Month: December 2013

We had an ice storm to day so it was a good day for hot noodles.

I bought a large bunch of mustard greens and had to do something with them.  I started searching for recipes and found one for dan dan noodles,  but it called for pickled mustard greens that it said, helpfully, I could locate in the nearest Asian store.  I love my Asian grocery store but it was the greens I had to cook so I decided to pickle the greens myself.  Why not?  I changed up the dan dan noodle recipe a bit to make it quicker.  Here is the adaptation that I came up with.

Noodles with Pickled Mustard Greens                                         

Marsha’s Recipe Repair, Dec. 2013

 This recipe originally called for ground pork.  I use the leaner cut of pork tenderloin. I have made this more of a noodle dish with a lot of broth.  Not quite soup but not noodles tossed with a light sauce either.  It is kind of spicy, hot and slurpy.  If you cannot find sambal oelek, a possible substitution would be Italian ground chili peppers, like that used on hoagies, but it won’t be quite the same.

Ingredients:

•  1 lb linguini or Chinese egg noodles if available
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. canola or olive oil
• ½ cup sliced onion
• 1 lb pork tenderloin, sliced into ¼ inch thick pieces
• 2 Tbsp. tahini (sesame paste)
• 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. sambal oelek (Thai chili paste)
• 1 garlic clove, mashed
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups pickled mustard greens (recipe below)

1.  Cook noodles according to package directions and drain.  Toss noodles in large bowl with sesame oil and set aside.

2.  Heat oil in a large deep skillet or sauce pan over medium high heat.  Add onions and pork slices and saute (stir fry) until the meat is no longer pink, about three to five minutes.  It will cook quickly.  Remove pork from skillet and set aside.

3.  In a separate bowl mix tahini, vinegar, chili paste, and garlic.  Pour into same skillet and let is sizzle for about 30 seconds.  Add broth stirring up brown bits. Bring to a boil and then simmer for five minutes.

4.  Divide among four large soup bowls ¼ of the noodles, ¼ of the pork slices, ½ cup pickled mustard greens, and a ladle about ½ cup sauce over all.  Toss and eat.   Serves 4.

Pickled mustard greens

These need to be made at least 48 hours ahead of time.

In a saucepan combine 2 Tbsp. sugar, 1 Tbsp salt, ¼ cup white vinegar, and 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil.  Stir until sugar melts.  Remove from heat and let cool.

After cutting off larger stems, cut 1 bunch of mustard greens (about four cups) into thin strips, and then coarsely chop.  Cut any remaining stems into small 1-inch pieces.  Pack the mustard greens into a large quart canning jar.  Pour pickling liquid over the greens, covering them completely.  Screw lid on tight and place in refrigerator for at least two days.  The greens will wilt and soften somewhat, which is fine.

We love chips and dip and at this time of year appetizers are often on the menu.  But they can take a costly toll on the waistline.  There is a simple way to make the dip better. It requires some time cooking onions but it is well worth the effort.  As for chips, I recommend Kettle Brand Baked Potato chips.  These are not potato mush formed into chips liked Baked Lays.  They are real potatoes that are baked.  Quite good and a lot less fat.  Here is the recipe for the dip to go with them:

Sour Cream and Onion Dip

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet onion (Vidalia if possible)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup low fat sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon beef broth flavoring mix, preferably low sodium packets
• salt and pepper
• paprika (optional)

1.  Slice onion into this strips.

2. Pour oil into large non-stick or iron skillet and heat at medium high.

3.  As oil begins to glisten, add onions and stir to coat onions with oil.  Turn heat down to medium low or low depending on how your stove and skillet cook.  You want the onions to be cooking but not getting black.

4.  The onions now have to cook for about 25 minutes over low heat, stirring periodically to make sure they do not stick and burn.  This will caramelize the onions, which means the sugars will start to brown.  Use this time for some meditation.  Contemplate life.  Smell the aromas.  Be patient.  The following pictures show the progression you should see:

5.  Place cooked onions into a food processor and give it a whirr to coarsely chop them.  You will have about a 1/2 cup after cooking and chopping.

6.  Mix onions, sour cream, and beef broth flavoring in a large bowl and stir.  Note that the beef broth mix will give it a smokier onion soup  flavor but it is not essential.   if you don’t have any on hand, you can use only salt, pepper and paprika.  You can also add herbs like oregano and thyme to liven it up.  Use your imagination.

7.  Now comes the hardest part:  adding the salt and pepper.  Add the spices a little at a time, take a taste, and see where you are.   Add a smidge of paprika but not more than that.  You will be surprised to find out that you will not need a lot of salt.  Here is a hint.  Instead of just randomly adding it to a recipe when it is called for, add it to your food after it is cooked, unless there is some specific reason to use salt (like in baking or in a spice rub).  Salting your food at the finish will result in the use of a lot less salt because it is on top of your food for your taste buds to sense.  I rarely add salt when I am cooking.  I salt my food at the table.

8.  Once you get the salt and pepper to where you want them, enjoy!

We were in Bermuda many years ago and we ate fish with bananas. I know it sounds funny, but it really is quite good.  Bananas go very well with different meats and seafoods.  I later discovered a recipe for it in Burt Wolf’s Eating Well cookbook.  He in turn got the recipe from Commander’s Palace in New Orleans.

Today, I had some ripe bananas so we had fish and bananas for dinner.  I have revised this recipe over the years largely because it requires the fish to be breaded and fried.  Here is my revised and more healthful version:

Roasted Fish and Bananas

Serves 2 can be scaled up

For Fish:

• 2 4-ounce halibut steaks
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• dash of salt and pepper

For Bananas:

• 2 bananas peeled and sliced

For lime sauce:

• Juice of 3 limes
• Juice of two lemons
• 1 clove garlic mashed
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 2 Tbsp canola oil based butter substitute

To finish:

• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Brush the halibut steaks with olive oil and place on oven safe skillet.  (I like cast iron.)  Mix herbs and spices in a small bowl and spread evenly over fish.  Place skillet into oven and cook for about 15 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.  The fish is done when it   flakes easily and is a rich white color.

2.  While the fish is cooking, place the sliced bananas in a roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Place into the oven with the fish for five minutes.  Don’t cook for too long or they will turn into mush.

3.  In a small saucepan, mix the juices, garlic and peppercorns.  Allow to come to a boil and then turn on low for about 15 minutes.  The juices should get somewhat syrupy and the water cooks off.  Add the butter substitute, stirring until a soft sauce forms.  Note:  I like things tart.  If you do not want it as tart, remove the juice of one lime, add a bit of water instead,  and a dash of sugar, and keep stirring.

4.  With all the pieces, build the dish.  Plate the halibut.  Top with half of the bananas.  Then spoon over some of the sauce.  Sprinkle with almonds and enjoy.