Soy-steamed Tilapia Fillet en Papilliote

I went to the supermarket over the weekend in search of what to cook for my brownbag lunch this week and chanced upon a sale on tilapia fillets! At first I was thinking tilapia burgers but I realized my blender was broken. Then I remembered watching one of Kelsey Nixon's "Kelsey's Essentials" episode and I realized this is what I'm gonna do with my fillets.

Soy-steamed Tilapia Fillet en Papillote

Serving: 2

Marinade:

1 clove garlic, minced/grated

2 tsp grated ginger

2 tbsp chopped spring onions

2 tsp kecap manis (optional)

2 tsp honey

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesami oil

zest and juice of half a lemon

few drops of hot sauce (optional)

2 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets (you can also use salmon)

1/3 cup celery julienned

1/3 cup red bellpepper, julienned

1/3 cup spring onions, sliced about 1 1/2 inch long

1/3 cup carrots, julienned

ground black pepper

1/4 cup cilantro

4 slices of lemon

2 sheets of parchment paper, each one cut into a heart and folded in half

1) In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the marinade.

2) Divide the vegetables evenly among the 2 sheets of parchment and season with the marinade. Place the fillet on top of the vegetables and drizzle the marinade over the fish. Top with 2 slices of lemon and cilantro.

3) Fold the other half of th parchment paper over the fish and overlap small folds among the open edge to seal. Steam for 7-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet.

4) Transfer the packets into the plate  carefully cutting it open and serve.

Note: 

1) You can also use salmon for this recipe. Other vegetables can also be used like baby bokchoy, bean sprouts, onion leeks and cabbage.

2) I reserved the remaining marinade and used it as a dressing for the steamed green beans that I served together with the fish.

3) Alternately, you can brush the packets with olive oil and bake at a 425 F oven for 8-10 minutes until the packet puffs up.

Glammed-up Pesto

When pesto gets a little boring...

I love love pesto. It's easy to make. It's a healthier alternative that cream sauce (i think.) You can use it as a pizza sauce or dip bread in it.  If you need a quick dinner, just toss it with some angel hair and you're good to go. But it's something that may get a little boring through time.  Sometimes you want more out of it just so to make it a little more exciting.

I was inspired by the recipe at the back of my store-brought pesto pouch. (Guilty, but only because my blender has given up on my and I haven't got a time to buy a new one yet.)  It's got tuna, olives and garlic sauteed together and sprinkled with some chili flakes. Now that is already good but my penchant for tuna is quite unreliable. But i found 1 more thing that could kick things up a notch: coriander seeds! I know! But trust me, it's gonna be good. It brings a little sweetness and a hint of freshness to to dish.

As for me, I made this version because i realized that I still have a lot of coriander seeds in my pantry and haven't really gotten the time to figure out what to do with them so I might as well start with this recipe.

Serves 2
Ingredients: 
1/2 cup prepared pesto (store-bought or home-made)
1 tbsp olive oil (or oil from your pesto)
2 cups cooked angel hair or spaghetti
1/3 cup shredded rotisserie chicken (you can also use shrimps or canned tuna)
2-3 tbsp chopped olives
6-8 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed but not ground
salt and pepper to taste
chili flakes to taste
2 lemon wedges

Cook the pasta as directed in the package.

Peel garlic cloves and blush them with olive oil.  Sear them in a pan until tender and golden brown. (Alternately, roast the garlic in a 400F oven.)  

Push the seared garlic cloves to side of the pan and put in the oil. Saute coriander seeds, shredded chicken the seared garlic cloves until you can smell the aroma of the coriander seeds wafting through the air.  

Add olives and chili flakes. Stir for a few seconds and pour in the pesto. Stir until heated through. Stir in pasta. Transfer to a plate and serve with shaved parmesan and a lemon wedge. 

grilled calzone (a clean-out-your-fridge recipe)

I always take it as a challenge when I check out the contents of my fridge right before I do my next batch of grocery shopping and see if I can cook something up out of what's left in it. I let my imagination go wild (yup, because i live on the edge!).

Today, when i checked out what's left of the vegetables and meats in my fridge, here are what I found:

zucchini
bellpeppers
a jar of olives
half a jar of button mushrooms
left over pasta sauce
left over chopped grilledchicken breast (orginally meant for my vegetable salads)
cheese

You already have a hint of what you can do with these? They all seem pretty Italian to me so what do I make with them? Nope,not pasta (I've been eating pasta the past 2 days so i was getting tired of it), calzones! And since I wasn't in the mood to use the oven, being it was about 33 degrees (C) outside and it's already hot as it is at 9 in the morning, I decided to do something crazy and said to myself, "hey, if you can grill flat breads, why not grill calzones?"  and so I did.

so i just chopped up those vegetables i found in my crisper, added some yellow onions and my chopped grilled chicken breast, poured some pasta sauce on them and stuffed it onto rolled out fresh pizza dough (yup, i made one because i'm trying my hand at yeast bread making too.) folded it up,crimped it and onto the stove top grill it goes. then i realized that I made 2 BIG calzones so one of them became my brown bag lunch at work for the next 2 days plus some chopped salad and the rest my family feasted on for afternoon snack.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped vegetables of your choosing (bell peppers, onions, zucchini, olives,mushrooms)
1/4 cup chopped grilled chicken (or other meats/seafood) 
1 cup pasta sauce
1 cup grated cheese
salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste
1 egg beaten for egg wash
half recipe of this pizza dough or store-bought frozen dough (3-4 ounces)

1) mix together the chopped vegetables, grilled chicken and pasta sauce. add salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste and set aside. 

 2) Once the pizza dough is done with the 1st proofing (if fresh) or if it has already thawed (frozen),  line your work table with parchment paper and divide the dough in half. Roll each ball out into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle about 4x9 with a rolling pin. top half of the dough with cheese then top that with the vegetable-chicken mixture the top that again with grated cheese.  fold the other half of the dough over the filled half and crimp the sides with a fork to seal it.  prick the calzone with a fork to let out steam as it grills.  brush with egg wash and transfer the calzones to an aluminum sheet and wrap it loosely with it. grill on top of a preheated grill and grill for about 4-5 minutes per side until golden brown.

Note: You can also bake these at a 400F oven for about 15-20 minutes.