to taste, and remove from the heat.

Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper, and place it in the prepared baking dish. Top each piece of fish with equal amounts of the tomato mixture. Pour the remaining 1/4 cup wine (or less, if you wish, I only put in a few tablespoons) into the pan and cover the pan with foil.

Bake until the fish is just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve the fish with the sauce spooned over the top.

Original recipe: Baked Cod with Chorizo & White Beans, Eating Well

Smoked Paprika Orange Salmon with Wilted Spinach

Have you had luck with the recipes you see in advertisements? I have many clipped ad recipes stored away in files, but I don’t recall ever making one until now.

I made this recipe twice in the last few months. The first time I made it I knew it was blog worthy, but I didn’t have a source for the recipe. How odd, I’m usually diligent about giving credit to my recipe sources and inspirations. I finally had time to search for the original recipe name on Google and was led to McCormick website. I must have found it in an advertisement in one of my cooking magazines. Did I use any McCormick spices in this recipe? Why yes, I did, my thyme and cinnamon are from McCormick. But no, I did not receive any compensation for this post. As if.

This is an easy and quick (outside of marination time) recipe to make for dinner. I love the spice rub. I changed it a bit from the original. The smoked paprika is not overwhelming. The orange comes through with a hint of cinnamon. There’s just enough, but not too much, sweetness.

Don’t forget to leave enough time for a 30-minute marinade. It’s so frustrating to get ready to cook only to realize you need to marinate first. Aargh.

Spicy Orange Salmon with Wilted Spinach

You’ll need a baking dish, small bowl and a large skillet.

• 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, divided
• 2 large salmon fillets (could be anywhere from 1 to 1-1/2 pounds)
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Cooking spray or olive oil
• Baby spinach – use as much as you want, up to a full bag (10 oz), remember it will reduce considerably while cooking
  

Mix orange juice, oil and 1/2 teaspoon of the thyme in a baking dish big enough for the salmon fillets. Add salmon and coat both sides with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400. Mix brown sugar, smoked paprika, cinnamon, orange peel, remaining teaspoon thyme and salt in a small bowl. Remove salmon from marinade. Discard any remaining marinade. Clean dish. Spray the dish with cooking spray or brush it with olive oil. Place the salmon back in the baking dish.

Press the smoked paprika mixture on top of the fillets. Put dish in the oven and roast 10 to 15 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

While salmon is cooking, heat oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add spinach; cook 2 minutes or until wilted. Season. Serve salmon over spinach.

Original recipe: Smoked-Paprika-Roasted-Salmon-with-Wilted-Spinach, McCormick advertisement

Sicilian Potato Salad (with a side of Grilled Tuna)

I found this recipe for Mediterranean Grilled Tuna Steaks with Sicilian Style Potato Salad in an old Rachael Ray magazine a few months ago but never got around to making it. Last week I had a surplus of red potatoes and tuna was on sale, so I finally gave it a try.

Expecting the tuna to be the star on the plate, I didn’t give much thought to the potato salad. How exciting could potato salad be? How wrong I was.

I love this recipe and will make it again. With ham. And again. With salami. The next time I bring a potato salad anywhere, this is the one I take. Sorry, Southwestern Potato Salad, you’re delicious and different, but step aside.

Like the Southwestern and Potatoes with Herbs, Spinach & Lemon, this potato salad isn’t mayonnaise-based. Hooray. It’s full of bold flavors. I added yellow and red bell pepper to the original recipe because, yes, you guessed it, I had a few in the frig – one of my discount produce rack finds. While eating the salad, I had a brilliant idea: next time, add prosciutto, salami or some other type of ham, oh yes.

The original recipe calls for sun-dried tomatoes in oil. I only had plain sun-dried tomatoes and they worked fine. I couldn’t find anchovy paste in my local market so I smooshed up regular anchovies instead.

You don’t have to stick to the ingredient amounts here. Red onions, peppers and celery ribs vary in size, so use the amounts that look right to you. My celery ribs were huge so I only used two, compared to Rachael’s three. I added the amount of bell pepper that looked right for the amount of potatoes and onion; I think it was about half a yellow and half a red bell pepper.

And what about the tuna? It was really good too. It’s hard to go wrong with lemon and rosemary. I let the tuna sit with its rub while I made the potato salad so that probably helped to deepen the flavor.

Photo by Tina Rupp at Every Day with Rachael Ray - I'll take a photo the next time I make this.

Sicilian Potato Salad (with a side of Grilled Tuna)

You’ll need a large pot or saucepan with a lid, small bowl, colander and large bowl.

• 2 pounds small red potatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• Salt
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes – if in oil, drain them first
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon – if you’re making the tuna, zest the lemon first, then slice it in half for juicing
  
• 2 teaspoons anchovy paste or 4 smooshed anchovies
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 3/4 to 1 cup yellow and red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup large black or green olives, pitted and chopped
• 3 tablespoons capers
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf or Italian parsley, chopped
•  Option: chopped ham or prosciutto

Place potatoes in the pot and add cold water to cover them. Add salt. Put the lid on the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook the potatoes until just tender, 12 to 15 minutes. While the potatoes are boiling, ladle some of the cooking water over the sun-dried tomatoes in a small bowl. Let the tomatoes soak for 10 minutes; drain and thinly slice.

Drain the potatoes in a colander when they’re done.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, anchovy paste and garlic. Add the potatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, bell peppers, celery, olives, capers and parsley, and toss to combine.

Mediterranean Grilled Tuna Steaks

You’ll need a pan, grill pan or grill.

• Olive oil for drizzling
• Two 6-ounce tuna steaks
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped rosemary
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel – zest the lemon first, then slice it in half for juicing
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat a pan, grill pan or grill to medium-high. Drizzle olive oil over the tuna, sprinkle with the rosemary and lemon peel and season with salt and pepper.

Cook the tuna for 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Serve with the potato salad.

Original recipe: Mediterranean Grilled Tuna Steaks and Sicilian Style Potato Salad, Every Day with Rachael Ray, June/July 2008