Smokey Swordfish Salad

The weather is getting hot and it is time for some cool dishes. One of the thing I really love in hot weather are fresh fish salads. You may have used my Salad Nicoise Recipe, or my Seared Salmon Salad Recipe. This dish however is different in that it is a bit more sultry in flavor because I use pesto as one of the main ingredients in the flavoring. I also use grilled swordfish and potatoes , which give the dish a delicious smokey taste. I also incorporate lots of greens into the salad, which makes it light and healthy.

The other great thing about this salad is that is made from leftovers. When I grill fish on the weekend I always have leftovers. This dish provides me with at least two lunches early in the week, when I need it most.

Ingredients:

• One medium size grilled or baked potato. Can be omitted if you want to go low carb.
  
• 3 oz of pesto. I will show you how to make it when my basil grows in.
• 1 tbs dijon mustard.
• 1 tbs mayonnaise.
  
• 2 Limes.
• 1 tbs fresh chopped garlic
• 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
  
• 1 tsp Hungarian paprika
  
• 1 carrot, shredded.
• 2 scallions, sliced.
• 1-2 stalks of celery, chopped.
• 1/2 Lb grilled swordfish. You may substitute salmon, arctic char, shark, or any full bodied fish.
• Salt to taste (about 1/4 tsp)

Serves: 4 people.

Directions:

Grilling:

1. Wash the fish in cold water and pat dry.
2. Salt the fish, coat with garlic, sprinkle with paprika.
3. Brush the fish with olive oil and set aside until it comes to room temperature.
   
4. Wash the potato and place on the warming rack of your grill, if your grill does not have a warming rack, put the potato off to the side in a cooler spot. I used the Stone Pony, my stone oven to bake it, but any covered grill will do.
   
5. Bake for about 1 hour. To speed up cooking, you can insert a metal skewer into the potato to help it cook faster.
6. Just before cooking the fish, turn the heat up on your grill.
7. Cook the fish about 5 minutes on each side. If the fish is thicker than 2 inches (5 cm) add 2 minutes to each side.
8. To judge if the fish is cooked, pierce with a fork. The fork go in without resistance and come out easily.
9. Take the the fish out and immediately squeeze half a lime onto it.

Salad:

1. In a mixing bowl, break up the fish with a fork and squeeze the rest of the lime onto it and add a shake of salt.
2. Add the pesto, dijon mustard, and mayonnaise. Mix thoroughly.
3. Cube and peel the potato. Mix in with the fish.
4. Add the carrots, scallions and celery. Mix thoroughly.
5. Drizzle a little olive oil over the mixture.
6. If you are not serving right away, store in the refrigerator.
   

Serving Suggestions:

My favorite way to eat this dish is a sandwich on toasted French bread with tomato and white cheddar cheese. This is how you see it pictured at the head of this article.

Alternatively, you may want to try a lower carb version. Roll up the salad with some tomato in a leaf of Romain lettuce. If you want to go low carb, you may also omit the potato.

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Copyright © 2007, 2008 Lizabetti.com, All Rights Reserved

Quick and Delicious Lasagna with a Hearty Healthy Bolognese Sauce

This has been a staple at our house for more years than I care to admit. When I originally started making our lasagna, I would enhance the jar sauces with ground beef and herbs. As the recipe has evolved, I now make it with my own Bolognese sauce which is very healthy since it contains either ground turkey or chicken. For a vegetatian version I use my Vegetarian Marinara sauce. I use part-skim mozzarella and a bit of Parmesan for the cheeses. The lasagna noodles I now use are whole wheat or a blend.

The hardest part of the entire process is letting the lasagna sit and cool for about 15 minutes, the whole family just wants to attack it!

Ingredients

• 10 pieces of lasagna noodles
• 1.5 lbs of part-skim mozarella cheese
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
• 8 cups of Bolognese sauce or vegetarian marinara
  

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Warm the Bolognese sauce on low. It doesn't have to hot, just warm.
3. Boil noodles as instructed on the box. I like the noodles al dente, so I cook the noodles about 2 minutes less than stated on the box. I like to cook the noodles prior to building the lasagna because I think you have a little more control as to how moist the lasagna will be.
4. While the noodles are cooking, grate the mozzarella cheese.
5. When the noodles are done, drain and lay them flat on a cookie sheet. This really makes building a lot easier.
6. The layering process, always starts with the sauce which helps to ensure that the noodles won't stick to the pan.
7. Coat the pan with a thin layer of sauce and lay 3 pieces of the lasagna noodles. Cover the noodles with sauce so that they are evenly coated.
8. Spread a layer of mozzarella cheese.
9. Repeat the process of layering so that you have 3 layers of noodles, sauce and cheese.
10. Spread the Parmesan cheese over the mozzarella.
11. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is a nice brown. If the sauce is already bubbling, but the cheese is not quite a golden brown, I broil the dish for about 5 minutes or until the cheese browns. Just be very careful and watch the lasagna closely because you can easily over do it you don't keep an eye on it.
12. Let the lasagna stand and cool for about 15 minutes and it will be ready to serve.

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Copyright © 2007, 2008 Lizabetti.com, All Rights Reserved

Quick and Tasty Spicy Hot and Sour Soup

This is one of my favorite Chinese soups. There are many variations to this soup. We like ours on the spicy and sour side. We like the combination of these ingredients because it really reminds us of the soup we used to order at a local Chinese restaurant. The restaurant has long closed. So we set out to recreate the flavor and texture of our favorite Chinese soup and I think that we captured the essence of the soup. All of the ingredients are sure be available at your local Asian market and many might be available at your local supermarket.

You can also make this soup totally vegetarian, I will point out how to make it vegetarian as I go.

I always judge a Chinese restaurant based on its Hot and Sour Soup. If the soup is good, the rest of the meal is usually a real treat. The Szechuan restaurant where we used to have this soup also had outstanding Gong Pao Chicken, Szechuan Spicy Shrimp and Vegetarian Delight. I promise to make and publish all of those dishes too and you can have your own Chinese feast.

When we made the soup at home I ended up eating enough to make a meal out of it. I was also surprised to find that it microwaved just fine the next day for lunch. I took a little vinegar/sesame oil mixture and some fresh scallions to wake up the flavor after reheating. It made a great workday lunch. Satisfying, yet not too heavy.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of chicken broth, substitute a vegetable broth for the vegetarian version.
• 1 tbsp of garlic chili paste (use more if you like it really spicy)
• 1/4 cup of rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup of white wine or rice wine
• 1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce
• 2 tsp of minced ginger root
• 3-4 minced green onions
• 1/4 cup of chopped dried wood ears
• 1/4 cup of day lilly buds (found in most Asian stores in with the dried mushrooms and wood ears)
• 1/2 cup of dried black mushrooms, increase for vegetarian version.
• 1/2 cup of chopped bamboo shoots
• 6 oz of firm tofu, increase to 10 oz for the vegetarian version.
• 6 oz of lean pork, omit for vegetarian version.
• 2 tsp of soy sauce
• 1 tsp of sesame oil
• 2 tbsp of cornstarch or tapioca starch
• 1 egg (optional)

Instructions:

1. For the vegetarian version skip steps 2, 3, and 13. I know it's obvious, but just want to be clear.
2. Chop the pork into long thin strips about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Marinade the pork in the 2 teaspoon of soy and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Set aside.
4. Rinse the mushrooms, wood ears and lilly buds under cold water.
5. Heat the chicken broth on low and keep it on a low simmer. Using about 1 cup of the warm broth, soak the wood ears and mushrooms together. If they soak up all the liquid, just add a little more broth.
6. Using about 1/2 cup of the warm broth, soak the lilly buds. Add a little more broth if necessary.
7. Cut the tofu into strips about 1/4 inch thick.
8. To prepare the flavoring, combine the vinegar, wine, sesame oil, chili paste, soy sauce and the minced ginger together.
9. When the mushrooms are soft drain them and the wood ears. Reserve the liquid.
10. Drain the lilly buds and reserve the liquid.
11. Cut the mushrooms into thin strips.
12. Turn the heat up and when the broth begins to simmer again, add the flavoring. Mix thoroughly in.
13. Wait until the flavored broth starts to simmer again, carefully add the pork and mix it into the broth.
14. Let the meat cook for about 5 minutes.
15. Once the broth starts to simmer again, add the mushrooms and wood ears.
16. Add the lilly buds and the bamboo shoots. Allow the broth to come back up to a simmer.
17. Add the tofu and continue to simmer the soup.
18. Add the reserved liquid from the lilly buds.
19. To the reserved liquid of the mushrooms add the cornstarch and thoroughly wisk into the liquid.
20. Add to the soup and thoroughly mix it in.
21. Continue to simmer for about 30 minutes this will allow for all the different flavors to blend together and soak into the goodies.
22. This is totally optional, whisk the egg with about one teaspoon of water and slowly swirl the mixture into the soup. Gently mix the egg into the soup. I haven't added the egg to my soup for quite sometime and I find that I don't really miss it.
23. Add 1/2 of the minced green onion and stir it into the soup.
24. Plate the soup and garnish the top with a handful of minced green onion.
25. For a totally vegetarian version of the soup, just increase the amount of tofu and dried mushrooms, and of course omit the pork.

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Copyright © 2007, 2008 Lizabetti.com, All Rights Reserved