Pan Roasted Cod in Broth with Vegetables

I really loved how this dish came out. It made me feel very "chef like" serving this for dinner. The original recipe came from Ted Allen's cookbook In my Kitchen, I added the vegetables to make the meal complete.

The fish came out crispy and flaky, not dry at all, and the broth was so flavorful. If you have any leftover broth make yourself a bowl of french onion soup the next day.

This recipe may look complicated but it is very easy to make for dinner. The only downside is Cod can get pretty expensive from the fish market. If your on a tight budget make this for a special occasion. I made this dish for Layla on her first birthday. She loved it!!!

**This recipe calls for cod fillet with skin on. My local fish market did not have skin-on fillets, so I used skinless and it worked out well. I think it would taste great either way.

Ingredients:
2 carrots-small diced
2 celery stalks-small diced
1 small onion-small diced
1 large yukon gold potato-small diced
1 shallot
2 oz pancetta
4 tbsp olive oil
1 small garlic clove
1 quart low-sodium beef stock
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper-to taste
4 (6-8 oz) cod fillets with skin
Flour (I used GF all purpose flour)
Lemon Zest (1 lemon)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium pan over medium heat, cook shallot and pancetta in 1 tbsp of olive oil; 8 minutes. Add in garlic and cook additional 1 minute. Add in beef stock and thyme, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Reduce until there is two cups of broth; about 25 minutes.

While the broth is reducing; in another pan heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add in carrot, celery, potato and onion. Cook until vegetables are golden brown and tender; about 25 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally to prevent sticking and burning. (I like the use a non-stick skillet here) Once cooked; keep vegetables warm.

Once reduced; strain solids from broth and return broth to pan. Swirl in butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.

When the sauce is reduced and vegetables are tender; heat oven proof pan on medium high heat for 5 minutes. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper and dust with flour.

Add 2 tbsp of oil to hot pan and add fish skin side down. Slide fish at first to prevent sticking. Cook about 3 minutes; flip fish and transfer to the oven for 7-10 minutes.

Place vegetables in a shallow bowl, place fish fillet on top of vegetables and ladle in broth until fish is half submerged in liquid. Garnish with lemon zest.

Greek Salad Pizza with Roasted Shrimp

Pizza is starting to be my favorite thing to make these days. For me, it is the perfect combination of baking and cooking. It's an easy way to experiment with all different ingredients and flavors.

My inspiration for gourmet pizza's comes from a wood- fired pizza place in NYC, Waldy's. It is a little place right in midtown and makes amazing thin crust individual pizzas. It's a great place to go to avoid the horrors of Penn Station food and the over priced restaurants in the surrounding area. Waldy's is located at 800 6TH AVE (27th St. between 6th Ave. & Broadway), definitely check it out if you are in the area. 

As I said above, my inspiration comes from that type of pizza, however, I like to create my own flavors and combinations. This is my attempted at a healthy pizza, and I have to say it came out exactly as I planned. Enjoy!!

The recipe below uses 1/3 of the pizza dough recipe. You can freeze the extra dough or double/triple the toppings to make 3 pizza's instead of 1. 

Greek Salad Pizza with Roasted Shrimp
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
1 recipe for pizza dough (recipe below) or store bought pizza dough
1 head of romaine lettuce-chopped
1 handful of mixed greens-optional
1 red bell pepper-chopped into bite sized pieces
10 cherry tomatoes-halved
5-6 pepperoncini's
1 small cucumber-sliced thin
4 oz feta cheese-crumbled
Kalamata olives-optional
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil
Dried oregano
Salt and pepper

For the Shrimp:
1/2 pound medium shrimp-peeled and devained
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Dried oregano
Dried rosemary
Dried Thyme

1. Prepare pizza dough (recipe below) and set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place red bell pepper on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake for 10-15 minutes until soft. Set aside.

3. Prepare the shrimp: On a baking sheet place shrimp on a single layer and coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme and dried rosemary to taste. Roast in the oven for 5-10 minutes until done; they should be opaque and pink. Set aside.

4. Turn the oven to 500 degrees F.

5. Roll out the pizza dough into an oval or rectangle shape to fit onto a baking sheet. Brush the dough with olive oil and season with dried oregano and a little black pepper. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

6. While the pizza dough is baking, prepare the lettuce. Place the romaine lettuce in a bowl and dress with lemon juice, olive oil, oregano. Toss together.

7. Remove the pizza dough from the oven. Let cool 5 minutes. Once the dough is cool enough to handle, top it with dressed lettuce, cherry tomatoes, pepperoncini, feta cheese, cucumber, Kalamata olives and roasted red pepper. Scatter roasted shrimp on top of pizza and serve.



Pizza Dough: (For recipe above, only use 1 of 3 dough balls, freeze extra dough)

1. Prepare the pizza dough: In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine yeast, sugar and warm water, stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand 5- 10 mins until it starts to foam.
2. Turn the mixer on low and add the salt and 2 tbsps of olive oil. Add in the flour a little at a time, mixing on lowest speed, until flour is incorporated. Keep mixing on medium speed, if it feels really sticky add a little more flour, if it is dry and crumbly add a little more water.Keep mixing for 5 minutes until the dough comes to a ball and become elastic.
3. Coat the dough with a little oil and place it back in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot for 1 hour.
4. Once the dough has doubled in size, divide into 3 even balls. Cover and let rest for 10 mins to make it easy to roll out. (If the dough is not rolling easily, let it rest a little while longer.)
5. At this point you can use the dough immediately, wrap the balls of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use, or you can freeze the dough for later use.
6. When you are ready to use the dough, preheat the oven to 500 degrees with baking sheet in the oven.
7. Roll each section out into a 12" circle or oval shape. Place the dough on parchment paper.

Healthy Fish Tacos

I am really excited to share this recipe with you. I was very happy with how it all came together. The great thing about this recipe is you can make all the condiments ahead of time and cook the fish right before you are ready to eat. These taco's are so fresh, healthy and flavorful. I hope you get a chance to make these, they will not disappoint!

Fish Tacos
Makes 8-10 tacos (serves 4 people)

Ingredients:
Fish:
1 1/2 pounds Tilapia fillets or other white fish
Salt and Pepper -to taste
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4-1/2 tsp cumin

Cabbage Slaw:
1/2 head red cabbage
Handful of basil-chiffonade or chopped
2 tbsp cilantro-chopped
1/4 tsp cumin
Zest and Juice of 1 orange
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper- to taste

Salsa: 
4 ripe tomatoes
1/2 jalapeno-finely diced (seeds removed if you prefer less spice)
1 tbsp cilantro-chopped
Olive oil
Salt and pepper-to taste
Juice of 1 lemon

Mango Sauce:
2 Mangos-peeled and diced
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper-to taste
1 tbsp honey

Jalapeno corn:
1 tbsp butter
1 bag of frozen corn (about 8-10 oz)
1/2 to 1 jalapeno- diced
Salt and pepper to taste

To Serve:
Flour torillas
Avacados
Sour cream


Make the condiments ahead of time:
1. Cabbage Slaw: Thinly slice cabbage and place in medium size bowl. Add in basil, cilantro and spices; mix together. Add in orange zest, juice and olive oil. Season with more spices to taste.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Salsa: Place the diced tomatoes and jalapeno in a small bowl. Add in chopped cilantro, salt and pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. Mix together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. Mango Sauce: In a small non-stick saute pan, add in diced mangos, cayenne pepper, honey and 2-3 tbsp water. Cook on medium heat until mangos are soft. Add more water as needed to prevent mangos from sticking. Season with a little salt and pepper. Add to blender and puree until smooth.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

4. Jalapeno Corn: On medium heat, melt butter in a saute pan, add in corn and jalapeno and cook until corn is warmed through; 10-15 mins. Season with salt and pepper- Set aside or refrigerate until ready to serve.

5. Fish: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut fish fillets into 3" by 1" pieces and place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or lined with non-stick aluminum foil. Season fish with salt, pepper, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp chili powder and 1/2 tsp cumin. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until fish is done, no not overcook.