canela's kitchen

Whole Roasted Branzino with Lemon Risotto

45 minutes

Growing up, my grandmother used to always say, "Feed a cold, Starve a fever." To this day, I still live by this adage. How I feed a cold is always determined by exactly the type of illness I am afflicted with. Sometimes, I want nothing more than a good Cuban Chicken Soup, or a Carrot Ginger Soup. Other times, I want nothing but a simple green salad. Then there are times like now, when I am so hungry, I want ALL the food. When I ordered groceries today, I kept thinking, "FISH." I remembered Branzino is on sale at Fairway Market Brooklyn, and whipped out my Instacart app to place my order. Roasted in the oven then finished in the broiler... this recipe is so simple and easy, we were eating dinner in less than an hour.

Many people are intimidated by Risotto. You shouldn't be however. Risotto requires lots of patience. Like a curious toddler, you have to actively baby sit this dish.. if you want to simply dump a bunch of things in a pot and walk away, risotto is not for you. But if you want a lesson in mediation and to practice patience, you can, and will make a risotto that will be flavorful, delicious and tender. The trick with risotto is adding liquid a half cup at a time, and stir constantly until most of the liquid is absorbed before adding more. One day, I will have to add my recipe for Champagne Risotto with Black Truffles. It IS simply divine. :) 

Back to THIS recipe! Trust me on this, save yourself time... whether purchasing from a small fish market, a counter in your supermarket or a Fishmonger on the wharf, as them to scale and gut the fish for you. When I was a kid, after fish, we scaled and gut whatever we caught. Its messy, smelly and time consuming. Unless you are on vacation catching your own, don't. If you all really want me to do a tutorial one day on how to scale and gut fish, I will, but there is no reason to have to do this for a weeknight dinner.

I found this recipe on Aveceric.com.

I modified it to fit my own needs, and felt the fish recipe itself required longer cooking time. In fact, my other half felt the idea of heating the oven to 500 F was excessive. I tried it, and still wound up putting it in the broiler.

The spine in the Branzino were easy enough to remove, but as I was eating closer to the tail, there were smaller bones I needed to be careful of. The flesh was tender, juicy and soft enough for my 16 month old grandson to enjoy. He actually almost ate the equivalent of a filet himself! 

If you are interested in trying to prepare a whole fish for the first time, this is the perfect dish to try.

Bon Appetit!

Sinny

Ingredients:

Lemon Risotto

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large shallot, finely chopped

• 1 ½ cups Arborio rice

• ½ cup dry white wine, (I used Pinot Grigio)

• 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmagiano cheese

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whole Roasted Branzino

• 3 whole branzino, cleaned, gutted, and scales removed
  Fine sea salt
  6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  2 lemons, thinly sliced
  6 sprigs fresh rosemary
  6 sprigs fresh thyme
  3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for serving
  20 cherry tomatoes
  ¾ cup dry white wine

Directions:

Lemon Risotto

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring, until translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add wine, and using a wooden spoon, stir until absorbed into rice. Add ½ cup chicken stock at a time and stir continuously until mostly absorbed. Continue adding stock until the rice is “al dente” but not crunchy, about 20 minutes. Stir in butter, until completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Stir in lemon juice. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Whole Roasted Branzino

Preheat broiler. Season both sides and the cavity of fish with salt. Arrange the 3 cloves garlic, lemon slices, rosemary, and thyme inside cavity of each whole fish.

In a large roasting pan, add olive oil. Transfer fish to pan. Toss in cherry tomatoes and remaining garlic in pan. Add ½ cup wine. Place pan in broiler  and cook, turning once and adding remaining wine, until skin becomes crispy, about 7 minutes each side.

Transfer fish to serving plate. Arrange roasted tomatoes and lemon slices alongside fish, and drizzle with pan juices.

Serve immediately.

Grown-Up Tuna Salad

20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 – 8 ounce can tuna, drained (in water not oil,)

• 2 tablespoon GF sweet pickle relish

• 2 boiled egg, chopped

• 2 tablespoon red onion, diced

• 2 tablespoon celery, diced

• 1 tablespoon capers, drained

• 6-7 tablespoons GF mayonnaise

• 2-3 tablespoons GF yellow mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

• salt & pepper to taste

• 3-4 lettuce leaves, (green leaf or romaine)

• 2 slices vine-ripe tomatoes

• 2 slices Schar Gluten-Free Sliced White Sandwich Bread, toasted

Directions

Flake tuna into chunks in a medium sized bowl. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill until cold. Serve as sandwich or on lettuce as a salad.

Basic Shrimp and Grits

30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup stone-ground grits

• 1/4 cup butter

• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 6 slices bacon, chopped into tiny pieces (optional)

• 1 half lemon, squeezed

• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

• 1 cup green onions, sliced

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• Salt, pepper & granulated garlic to taste

Directions

Make grits according to package directions on a medium low setting, adding salt & pepper. Just prior to the grits finishing cooking, add cheese & butter. Cover until ready to serve.

Rinse shrimp & pat dry with a paper towel. If using bacon, fry bacon in a large pan until crisp then remove from pan, setting them on a paper towel to drain the grease. Add green onion & garlic to the bacon grease, then add shrimp.

If not using bacon, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to pan, then saute’ green onion and garlic, then add shrimp.

Add salt, pepper and granulated garlic to shrimp. Shrimp cooks very quickly. In 3 to 5 minutes, pin will turn pink. Add lemon juice and parsley to the shrimp, then remove from heat.

Serve over grits in a bowl. Garnish with Bacon bits if desired.

Serves 4.

Red Snapper & Eggplant with Red Pepper Sauce

1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

• 4 large red bell peppers, sliced thin

• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

• 4 teaspoon lemon or orange juice, to taste

• cayenne pepper, to taste

• fresh basil, approximately 4-6 leaves, sliced

• 1 small – medium size eggplant, sliced into 1/4″ rounds

• jasmine rice, cooked

Directions

For sauce:

In a large, heavy saucepan, heat oil on high heat, adding peppers and garlic. Cook until peppers are tender, approximately 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender with lemon (or orange juice,) and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For fish:

Preheat broiler & brush a baking pan with oil. Cut eggplant into 1/4 ” rounds. Rinse fish and pat dry with paper towels. Season with salt & pepper, then place fish skin side down, (if using fillets.) Sprinkle each fillet with sliced basil. Add eggplant to top of fish, shingling each piece on top of one another. Brush lightly with olive oil. Broil until fillets are cooked thoroughly and eggplant is golden brown. Serve on top of sauce with additional basil as garnish.

Serve with Jasmine rice.

Shrimp Salad

Ingredients

• 1 red bell pepper, julienne (cut into thin strips)

• 1 yellow bell pepper, julienne (cut into thin strips)

• 3 green onions, sliced

• 2 clove garlic, minced

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled & deveined

• 4 cups mixed salad greens

Citrus Mustard Vinaigrette

Directions

For salad:

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in heavy sauce pan until hot, but not smoking. Add peppers and onion to the pan, until peppers are tender. Add shrimp and garlic to the pan, sautéing until pink, 3-5 minutes.

Salmon Croquettes with Tangy Cream Sauce

Looking for an easy, quick, inexpensive dinner idea? You’ll never go wrong with this one!

My grandfather grew up in New Orleans so you’ll often find many of my recipes are distinctly Southern or Creole dishes. Growing up, Salmon croquettes were one of my favorite dishes my grandparents would make. Its one of those dishes where even if you are down to grocery shopping day you can usually muster up the necessary items from the cupboard to make it. A little celery, onion and parsley, some Old Bay and pepper, a single egg and breadcrumbs and you are good to go! Now that I’ve had to start eating Gluten-Free, I had to consider what to do for breadcrumbs. I have been purchasing Gluten-Free Panko Breadcrumbs from Whole Foods, but they are pricey and not always in stock in my cabinets.. so for this particular recipe I used leftover GF Cornbread from a few nights earlier. I’ve included the cornbread recipe below. Its so easy, you’ll wonder why you didn’t make it from scratch to begin with. ^_^

Something else to consider is the type of dipping sauce you want to serve with the croquettes. Keeping in mind many condiments have vinegar, (a hidden source of gluten,) you want to make sure if you choose a tarter sauce or seafood sauce that it has “distilled vinegar,” in the ingredients list or specifically states it is gluten free. Many organic or natural commercial brands are gluten-free however, be aware that natural brands are frequently made with GMO ingredients and do not have to label it so be careful and choose carefully!

I served this dish last week with sautéed kale & cashew saffron basmati rice. You can find brown basmati rice in some markets – and its gluten free as well! Many seasonings aren’t gluten-free, but you’ll be happy to know I did the research for you and Old Bay is! ^_^

This dish, like many Creole dishes, starts with a spin on The Holy Trinity or “Mirepoix” – celery, onion and carrots, and sometimes,) garlic. In Spanish, its called a Sofrito with is onion, garlic and bell pepper. The Italians, Portuguese and even the Germans have their own take on the Trinity… the aroma and flavor given off by these base vegetables are a must for most dishes. While there aren’t any carrots in this recipe, you can certainly add them if you like. I prefer shredded carrots if I do add them.

Bon Appetit!

Sinny

Ingredients:

• 3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 stalk celery, finely diced

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 15 ounces canned salmon, drained w/ bones & skin removed

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• 1 1/2 teaspoons Gluten-Free Dijon mustard

• 1 3/4 cups packaged Gluten-Free Breadcrumbs or Gluten-Free CornBread, crumbled

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

• 1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning

• Gluten-Free Creamy Dill Sauce, (recipe follows)

• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions:

In a small skillet, saute onion, garlic and celery until onion in translucent. Stir in parsley, remove from heat. Place canned salmon in a large bowl. With a fork, flake fish and remove skin and bones. Be careful! The bones in canned salmon are tiny, white and hard to see. Be sure to get them all. Add in mirepoix, breadcrumbs, pepper and Old Bay. Mix in egg & mustard. Shape salmon mixture into 8 patties.

Heat olive oil in pan & add patties, cooking each side until golden brown. (Some recipes call for shorter stove-top time then oven baking. I like frying mine until done.) After finished, squeeze a little lemon juice on each patty.

Serve with sauce.

This Recipe Calls for:

Gluten-Free Tangy Cream Sauce

Gluten-Free Cornbread