Fish (or Chicken) with Veggies & Green Sauce

I couldn't decide what to call this so I enlisted the help of some facebook friends. They suggested "Halibut Fishatore," "Pesce Verde" and, inevitably, we wound up at "Green Fish." Call it what you like, it's yummy!
I had thawed some halibut to make another dish, but when I got ready to begin cooking I realized I had forgotten one of the parts of the recipe (which involved marinating the fish for two hours prior to cooking!). So I had to scrap that recipe and just threw this together on the spot. It may look a little complicated because it has several parts, but really they are all pretty simple. The only thing that's complicated is the sauce (which can burn), but so long as you keep an eye on it and stir it a lot you should be fine.
For those of you who for whom halibut isn't your 'cheap, always-on-hand' meat, you can use tilapia or another white fish, or chicken will also work nicely.

Serves about 6
Prep time--about 30-60 min, depending on whether you use canned/frozen veggies, and whether your meat is thawed.

MEAT

• About 2-3lbs thawed halibut (or chicken breasts/tenders/pieces)
• olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Breadcrumbs

Put about 1/4inch of water in the bottom of a baking dish (1/2" if using chicken since it will cook longer). Put the fish in the dish and shake a little olive oil onto the fish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and breadcrumbs. Put in the oven to bake (about 15-20 min for halibut, 30-45 for chicken, depending on size of pieces...just check it periodically)
Once the meat is in, start on the veggies.

VEGGIES

• 2 potatoes, chopped into 1/2in cubes (peel first if they have tough skins)
  
• 3/4 c peas
• 3/4 c chopped carrots (I used a frozen pea/carrot mix)
• other veggies if you prefer (asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, etc)

Put everything in a little water and steam it until soft/warm. (About 7-10 min should be plenty.) Once that's in, make the sauce. 

SAUCE (this is a homemade version of Costco's spinach-artichoke-parmesan dip, so you could use theirs, just warm it up and thin it with a little milk...but of course homemade always tastes better)

• 4Tbs butter
• 4Tbs flour
• salt, pepper, garlic powder (I did about 1/2tsp salt and 1 Tbs garlic powder...I don't measure.)
• 1 1/2-2 cups of milk (whole is best of course, or cream would be good...)
• 3/4-1 cup of grated cheese (parmisan is ideal, but I didn't have any so I used monterey jack and it was good)
• 2/3-3/4c chopped spinach (I used frozen)
• 1/2-2/3c chopped artichokes (I used canned)

Mix the butter and flour in a saucepan over medium heat to make a rue. Be careful not to let it burn! Mix in spices. Slowly add about 1/4c of milk at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the cheese a little at a time, mixing often. Reduce heat to med-low. Add the chopped veggies and mix well. Let it sit on low heat if the other parts are not ready yet, otherwise bring it all to the table and serve immediately.

Serve the meat and veggies side by side, with the sauce poured over the top of everything.
It's pretty much awesome. All my kids liked it and the four-year-old asked for thirds.

Salmon Dill Quiche

I looked up several recipes and then sortof adapted this based on what I had on hand. I've never been fond of quiche, or of salmon either for that matter, but this was pretty good! The kids liked it, and my husband had two portions and then ate the leftovers for a bedtime snack. Anything that is worthy to be a bedtime snack is probably pretty good. ☺
I confess I've become a fish snob since living in Alaska, so I wouldn't dream of feeding canned salmon to people (we give it to our dog)...but if it's all you have it will work. I actually used leftover from the patties I'd made earlier in the week.

makes 2 8" quiches, or probably 1 deep dish 9" (I prefer to do two smaller ones so they cook through more easily)

2 pie crusts

6 eggs
1 1/2 c milk
1 1/2-2 c grated cheese (I did half mozzarella and half monterey jack, but swiss would also be good)
1 1/2 c shredded salmon (or about 1 can). You can also use leftover baked/grilled salmon if it's not heavily seasoned, but make sure it's thoroughly de-boned!
2-3 Tbs dill
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Bake (empty) pie crusts for 5 minutes.
Beat eggs, then add milk, cheese, salmon, and spices and mix well. Pour into slightly cooked crusts, then bake for 45 more minutes (it may need a little longer--test by inserting a knife in the middle of the quiche, when it comes out clean the quiche is done)

Salmon Burgers

We have started catching out own salmon this year, but we're still getting the hang of filletting them, so there ends up being lots of little pieces of meat that we trim off the bones after the fillet is off. We didn't want to waste the meat, but at first I wasn't sure what to do with so many tiny pieces (it was from 16 fish so there was a lot!). Finally I hit upon the idea of using it like ground beef--mashing it up, shaping it into patties, and serving it as burgers.
They were awesome! The texture was perfect, but we couldn't really taste the dill I'd seasoned it with, so next time I'll use something a bit stronger.

2 cups salmon bits (fresh & raw is best, leftover would also work I think, or canned...)
1/4-1/3 c bread crumbs or rolled oat or leftover cooked rice
1 egg
seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic or garlic powder, dill, tarragon, etc)

Whir the salmon around in a food processor for a minute, or chop it/flake it into small pieces. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. If it's too sticky, add more bread crumbs, if it's too dry, add another egg or a little milk. It should hold together well--like ground beef does when making regular hamburgers!
Heat a little oil in a pan on medium heat. Pack the salmon mixture into tight balls (I used a scooper like I do with the black bean and rice patties) and then flatten them into a frying pan. Cook for a couple of minutes on each side. Salmon cooks quickly, and changes to a much lighter color when it is done. The outside of each patty will be a little browned and crisp (and hold it together), but the middles will still be soft.
Can be eaten on buns with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles and onion...or eat them plain, perhaps with some sour cream, sundried tomatoes, etc...

Halibut with Tarragon-Cream Sauce

This could work with any white fish--halibut is my favorite and is plentiful here, but I know it's very expensive in other places!
Try this with dill instead of tarragon for a different twist.
I served it with couscous & veggies on the side (and kinda mixed them together as I ate). It would also work well with pasta, potatoes, or rice (with veggies).
My kids gobbled this up--and we parents really enjoyed it too.
Serves 4

1 lb halibut, deboned and cut into smallish chunks (bite size more or less)
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour or cornstarch
1-1 1/2 c milk
1/4 c parmesan cheese (this could be omitted, or another cheese could be substituted--I admit I used the cheap powdered type)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2ish Tbs tarragon

Cut fish and set aside in a 9x9 baking dish.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and mix well with flour until it becomes smooth and thickens. Slowly add milk, about 1/4c at a time, and mix thoroughly after each addition. Add seasonings. Add cheese if desired. Stir continuously or at least very frequently so that it does not burn. Sauce will thicken as it cooks, so each time it starts to thicken you can add a little milk again until it reaches a nice thick cream sauce (it should be like gravy). Pour sauce over fish, stir to coat each piece of fish, then bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes (stir once in the middle to make sure that all pieces of fish are cooking evenly).

Battered Fish

Traditionally this deep-fried battered fish would be served with 'chips' (fat french fries), but I actually prefer to do onion rings, because I use the same batter for both fish and rings.


Cut white fish into fillets and make sure there are no bones. (If you buy it it should already be this way, but if you caught your own then obviously you'll have to do it yourself!) I like to make them on the smaller side--I slice thick fillets in half depth-wise (so I have two thin fillets), and I cut them down to about 4x4inch pieces. I like a high batter-to-fish ratio. ☺


Batter:
In a wide and/or shallow bowl, put 1 cup self-rising flour (or 1 cup white flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt). Slowly add water until it is about the consistency of pancake batter...maybe 2/3 or 3/4 cup of water usually. If it is too thin it will all drip off the fish (or onions)!

Heat oil in a wok, saucepan, or deep frying pan (I like using a lid to avoid oil splatters, but an oil screen works too). You can deep fry the fish, but I find that using a high-sided frying pan I can 'deep fry' them in only about an inch of oil, I just have to turn the fish over halfway through the cooking. It uses less oil, and seems to get less oil into the fish as well.

Put battered fish pieces into oil and fry until golden and cooked through--about 3-5 minutes per side, depending on the size of the pieces and whether the fish was frozen or thawed. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove fish and set on a paper towel to drain. Serve hot!


*This does NOT reheat very well (it's ok in the oven but terrible in the microwave), so if you have leftovers I recommend eating them cold.

Easter Dinner--Fish and Honey

We figured that Jesus ate fish and honey on Easter, so we did too!

Alright, so He probably didn't eat halibut, and I'm fairly sure it wasn't breaded. He certainly didn't add mashed potatoes & gravy, and I believe His honey was in the comb, not on a homemade crescent roll...but the idea was there, right?

Breaded & Baked Halibut
As the oven is pre-heating, melt about 1/4-1/2c butter in the bottom of a glass baking dish.
Rinse off the fish, or dip it in egg, butter, or milk to moisten it, then bread it in a mixture of bread crumbs, salt/other herbs & seasonings, and parmesan cheese (I use about half bread crumbs and half parmesan). Lay fish in the butter and bake at 300 for about 20-30 min, turning over halfway through.

Glazed Salmon & Cranberry Risotto

GLAZED SALMON(on the left)
My dad's cousin showed me this. She does it on her grill, but since I don't have a grill I just do it in the oven and it works well enough.

salmon (I prefer fillets, but a steak would work too)
brown sugar
butter

Use about equal parts sugar and butter, and melt them together to make a glaze. Peiodically as the salmon cooks, paint it all over with the glaze. It works best with several thin coats rather than just one thick one. Let it cook until caramalized!



CRANBERRY RISOTTO
(on the right)
I invented this myself. I am calling it a risotto rather than fried rice because it is still soft--it's not fried in butter to get any crunchy parts, it's merely prepared in a little oil in a frying pan...I don't know if that's a true risotto, but it looks close enough to me!

about 3 c cooked rice
1 onion, chopped (I used a leftover half a red onion, as well as half a white--it added lovely color, but of course any onion would be fine)
1/2-3/4 c craisins
juice of one orange (around 1/3 c)
herbs
oil

Saute the onions and rice in a little oil until the onions begin to look glassy. Stir in herbs to taste (I used a costco seafood rub blend because I was serving it with fish, but any mild herbs will work). Squeeze in juice from the orange, using a fork to get some pulp in too. Throw in craisins, and stir well. Fry everything together for a few minutes to blend all the flavors.

Halibut Yumminess

1 chunk of halibut (enough for the family...I used about 3 lbs, but it's cheaper here since it's caught locally!)
butter
tarragon
garlic salt (or garlic and salt)

Over med-high heat, melt the butter in a fry pan. Use at least several tablespoons of butter. Lay in the thawed fish, and sprinkle generously with tarragon, garlic, and salt. Cover and sizzle for about 3 minutes. Turn fish over, and cook, uncovered, until fish gets golden and crusty in the butter. Add more butter as needed. Turn again to make sure it's golden on both sides and that the herbs spread all over.
Eat it while it's hot!
Revel in the yumminess.

I wish I had a picture of this. It was so pretty! We ate it with garlic and olive oil couscous and mixed steamed veggies on the side.