Herb and Onion Roasted Whole Red Snapper with Lemon Risotto

Herb and Onion Whole Red Snapper with Lemon Risotto

Clearly, I have been somewhat neglectful in updating this blog.  Between finals wrapping up, the holidays, and moot court, I have been seriously under water.  I have a feeling the posts will remain a bit sparse over the next couple of weeks as we finish up our moot court brief and we get into the groove of a diet change.  Bear with me, and I will (hopefully!) be soon back to posting nearly every day.

This dinner was delicious. The flavors of the herbs, onions, and lemons imparted while the snapper roasted in the oven worked beautifully with the bright, lemon flavor of the creamy risotto we served it with.  The cilantro added an especially fresh element that worked really well with the lemon.

If you are intimidated by a whole fish, don’t be!  It is incredibly easy and almost guarantees moist, succulent flesh.  I have previously posted a step-by-step picture tutorial demonstrating how to prepare a cleaned, gutted, and scaled fish for roasting.  Other than that, all that is required is a little seasoning and a little bit of attention while it roasts to make sure you don’t overcook the fish.  A meat thermometer is your best friend when it comes to fish, especially if you’re dealing with a fish you haven’t cooked before.

This is a particularly good risotto, as well.  The lemon zest and juice adds a lovely, bright, acidity, balanced beautifully with the hint of butter and cream.  The pronounced lemon flavor goes particularly well with the fish, but this would make a great main course on its own or an excellent accompaniment to almost any meat.

Herb and Onion Roasted Whole Red Snapper with Lemon Risotto

Herb and Onion Roasted Whole Red Snapper:

1 1 3/4 pound whole red snapper, gutted with scales and gills removed

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tbs. kosher salt

1 tbs. freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

6-8 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

1 lemon, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 450º.

Season fish all over, including inside the cavity, with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.  Rub the entire fish, including inside the cavity, with olive oil.

In a baking dish large enough to hold the fish, place about one quarter of the onion, cilantro, thyme, and lemon.  Stuff the remaining herbs and most of the onion and lemon into the cavity and gills of the fish.  Lay a few slices of onion and lemon over the top of the fish.

Roast fish for about 30-35 minutes until the flesh is opaque and flakes easily with a fork and the internal temperature of the fish reads 145º.  Serve whole or cut into fillets before serving.

Lemon Risotto:

1 cup arborio rice

1 tbs. olive oil

5-6 cups homemade chicken stock

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

2 lemons, juiced and zested (yield about 1 cup lemon juice and 1 tbs. zest)

1 tbs. unsalted butter

1/4 cup half and half

Bring chicken stock and bay leaf to a boil in a medium stock pot.  Cover and reduce heat to a simmer.

Heat a 10″ cast iron pan over medium-high heat.  Add arborio rice and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium-low.  Add lemon zest and cook until fragrant, thirty seconds to a minute.

Ladle in about 3/4 cup stock.  Stirring frequently, cook until most of the stock has been absorbed by the rice.  Repeat the process in 3/4 to 1 cup batches, stirring frequently, until the rice is tender.  This will take about 35-45 minutes.

With the last bit of chicken stock, add the lemon juice.  Cook, stirring constantly, until mostly absorbed.  Add butter and half and half and stir to combine.  Cook another 1-2 minutes until rice is creamy but not soupy.  Serve immediately.

Ginger-Soy Steamed Whole Black Bass with Red Cabbage Coleslaw

This meal was incredibly simple, delicious, flavorful, and healthy.  The succulent and moist flesh of the fish absorbed the subtle flavors of ginger, soy and lemongrass.  The coleslaw was a lovely mix of bright and fresh ingredients, playing well with the fish.  I served the fish along with the drippings that accumulated at the bottom of the pan for a delicious, subtle-flavored dipping sauce.

Between the fish and the coleslaw, this dish had about fifteen minutes of hands-on time – making it one of the easiest and fastest dinners I can think of.  It’s also absolutely gorgeous – the coleslaw is especially striking when you see it next to the whole fish.

Ginger-Soy Steamed Whole Black Bass with Red Cabbage Coleslaw

Ginger-Soy Steamed Whole Black Bass:

1 1 lb. whole black bass, scales removed and gutted

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 1″ piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about 2 tbs.)

1 heaping tbs. lemongrass, divided

2 tbs. low sodium soy sauce

2 tbs. rice wine vinegar

2 tsp. whole black peppercorns

Preheat oven to 400º.

Pat fish dry with towels and cut two shallow slices in each side of the fish.

Season both sides of fish and cavity of fish lightly with kosher salt.  Stuff half of lemon grass and half of ginger into the cavity of the fish.

Place the fish in a baking dish large enough to hold it.  Make sure the dish can fit into your roasting pan.

Mix together half of the soy sauce and half of the rice wine vinegar.  Pour over fish.  Sprinkle remaining half of ginger and lemongrass on top of the fish.

Fill up the roasting pan with enough water to come halfway up to the baking dish.  Transfer water to a sauce pan and bring to a boil with remaining half of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and whole black peppercorns.  Transfer boiling water back to the roasting pan.

Add baking dish to the roasting pan.  Oil a piece of tinfoil.  Cover roasting pan snugly with the tinfoil, oiled side down.  Transfer to the oven and bake 25-30 minutes until flesh of fish flakes easily with a fork and is opaque or 145º.

[Note:  Check out a picture of the whole fish after the break.]

Red Cabbage Coleslaw:

2 cups red cabbage, finely shredded

2 medium carrots, finely shredded

1/3 cup pickled daikon radish, cut into matchsticks

2 tbs. rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tbs. soy sauce

Freshly cracked black pepper

Toss together vegetables.

Whisk together vinegar, oil, and soy sauce.  Season with freshly cracked black pepper.

Add to vegetables and toss thoroughly to combine.  Let sit 6-8 hours, refrigerated, to allow flavors to meld.

Oven-Roasted Golden Trout with Golden Beets in a Chive-Chevre Sauce over Simple Polenta

This dish was healthy, easy, and delicious.  Zak said this was guaranteed a spot in his top ten favorites for this year.  All of the flavors come together really well, from the earthy sweetness of the beets to the tangy bite of the goat cheese.  The flesh of the fish is moist and flavorful.  This dish is perfect if you are unsure of your seafood skills, because you are pretty much guaranteed a foolproof way to get flaky, melt-in-your mouth tender trout.  The beets are also insanely easy, simply requiring you to peel, chop, and toss with some cheese.  However, the combination of pretty colors and intense, interesting flavors make this dish seem like it should be a lot of work.  In reality, the hardest part is stirring the polenta!

Oven-Roasted Golden Trout with Golden Beets in a Chive-Chevre Sauce over Simple Polenta

Oven-Roasted Golden Trout:

1 lb. golden trout (2 fillets)

2 tbs. olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 375°.  [Note:  I roasted the beets first and then turned the oven down, waited a bit, and roasted the fish.]

Cover a baking sheet that will fit both fish fillets with tinfoil.  Brush with olive oil.

Rub olive oil on both sides of fish and season liberally with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Place in oven and roast 18-20 minutes until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Internal temperature should be 145°.

Golden Beets in a Chive-Chèvre Sauce:

Half a dozen or so golden beets

3 tbs. olive oil, divided

1 tbs. chive chèvre

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 425º.

Trim off both ends of beets.  Place on a sheet of tinfoil and drizzle with a tablespoon or two of olive oil.  Season with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.  Fold up edges of tinfoil and crimp to create a packet.

Place in oven and roast forty minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.  The cooking time will vary depending on the size of your beets.

Open tinfoil packets, carefully to avoid steam.  Let cool.

Peel off skins and cut into 1/4″ to 1/2″ cubes.

In a medium sauté pan, add remaining olive oil over medium heat.  Crumble in chévre, whisking to combine.

Add beets and toss to coat.  Cook until warmed through.  Serve over the fish and polenta.

Simple Polenta:

3 cups rabbit stock (or substitute seafood stock, chicken stock, or water)

1 1/2 cups polenta

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Bring stock to a boil.  Whisk in polenta in a thin stream and let come to a vigorous boil.  Whisk thoroughly and reduce heat to medium.

Simmer, whisking often, about 20 minutes until creamy and cooked through.

Slow Cooker New England Clam Chowder

I have always loved New England-style clam chowder.  Brine-y clams, soft, starchy potatoes, and rich cream combine to make something decadent and comforting.  I didn’t have all of the ingredients in a classic New England clam chowder – usually I see it with carrots and celery.  However, I had an abundance of potatoes and turnips from the CSA and some corn in the freezer that needed using up, so I figured I’d go with what I had on hand.  I also put a little twist on this by using leftover broth from a clam bake, which also included the chicken stock in which my dad steamed the clams.  Because of that, this doesn’t have the lovely creamy white color of a traditional New England clam chowder.  It does, however, have all of the delicious flavor.  If you want to stick closer to the look of the classic, use the substitutions I suggest below.

Slow Cooker New England Clam Chowder

4-5 slices bacon

1 small yellow onion, diced

3 cups potatoes, scrubbed clean, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces

1 cup turnips, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup corn kernels, defrosted if frozen

3 cups leftover clam broth from a clam bake, or 1 8 oz. bottle clam juice and 2 cups water, or 1 8 oz. bottle clam juice and 2 cups seafood stock

Freshly cracked black pepper

2 6.5 oz cans clams

1 pint half and half

2 green onions, dark green parts only

Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Add bacon and cook until crisp.  Reduce heat under pan to medium-low and remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.  Once cool enough to handle, roughly chop.

Add onion to the pan with the bacon drippings.  Cook until tender and translucent.  Transfer, with drippings, to a slow cooker.

Add potatoes, turnips, garlic, corn, and clam broth to the slow cooker.  Stir to combine.  Season liberally with freshly cracked black pepper.  Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours until everything is tender.

Stir in clams (with broth) and half and half and raise to high.  Cook, uncovered, another 30 minutes until heated through.

Grilled Lemon-Dill Striped Bass and Grilled Melted Leeks

I very nearly opted against posting this recipe, because it’s just so darn simple.  A quick and easy marinade is whipped together and then the ingredients are thrown on the grill.  However, the combination of flavors from the striped bass and grilled leeks was so harmonious I figured it would be a shame not to share it on the off chance some of you were interested in a quick, easy, and healthy meal to throw on the grill.  The melted leeks are particularly fantastic – I ate them like string cheese by pulling apart the layers and popping them in my mouth.  A more civilized human – like Zak – would use a fork and perhaps a knife.  As you can see from the picture, the skin of the fish got stuck to the grill grate.  I pulled it off with some tongs so I could have some of that delicious, salty crunchiness.  If you’re a touch more careful than we were, it shouldn’t be an issue, however.

Grilled Lemon-Dill Striped Bass and Grilled Melted Leks

Grilled Lemon-Dill Striped Bass:

1 lb. striped bass fillets (2 large fillets)

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1/3 cup fresh dill, roughly torn

4 tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Non-stick cooking spray

Mix together all ingredients except non-stick cooking spray in a large ziplock bag.  Marinate fish 3-4 hours, flipping over occasionally to ensure even marination.

Remove fish from marinade.  Reserve lemon-dill marinade.  Lightly score the fish on the skin side.

Preheat a grill to medium-high.

Place fish skin side down on the grill.  Baste with reserved marinade.  Grill about 4-5 minutes.  Carefully flip and baste again.  Grill another 4-5 minutes or until internal temperature is about 140º.

Grilled Melted Leeks:

3 large leeks, dark green ends trimmed off, cleaned

Lemon-dill marinade, reserved from above

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, cut a few 2-3″ slits about a quarter of the way through the leeks, lengthwise.  This will allow the leeks to cook evenly.

Blanche leeks in the boiling water about five minutes until tender.  Drain rinse with cool water.  Drain on paper towels.

Place leeks directly on the grill.  Baste with some lemon-dill marinade, from above.  Cook about 5 minutes per side over direct heat.  Transfer to indirect heat and cook another 8-10  minutes, turning once or twice.

Serve warm.