#348: Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Basil and Olives

An Italian comfort food inspired by a gnocchi recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, this dish has been tweaked a little to add sardines, red pepper flakes and tons of garlic to create a spicy sauce.

Ingredients:

Gnocchi:

1 russet potato, baked and cooled.

Salt and pepper to taste

1 large egg beaten(use 3 Tblspns)

¼ cup all-purpose flour

Sauce:

Sardines (boneless) - 1 can

Whole tomatoes can- 1 large

3 large cloves of garlic chopped fine

A pinch of crushed red pepper.

Basil leaves-3/4 cup

Kalamata olives-1 cup

Lemon juice and zest of 1 lemon.

Extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

1. Scoop out the flesh of the baked potato into a large bowl and toss the skin.
2. Mash it well with salt and pepper and add 3 tablespoons of beaten egg into it.
3. Sprinkle the flour over the potato mixture and stir well to form a dough. Knead it until smooth for 30 seconds.
4. On a lightly floured board divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each one into a ½ inch thick roll. Then cut each roll into 1/2 inch pieces. Place a fork upside down on a surface and roll each I inch piece over it to create grooves.
5. Place a large pot of water on medium heat and let it come to boil. Add salt and the gnocchi and let it cook until they rise to the surface (about 1 to 2 mins).
6. For the sauce: Heat olive oil and add the garlic, chili flakes and when it sizzles add sardines and do not stir too much or sardines will crumble. Add coarsely chopped olives and lightly crushed tomatoes and let simmer. Then add salt and pepper, juice and zest of lemon and gnocchi let gently heat the sauce
7. Add pasta water if it gets too thick and when done, remove from fire and serve with torn basil and grated Parmesan (optional).

#336: Lemon, Garlic, Parsley Panko Crusted Salmon

How much do I love panko? A lot! I bought a bag of these Japanese-style breadcrumbs and thought I wouldn't have much use for them except for one panko crusted chicken recipe - totally wrong.  What I like about panko is it just addds this extra texture and crunch-element to any dish.  Especially against the soft salmon filets in this dish, the crunch from the panko, along with the subtle flavors of the lemon zest and parsley, make this dish simple but layered with flavors and textures.  Plus, it's super easy, and that's always a good thing!

Lemon, Garlic, Parsley Panko Crusted Salmon

Ingredients

4 salmon filets, skinless and boneless

3/4 cup panko 

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped parsley 

salt + pepper to taste

juice of half a lemon 

2 teaspoons olive or avocado oil 

Directions

1. Use a paper towel to pat dry each salmon filet. Place the filets on a baking sheet.
2. Prepare the panko topping by mixing together the panko, lemon zest, garlic and parsley in a bowl.  
3. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the salmon.  Then distribute the lemon juice over each salmon filet - about 1 tablespoon per filet. 
4. Top each salmon filet with the panko topping.  
5. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon of oil over each salmon filet. 
6. Bake uncovered at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes, until a fork can easily flake the salmon and the panko is browned.  If the panko is not a golden to medium brown, then turn the oven to a Low Broil for 3-5 minutes.  You really want the panko topping medium brown, trust me! 

#330: Honey Mustard Salmon with Arugula and Pear Salad

I love salmon marinated with honey.  This honey mustard salmon is absolutely great.  While I used Dijon mustard, honestly you could use plain old yellow mustard.  I think the bitter flavors would contrast so well with the salmon and honey.  Plus, the arugula and pear salad follows the similar theme of sweet and bitter, which I absolutely love. 

This meal works as the perfect summertime dinner, light and healthy.  It might be easier to cook this in the oven, but sometimes (like when you run out of tin foil and hate cleaning a baking sheet) cooking on the stove top just seems easier. 

Honey Mustard Salmon - Serves 4

4 salmon filets

1 garlic clove, chopped

3 tbsps Dijon mustard

2 tbsps honey

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

1. In a shallow dish combine Dijon mustard, honey, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper.  Add your fish to the mix and coat both sides. 
2. Place oil in a saute pan on medium heat.  Remove the salmon filets from the honey-mustard mixture one at a time and add to the pan.  Make sure that just a touch of the mixture is coated on the fish, but that it is not drenched while it enters the pan because then it will splatter. 
3. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.  

I used skinless salmon, but if yours has skin, cook that side first for 6 minutes, flip, and cook on the other side for 3-4 minutes.  Also, if you have a grill pan, definitely use it, it will make for gorgeous grill marks.  If you prefer to use the oven cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes.  

Arugula and Pear Salad - Serves 4

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsps lemon juice

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

3 pears (Barlett is what I used), cored and sliced lengthwise 

6 cups arugula

1. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, lemon juice, honey, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. 
2. In a large bowl toss together the arugula and pear.  If you had pumkin seeds, pine nuts or walnuts (anything with crunch effect) to add, this is the time to do it.  
3. Then drizzle your salad dressing over the salad and toss.  Top with gorgonzola cheese or grated parmesan. 

#325: Parmesan Crusted Salmon with Roasted Kale and Parsnips

This dish is more mild in terms of spice and heat, than what I usually prepare.  But, sometimes it's nice to give your tummy a little break.  Generally when I prepare salmon, I do a honey soy version, but every once in a while when I'm rushed for time, this parmesan crusted version is just the ticket.  It might just be me, but I also feel like the mayonnaise makes the fish taste a little creamier and softer than it otherwise might be.  

Anyway, lately I've been trying to get dinner in before 8pm.  Some days that can be tough after a long day at work, but I've been trying to be better at it, and when you have simpler recipes with less preparation time involved during the week, it helps you manage these little goals all the better. 

Just a suggestion, but I like to squeeze a little lemon and a dash or two of hot sauce on my salmon before eating, but to each his own!  Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the Salmon
1/4 cup mayonnaise 
2 salmon filets
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp Panko or any breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste

For the Roasted Kale and Parsnips
4 parsnips, peeled and chopped/cubed
3 cups of roughly chopped kale
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

For the Salmon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Lay salmon filets on foil lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle with some salt and pepper.  
3. Spoon half of the mayonnaise onto each salmon filet.  If you use filets with the skin on be sure you place them skin side down.  
4. Spread the mayonnaise out.  Then cover the mayonnaise with half of the parmesan cheese on each filet and then the Panko on top. 
5. Bake for 15 minutes. 

For the Roasted Kale and Parsnips

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Lay parsnips and kale on baking sheet in single layer. 
3. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Coat all of the veggies by tossing them thoroughly (get in there and use your hands!). 
4. Roast for 30 minutes, turning the veggies over about halfway through.

D.C. Eats: Boss Shepherd's

I mentioned in a post a few weeks back that I went to dinner with Rabia at Boss Shepherd's. She wanted to treat me to a celebratory dinner to bring in the week of my 30th birthday. Yes, "the week", because it really ended up being an on-and-off celebratory week.  She told me I could pick any restaurant.  Well, I have a huge list of restaurants that are ones I've heard good things about or merely wanted to check out.  This was on my list of new restaurants in D.C. to check out.  Southern, stick to your ribs kind of meals!  

Their website seems so unassuming, but when you head down into this restaurant, and yes, down, because you walk in the doors and there are a set of steps immediately to your right that you head down.  And, you're thinking "where are we going?,"  and when you reemerge, it's actually into a pretty and much fancier than expected restaurant.  I mean now don't go pulling out your evening gowns and tuxes, I'm just saying it was a lot prettier than I anticipated, and the food options just sounded amazing. 

As always, I had already scoured and read every detail of every dish on Boss Shepherd's dinner menu.  But, I was stuck between the fried chicken and the steak.  So, we ordered both to share.  Before our meals even arrived, we were given a snack of pimento cheese and crisp flatbread.  Pimento cheese is this quintessential southern dish of this creamy yellow cheese with pimentos (aka cherry peppers) mixed in - it's usually some processed cheese and mayo that forms the base, and different regions of the south have their own ideas of what to mix-in, from hot sauce to cream cheese to onions and garlic.  But, this one seemed fairly simple, with a bit of onion, pimentos and the cheesy base.  I enjoyed myself snacking away until the dinner arrived.  

The star of the show was the fried chicken.  I mean I have never had fried chicken outside of a soul food restaurant, that was this good.  Usually restaurants of this caliber can't hold a flame to the delicious fried chicken that comes out of so many 'hole in the wall' style restaurants.  But, this one was so crunchy on the outside and perfectly juicy on the inside. Phenomenal!  The plate comes to you on a cutting board with three pieces (breast, thigh and leg), three different dipping sauces (egg yolk based, hot sauce, and honey mustard), and a delicious (and large) biscuit.  We inhaled this chicken.  

Boss Shepherd's Fried Chicken is a 12-hour brined half chicken, which probably accounts for why it's incredibly juicy.  

Then we dove into the Bavette Steak, having no idea what a 'bavette' is.  Apparently the bavette steak is an extension of T-bone and Porterhouse on the short loin.  It was tender and almost like a flank steak.  Boss Shepherd's version comes with a horseradish mixture and cauliflower puree, along with grilled romaine and preserved lemon buttermilk.  I would have to say as much as I love the idea of 'preserved lemon buttermilk,' I thought it could be excluded from this dish, and in its place perhaps a more savory warm sauce.  But, all in all a different and delicious dish.