lemon zest – Buen provecho…2022

Salmon Loaf

Ok…here’s another salmon recipe just because we got a fresh supply of canned wild sockeye salmon from our Canadian visitors. Wild sockeye from the west coast is quite different from Atlantic salmon in colour and taste.

And since our friend is both gluten and lactose intolerant, this recipe from Pinterest was a great choice. We served it with some fresh steamed Brussel sprouts and a great yellow rice. Hope you will give it a try!

Salmon Loaf

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil (coconut or macadamia oil are also great)
1 large onion, finely diced
1 large celery stick, finely diced
1 large carrot, peeled and finely grated (or 2 smaller carrots)
2/3 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 large clove of garlic, finely diced
600 g of canned salmon (3 x 213 g / 7.5 oz cans, drained with larger bones removed)
3 eggs
3 tablespoons almond flour
Zest of 1/2 lemon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175 C/ 350 F.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onion and celery. Sauté for 2 minutes, stirring once, and then add the grated carrots. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Add a couple of tablespoons of water when it feels like the oil has dried up. Finally add the garlic and cook together for another minute or two.

In the meantime, drain the salmon and remove any visible large bones. Don’t worry too much about the smaller bones or the skin as it will blend in just fine. Add the fish to a mixing bowl and flake with a fork or your fingers.

Add the cooked vegetables to the salmon. Grate some lemon zest, add the eggs and almond flour and mix everything together with a fork. Make sure the egg is well incorporated.

Grease a medium loaf tin with a little coconut oil (make sure to brush all sides with oil). Transfer the loaf mixture to the tin and press down until well compacted and even on the top. I like to bang the tin against the bench a couple of times to get rid of any air pockets inside the mix. Then place in the oven, middle shelf, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Fennel, Granny Smith Apple and Pecorino Salad

He is back! We are finally here again after our long trip away where we ate too much and drank too much wine…LOL. We did pick up some great new recipes which I will be sharing with you in the coming weeks. This first one was prepared by our good friend, Carole, up in Sault Ste.Marie, Ontario. I am not a great fennel fan, but this was very tasty and not strong on the fennel taste. If you are a GREAT fan of fennel use the 2 bulbs called for…we however only used one smallish one.

Fennel, Granny Smith Apple and Pecorino Romano Salad

Ingredients

1 or 2 medium fennel bulbs (according to your love of fennel)
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
About 1½ ounces pecorino Romano, shaved with a vegetable peeler (½ cup shavings)
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
Chop off the fronds where they meet the body of one fennel bulb. Halve the fennel, then thinly slice it, using a mandolin or a very sharp, thin-bladed chef’s knife. Repeat with the other bulb. You should have 2 cups of slices. Set them aside. Chop 1 tablespoon of the fronds and set it aside separately. Discard the remaining fronds.
Put the fennel and apple slices in a bowl. Add the pecorino Romano, lemon zest, ¼ cup olive oil, and parsley. Toss gently. Taste, and season with salt and pepper.
Arrange the salad on a large, chilled serving plate. Drizzle more olive oil generously over the top, and scatter with the chopped fennel fronds just before serving.

VARIATIONS
If you can’t find pecorino Romano cheese, or simply prefer Parmigiano-Reggiano, by all means substitute it.
Crisp, sweet pears, such as Bosc, are a good autumnal replacement for the apples.

Baked Shrimp Scampi…BONUS – Orange Rice with Celery!

So today you get two for one recipes. These went so well together I decided to share them together. First up is the baked scampi, breaded with lots of garlic and butter and a lemony flavor. It goes well with the orange and garlic in the rice, with a touch of crispiness from the celery. I see no reason why you could not substitute asparagus pieces for the celery…peas would not cut it in this recipe…LOL

Baked Shrimp Scampi (Ina Garten – Food Network)

Ingredients

2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell

3 tablespoons good olive oil

2 tablespoons dry white wine

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)

1/4 cup minced shallots or green onions

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 extra-large egg yolk

2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)

Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on.

Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.

Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture. In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish.

Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges. …and now for the Orange Rice…

Orange Rice With Celery (Rio Caliente Hot Springs Spa – Guadalajara)

1 cup brown rice (I used Jasmine)

1 cup celery chopped

½ cup green onions chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

2 T sunflower oil ( I used avocado oil)

1 cup water

1 cup fresh orange juice

Brown the rice, celery, green onions and garlic in the oil. When vegetables are tender, add water and orange juice. Cover. Cook 40 minutes, covered, over LOW flame. Let stand for 5 minutes. This rice dish goes so well with fish, etc.

Turkey Divan

With US Thanksgiving fast approaching, as well as Christmas (44 days), thoughts turn to turkey. I have previously posted a great recipe for preparing turkey which originated with Emerill Lagasse — check out Funky Brined Turkey elsewhere on the blog. Its awesome and I have used it for many years. AFTER US Thanksgiving and Christmas, there will undoubtedly be some leftover turkey. You could make pot pies, but who wants to fiddle with a crust? Turkey Divan is the perfect answer for leftovers!! The following recipe was adapted from Anna Olsen, Food Network Canada.

FYI, if you don’t have leftover turkey, just head down to the deli and get a precooked roasted turkey breast and either bring it home to slice or have the butcher cut thick pieces. Don’t use turkey lunch-meat!!! You could also substitute chicken… enuf said…hope you enjoy this one.

Turkey Divan by Anna Olsen Food Network Canada
Ingredients (my changes in red as always)

3 cup fresh broccoli, cut into florets (and peeled stem pieces)
4 Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, diced into ½-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, diced into ½-inch pieces
5 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp chopped fresh savory (I could not find any here)
1 tsp each thyme and oregano
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 cup chicken stock
½ cup half-and-half cream
½ cup dry white wine
2 cup Jarlsberg cheese or Manchego if in Mexico
salt & pepper
1 lb. cooked turkey breast meat (not luncheon meat), sliced
2 Tbsp. chopped Italian parsley
½ cup dry breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Directions
1. Blanch broccoli in boiling salted water (or steam) until just tender, then shock in ice water to halt cooking. Drain broccoli and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400 F.
3. In a large sauté pan with sides melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until almost translucent, about 4 minutes.
4. Add diced pepper and sauté 3 minutes more. Sift flour over vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes, until a faintly nutty aroma is emitted, but flour does not brown.
5. Stir in mustard, savory and zest. Stir in chicken stock, ½ cup at a time, blending well after each addition (this will prevent lumps). Bring liquid up to a simmer, then stir in cream.
6. Return to a simmer and stir in wine. Reduce heat to low and stir in 1 ½ cups Jarlsberg or Manchego cheese until melted. Season to taste.
7. Stir in broccoli and turkey, adjust seasoning if necessary, stir in parsley and pour into an 8-cup casserole dish.

This can be prepared to here and refrigerated until before dinner when you can apply the topping before baking. I usually put the refrigerated dish on the counter to warm it up a little before baking.
8. Sprinkle top with remaining ½ cup cheese mixed with breadcrumbs and olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes, until sauce is bubbling along the sides.
9. Serve over cooked rice or buttered noodles.
10. Alternatively, the half-and-half cream can be replaced by ½ cup mascarpone cheese, for a more decadent version.

Serve it with a great Jasmine rice!

BBQ Butternut Squash

You are so fortunate if you live in a place where there is lots of fresh fall produce, like squash, parsnips and turnips. While we were visiting our friend in Waterloo, we had this great squash. She used a different type of squash, but the results were excellent. If you are a squash fan, you’ll love this one. Someday soon, I am going to try roasting carrots, peppers, baby squash and onions in the same seasonings, using a foil bag. I will let you know how those turn out.

BBQ Butternut Squash

1 medium Butternut squash, cut into wedges
3 tsp Cumin, ground
1 tsp Salt
3 cloves Garlic, crushed into a paste
1/2 medium Lemon, zest and juice it
1 tsp Pepper, black, ground
3 tbsp Olive oil

1. In a small ball or a pestal and mortar, put the ground cumin, the salt, the pepper. Crush 2-3 cloves of garlic and press with a knife to a mush, add to the mix.
2. Add in juice of a 1/2 lemon and then the oil. Mix.
3. Cut your butternut squash into wedges, leaving the skin on.
4. Score the sides of the squash wedges. Using your hands, rub all the mix onto the pieces of squash cover the enture thing, include the skin. Set in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
5. Heat grill. Grill in direct heat about 4 minutes on each flesh side. Then put on skin side, grill for another 12-14 minutes, or until the squash is tender to the touch. Thoughtout the grilling, keep putting mix on to keep moist.
6. Serve hot. If you have it, put a bit of the Sugar Free Apricot Jam with it.

Per Serving: 103 Calories; 7 g Fat; 0.95 g Sat Fat; 0 mg Cholesterol; 393 mg Sodium; 11 g Carb; 0.66 g Fiber; 1 g Protein.