Italian Style Perch

Summer is finally here!  After all of the travelling and family events, it's now back to basics and finding some new, fun ways to enjoy a delicious summer meal.  

I'm a big advocate of fish.  It's a great, affordable way to add protein and it's a lean meat, so even better.  And, you can add so many different kinds of spices and seasonings to it and that fish will still taste great.  Plus, it cooks fast meaning you can enjoy that delicious meal sooner!

I was browsing around on BuzzFeed and found this article for 23 Easy Tricks for a Healthier Barbecue.  It has some fantastic, colorful, and healthy recipe ideas for great summer cooking.  Since I love  all things Mediterranean, I decided to try the recipe posted for Moroccan Potato Salad (find it here; posted below).  And, continuing with the "fresh fish" theme, I found this recipe for an Italian-inspired grilled fish (find it here; posted below).  It was my first time cooking fish on the grill, but it was just as easy as the oven (but much more fun).  

Both dishes turned out great and went well paired together - a breezy Mediterranean way to bring in the summer!

Italian-Inspired Perch

Ingredients

1. Fish fillets!  I use perch because I love it and it's cheap at my local grocery store, but tilapia or probably most fish would also be great alternatives.
2. Olive Oil
3. Garlic, thinly sliced
4. Kalamata Olives, sliced
5. Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half
6. Small Onion, diced
7. Fresh Lemon, sliced
8. Parsley 
9. Basil
10. Seasoning of your choice for the fish

Bake that fish!

First, thaw out the fish that you want to use (if frozen).  Take a grill-ready flat sheet (or, alternatively, take a metal cookie sheet and wrap it in tin foil) and lightly drizzle the bottom with some olive oil and place the thinly sliced garlic on the sheet where you will place your fish fillets.

Season up that fish!  I used some Nature Seasoning, Lemon juice, and a bit of paprika, but feel free to play around.  

Preheat that grill!  Like I said, it was my first time using the grill to cook fish.  But I know that these perch fillets cook at 425 (Fahrenheit) for 15 minutes, so I let the grill get to about that same oven temperature (we've got a gas grill with a gauge, but otherwise, I guess that would be about medium/medium-low heat for a covered grill?).

In a separate bowl, slice up kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, onion, parsley, basil, and lemon.  Mix everything up together and then cover the fish on the tray with this aromatic mixture.  The combined smell of the tomato with the fresh basil and parsley alone already makes you wish the meal was ready.  Finish it off with drizzling some olive oil over everything again to keep that moisture and prevent burning.

Now, grill that fish!  You can just place the tray on the burners, cover the grill, and set your timer.  When the fish fillets are firm to the touch and the meat flakes with your fork, it's ready.  Again, about 13-16 minutes, probably.  Just as the original chef wrote, "the smell is intoxicating as the garlic starts cooking and infuses the fish...the flavors all blend together leaving an exceptional taste!"

Moroccan Potato Salad

Described by the original chef as "bright and aromatic with plenty of fresh parsley," this potato salad lives up to its hype.

Ingredients

1. Scrubbed Potatoes (about 1 pound)
2. 3/4 Cup minced Flat-Leaf Parsley (I purchased one bunch of fresh parsley from the grocery store, used about the 3/4 cup for the potato salad, and used the rest of the bunch for the fish above)
3. 1 Small Red Onion, peeled & minced
4. 1 Garlic Clove, peeled & minced
5. Olive Oil (recipe recommends 1 tbsp., but I'd add a bit more to keep the potatoes moist instead of dry once you cook and peel them).
6. Salt & Pepper to taste
7. A little bit of Lemon Juice

Mix it Up!

Instructions are pretty easy on this one.  Place the potatoes in a pot of cold water.  You can add a bit of salt to help the potatoes stay together when you boil them.  Do not peel them yet.  Cook over medium-high heat until tender, about 20-25 minutes.  Drain the potatoes and let them cool (that's the hardest part for me - I get too excited then end up burning my fingers; just wait it out though).

Next, the mixing part!  Combine the parsley, red onion, garlic, and olive oil into a medium bowl.  Season to taste with the salt & pepper (for a heart-healthy option, cut out salt completely).  Peel the potatoes, then coarsely chop them.  Add them to your bowl with the mixture.  I added a bit of lemon juice to the salad to complement the potato and parsley tastes.  Serve hot or cold, your preference (even though it's summer, I still prefer potatoes warm).  Enjoy!

Note: Everything was really easy to make and including prep time for each dish separately, took less than one hour total.  If you want to make the fish in non-grill-season (or you don't have a grill), no worries - using the regular conventional oven cooking instructions for your fish, you can do the exact same recipe with equally delicious results!

Additional Note: For some summer music, this song has been on the radio now that I'm back Stateside and it's pretty catchy.

For now, time to hit the beach!

For more Pure Michigan photos, click here.

For more Pure Michigan photos, click here.

Fall Fish

I don't usually cook fish just because I never really learned how to do it right, but I thought that on study breaks, it might be good to experiment and finally learn.  And I came up with something pretty tasty.  This is the lemon-dill perch with wild rice, a salad, and a lemon-pomegranate garnish.

For the fish, I just used frozen perch fillets, but any kind of whitefish would work (perch just happens to be my favorite).  Take the thawed fillet and put it in an oven-safe pan.  I then melted some margarine/butter in the microwave and put some Nature Seasoning, Garlic Power, Lemon Juice, Parsley Flakes, a touch of Oregano, and fresh Dill.  After stirring the mixture together, pour over the fish fillets.  I then baked the fish in the oven for about 12-15 minutes at 425 degrees.  After taking the fish out, I added some more fresh dill on top of the fish as a garnish and for extra taste.

The sides are pretty easy.  The wild rice is just Uncle Ben's Wild Rice.  It's cheap to buy, easy to make, and tastes fantastic.  Basically, pour everything (including spice pack) into a pot, add some water (olive oil optional), and then let it simmer for about 27 minutes.  And ta-da.

The salad was pretty easy to make too.  Just get a big bowl for mixing everything up and then get out a cutting board and knife for dicing up a bunch of vegetables.  I put in one large tomato, 2 red peppers, 1 leek, some artichoke hearts, black olives, fresh basil, about 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and seasoned with a little salt and pepper.  Mix everything together well and chill.  

 When the fish is done, serve together with the other sides.  I added some lemons with a few pomegranate seeds as a garnish (and because I always eat fish with fresh lemons).  

A Mediterranean Meal

While browsing through my favorite bookstore, Schuler Books & Music, I found a great cookbook with recipes from some of my favorite countries' cuisines. The book, The Essential Mediterranean Cookbook, was on sale for a steal, so I bought it and decided to experiment. After the recipes turned out so well, I am excited to try more.

I selected Psari Plaki, a Greek fish recipe, for the main dish (found on page 38) and a North African cucumber, feta, mint, and dill salad to accompany it (found on page 251). Find the recipes retyped below and enjoy!

Psari Plaki - baked fish with tomato and onion

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

1 small stick of celery, finely chopped

1 small carrot, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

13 oz (400g) can of chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato passata (I couldn't find this, so I used tomato paste)

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 oz (50g) day-old white bread (I used packaged bread crumbs instead)

1 lb 2 oz (500g) white fish fillets, such as snapper or cod

3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in frying pan. Add onion, celery, and carrot. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes, or until soft.
• Add garlic, cook for 2 minutes, then add chopped tomato, passata, oregano, and sugar. Simmer for 10 minutes, occasionally stirring, until reduced & thickened.
• Stir chopped parsley and lemon juice into sauce. Season to taste.
• Arrange fish in single layer in baking dish. Pour sauce over fish. Scatter breadcrumbs all over the top, then drizzle remaining olive oil over fish.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until fish is cooked.

Cucumber, Feta, Mint, and Dill Salad

Ingredients

4 oz (120g) feta cheese

4 cucumbers

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1.5 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped

1 tablespoon dried mint

3 tablespoons olive oil

1.5 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

• Crumble feta and place in large bowl. Peel and seed the cucumbers, cut into 1/2 inch dice. Add cucumbers to bowl along with the onion and dill.
• Grind mint in a mortar and pestle. Combine with the oil and juice, then season with salt & black pepper. Pour over salad and toss.