recipe: green rice with mahi mahi

There is actually a reason I did not name this arroz verde… it is because, if I were going to do this as a true verde sauce, in my mind, should probably include some tomitillios, of which this recipe does not include (see my chili verde recipe). It is closer to perhaps a riz vert insomuch as it is built on a base of the color green and is rice based in a Delta cooking style. This version includes steaming the mahi mahi over the top of the cooking the rice. The fish (as well as some of the other ingreds) are interchangeable, as usual, but this was truly inspired by the fact that there were all these pretty colors of green in my fridge to draw from along with the fresh fish I picked up. I have fresh made veggie stock at home that has this great deep green brown color that came from some really nice veggies I had and has a brilliant flavor to help set the base flavors (being it was born out of them), but a fish stock or broth might work well too. I am not a huge okra fan, but it adds to the green, and it helps give the rice a nice, thick, sticky consistency. These are always the best reasons to invent new dishes and always my faves in the way they come out.

Poblano pepper
green bell pepper
yellow onion
garlic
jalapeno pepper
celery
okra
chicory
collard greens
brown rice
cilantro
mahi mahi
fresh cracked pepper (black and white corns if possible) and / or house seasoning
stock pot
veggie stock
butter

Chop all three pepper types, garlic, celery, onion and okra
Combine the veggies in the stock pot over low heat and sweat to combine flavors
While the flavors meld, coarsly chop the cilantro, collard, chicory (and/or other dark leafy greens)
Add a bit of butter to the pot and add the rice. All the rice to become translucent
Add stock to the rice, typically about a 2:1 ration, bring to a boil and back down to a low simmer.
Season with pepper, house seasonings.
Season both sides of the fish filets with house seasoning
Allow the rice to cook 15-20 minutes then add the chopped greens to the pot and mix.
Once the greens are integrated with the rice place the fish filets on top of the rice.
Add any additional liquid necessary at this point, cover and allow the filets to cook through and the rice to finish cooking until it is completely tender.
Remember, the rice should have a sticky and thick consistency around it, it should not be dry and separated.

I serve with a leaf or two of the greens on the play, with the rice then piled partly over and the fillet of fish offset on the rice, maybe a leaf or two of cilantro for good measure.

recipe: catfish and pasta with tomato topping

The origin of this recipe actually comes from a veggie pasta dish I used to make for a friend back in the day. The pasta could be a full meal in-and-of itself if one so chose, but in this case, it’s a nice side using the same basic flavors to marry the two parts of the dish. The conception was to actually serve the fish over the pasta, but the plating can be done several ways. The use of the catfish was because that’s what I had fresh, but the first time I made this it was with tilapia and I’ve used cod, flounder, mahi mahi and even chicken in the past and it’s come out well. The key is to allow the flavors of the “topping” to come together so the longer you can allow them to sit and meld the better. The greens can be substituted easily as well, although I used collard, spinach, kale, mustard or other dark leafy ones will work too. On occasion, I’ve used peas or french cut string beans too, but the other greens seem to lend a much more robust flavor overall. The fish is actually done similar to to a blackening method, so make sure you have proper ventilation as it can get a little smokey.

Topping:
olive oil
tomato
onion
celery
bell pepper
jalapeno pepper
garlic
black pepper
cilantro
mixing bowl
collard greens
frying pan
ice water

Coarsely chop the collard greens
Toss in a very small amount of olive oil
Lightly saute the greens in the frying pan
Remove from heat, immerse in ice water to set color and stop cooking
Finely dice the onion, celery, bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic
Coarsely chop the tomato (or used canned diced tomato)
Combine in a bowl the veggies and greens, crack black pepper, add the cilantro and toss with olive oil
Allow to rest and flavors to combine, toss again before topping

The Fish:
Catfish fillet
Corn meal
House seasoning
Cayenne pepper powder
Skillet

Preheat the skillet over medium high heat
Toss together the corn meal, house seasoning and cayenne pepper
Pat dry the fish, then lightly coat with the seasoning and corn meal mixture
Place the fish on the hot skillet
Sear the one side making sure the thickest part of the fillet is over the hottest part of the pan for 2-3 minutes until coating begins to become crusty
Flip the fish placing it the same way in the pan and finish cooking until cooked through

The Pasta
Dried Spaghetti
Pot of boiling water
Colander

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente
Drain the pasta
Toss with a very small amount of the topping

Serve:
Place some had torn leaves of the collard on the plate
Place the pasta on top of the collard greens
Place the catfish on top of the pasta
Spoon the topping over the pasta and fish
Add a sprig of fresh cilantro as desired and serve

RECIPE: Porto-American Charise-Saffron Rice

It’s probably true that most people cook that which they know best and derive recipes that originate from their youth which probably includes a lot of Americanized cultural references. For me, I (eric doormouse) grew up with intersperced elements of Iberian, specifically Portuguese cuisine, and there’s still a soft spot for those recipes in my cooking. I am by no means versed in the subtilites of this cooking, but thanks to my proximity to the Iron Bound section of Newark, I am blessed with large neighborhoods of Portuguese from which to enjoy meals in.

I would venture a guess, many of the ingredents I take for granted I know them the way I do, but they are not as exotic as they might seem… The saffron itself is one of the more expensive spices you can cook with being derived from the crocus flower. It is very common in Iberian cooking but shows up in Italian and other traditional Mediterrean as well as in middle-Eastern and across the Indian subcontinent among other places. It produces a wonderful yellow color and a grassy fragrance when steeped and comes as threads produced from the flowers as well as in powdered form and is used generally for flavoring grains and sauces (you can buy fake “yellow rice” in packets as a cheap substitute)… The chorizo (in Portuguese chouriço or charise when spoken in American slang) is a wonderful pork sausage flavored with smoked red peppers, paprika and garlic. It comes cured or fresh, though, the cured version is more typical (and for me comes jam packed with memories along with the flavor).

Rice Part
saffron
rice (traditional is long grain white, but brown works too)
olive oil
water
stock (chicken or veggie)
skillet
cooling dish

boil water and then add the saffron, turn off heat, cover and allow to steep
drizzle oil in the skillet and allow to being to warm, add the rice, combine till all the rice is covered and simmer until the rice becomes translucent – do not brown rice or burn butter
add the saffron steeped water with the saffron and a 2:1 stock to water mixture to the rice
bring to a boil, back it down to a very low simmer, cover and allow to cook until rice is tender and the water is absorbed
remove from heat and allow to cool in cooling dish

The Dish
onion
garlic
Chroizo sausage (or Linguiça or a hot Italian-American sausage also works)
collard greens (other dark leafy greens can be used as a substitute)
hot pepper (piri piri would be perfect, but a good frutescens chilis or other hot peppers would work, chipolte are what I used in this recipe)
oilive oil
coriander
cillantro
saffron
port wine
black pepper
skillet

place the choriso, sliced pepper, onion and garlic in the skillet and allow to begin to lightly brown with a little olive oil as necessary
once it begins to brown add the rice to the dish, season with coriander, cillantro, saffron, black pepper
once the rice begins to sear / fry add the shredded Collard greens
add the port wine, do not allow the wine to flame up if possible, just let it get absorbed into the ingreds and provide a liquid base to the meal
let the greens wilt, reseason as necessary
reduce heat and let the flavors meld

serve over whole collard greens in a bowl, I like coarsley chopped flat leaf parsely and Azores cheeses or a dry goat’s milk cheese to serve with it if you can find them along with a thick crusty bread on the side. The dish should not be really heavily spicy but rather a nice round flavor with a lot of bold charactor to it when complete, if it is too “hot” the cheese will help balance the flavors.

RECIPE: crowded soup

When I (eric doormouse) was younger I always heard stories about the infamous crowded soup my grandmother used to make. She would collect the leftovers from the week (which is difficult to believe there would be any, considering my uncles and grandfather) and put them in a stock pot and make a big soup out of them so as to see nothing go to waste. It hardly requires a recipe when you think about it, so long as most of the leftovers make some kind of culinary sense with one another and could be construed as soup-worthy.

Although this is not exactly my grandmother’s recipe for a Crowded Sunday Soup, this is one of those recipes that changes a little bit every time I make it based on what veggies I have hanging around the place. In this case, it was time to use up a number of base veggies and the last bit of homemade stock I had left. This is the gist of what I used. The okra, a traditional African and later Mississippi Delta veggie that acts as a wonderful thickener for meals. Typically, I cook with the trinity (in Delta cooking the combo of onion, celery and bell pepper is a replacement for the more traditional miraquois of onion, celery and carrot) but in this case I combine a number of aeromatics to create the base flavor and build up from there. Once the base flavors are in and the stock is settled, the rest of the veggies are just a suggestion…

Also, I used leftover sugar ham in the dish, because pork typically makes everything better, however, eliminating it makes it a very nice vegitarian dish. I also actually made this in a crock pot on low after a quick saute of the base veggies, but the recipe is written the way I would do it over long cook in a heavy stock pot.

coarsly diced:
onion
bell pepper
anaheim pepper
celery
carrot
garlic
okra

sugar cured ham

shredded dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, mustard leaf, collard green, chicory, chard, etc.)
corn (frozen or cut fresh from the cob raw)
tomato (diced / sliced / crushed, fresh is best, though canned can work too)
squash (yellow summer, butternut, zucchini, etc.)
beans (red kidney, red pinto, black, black eyed pea, Cannellini, blue navy, etc. NOTE there is a difference in cooking using canned, frozen & dried!)
lentels (if you use ANY lentels you NEED to ensure there is enough extra liquid for the lentels since most are dried)

Stock (I prefer homemade veggie, but chicken or pork could work too)
water
olive oil
bay leaf
dried rosemary
tarragon
parsley
black pepper
paprika
Stock Pot

add a small amount of oil to the stock pot over medium heat
add the coarsly chopped veggies (peppers, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, okra) and simmer over medium heat so the veggies soften and the flavors begin to meld
add the dired rosemary and make sure to keep the veggies evenly cooking, do not allow them to over-carmalize as they saute

add the pork and allow it to meld with the rest of the flavors as you saute

add the stock and water, 2:1 ratio stock to water and allow to come to a simmer covered with the bay, black pepper, paprika and tarragon (dried, if fresh only add at the end or it’ll end up mushy grey leaves and taste like nothing)

after those flavors set, add the dark leafy greens, tomato, the lentils and re-season as necessary and allow to simmer

after those flavors set and the greens wilt and lentils become moist add the other veggies and allow to simmer, reseason (with the black pepper, paprika and tarragon etc) as neccessary. do not overcook the last group of veggies, as they will reduce to mush if you do

serve warm… sometimes, i like it with some flat leaf parsley and a hard cheese like parmeseano reggiano or pecorino romano grated on top