Slow Roasted Alaska Halibut with Fennel & Tomatoes Recipe

When I was growing up we had a second freezer that I swear was packed full of halibut. My father got it somewhere and we ate it for what seemed like years. I remember that it was dry, tough and somewhat stringy. Was it terribly freezer burned? Only recently my mother told me it might not have been halibut. What it actually was will forever remain a mystery. But it was years before I tried halibut again and imagine my surprise to discover that it is a delicate, creamy and luscious fish.

Recently I was in Alaska to learn more about seafood so naturally I went fishing. Our boat caught a tremendous amount of halibut. Halibut can be very big fish and now I've come full circle and am enjoying having a freezer full of it. I believe the secret to cooking halibut is to be extremely gentle. It cooks up wonderfully when roasted slowly and is much harder to overcook at low temperatures. In this recipe you roast vegetables at high heat, give the fish a little rest at room temperature with a  spice rub and then coat the fish with the juicy vegetables to help keep it moist while cooking it ever so slowly.

In 2014 Americans ate over 100 pounds red meat and about 100 pounds of poultry per capita, but only around 14 pounds of fish and seafood That's a shame because seafood is really good and even a small serving can be very satisfying. I find about 4 ounces is plenty.

Some more things to know about Alaska seafood : 

* It's healthy--3 1/2 ounces cooked halibut has 140 calories, 27 grams of protein and 460 mg of Omega 3

* It's easy to cook

* It can be prepared very quickly

Note:  If you don't have cherry or grape tomatoes, just use diced Roma tomatoes instead.

Slow Roasted Alaska Halibut with Fennel & Tomatoes 
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb

2 cups halved cherry or grape tomatoes 

4 garlic cloves thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 halibut filets, about 4 - 5 ounces each

1/2 teaspoon paprika—any kind is fine, smoked, sweet or hot

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 450°.

Lined a roasting pan or baking dish with foil. Layer on the fennel then garlic and top with the tomatoes Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile combine the paprika, salt, and onion powder. Pat dry the fish and sprinkle evenly with the spice mixture. Let the fish rest at room temperature while the vegetables are roasting. 

When vegetables have roasted for 15 minutes, remove them from the oven and immediately lower the oven temperature to 200 degrees. Push the vegetables to the side of the pan. Place the filets in the center of the pan and pile the vegetables on top of the filets. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. 

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Alaska Seafood for hosting me on my trip to Alaska. I was not compensated monetarily to write this or any other post on Cooking with Amy. 

Zucchini Noodles Recipe

My love of pasta is no secret, but I’m cutting back. An article in the New York Times covering the latest research about the benefit of low carbohydrate diets has me rethinking my noodle consumption. I won’t give them up completely but now and again I can see trying something different. Something like zucchini noodles. 

For a long time I’ve wanted one of those spiralizer type tools. But they are rather expensive and I just wasn’t sure how much use I’d get out of them. There is actually an easy way to make “noodles” out of zucchini or other vegetables using a box grater. You just lay the grater on its side like a mandoline! But I’ve just recently tried out the Microplane spiral cutter and it’s an even better option. At $14.95 it’s a lot less expensive than some of the other tools and takes up very little space. It also has two sizes so you can shred larger or smaller vegetables. 

The downside to using this gadget is that it takes some time to get used to it, and to figure out how much pressure to exert to get the thickness of noodles you like. It also leaves a little stubby core of the vegetable. But it’s relatively easy to use and clean once you get the hang of it. 

I don’t like raw zucchini, but by cooking the zucchini noodles in a pan sauce, you get a lovely texture and the zucchini does seem to absorb a bit of the sauce. You can also blanch the "noodles" quickly in boiling water to take off the raw edge and then toss them with a cool sauce like pesto. I’ve only begun experimenting with zucchini noodles but I’m enjoying them so far. While not chewy, they do have a lovely slippery feel. 

Zucchini Noodles with Fresh Tomato Sauce 

Makes 2 servings 

2 Tablespoons olive oil 

1 cup cherry tomatoes

2 medium zucchini 

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced 

1/3 cup peeled small to medium raw shrimp, optional 

Trim then shred the zucchini using the large holes on a box grater or using a “spiralizer” tool. Heat a skillet and add the olive oil. Add the tomatoes and cook gently until they begin to break down and become saucy.

Add the zucchini and garlic and cook until the sauce reduces by about half. Add the shrimp, if desired, and cook just until the shrimp are pink and cooked through, the time will vary depending upon the size of the shrimp but probably no more than a minute or so. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Enjoy! 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Microplane for providing me with the spiral cutter to test. 

Smoky Tomato Soup Recipe

It's easy to get so caught up in the idea of eating seasonally that we forget that there are certain things that aren't necessarily seasonal, for example vegetables grown in hothouses or greenhouses like Belgian endive, cucumbers and mushrooms, also preserved produce--jams, pickles, chutney, frozen and canned foods. Which brings me to canned tomatoes, which are a great choice for recipes since fresh tomatoes are in season for a fairly short period of time.

While I wouldn't use a canned tomato on a sandwich, they are a must for most tomato based sauces. Lately I've come to appreciate canned fire roasted tomatoes for their lovely smoky flavor. They are great in stew or chili and a sneaky shortcut when making this zippy soup. A nice option in this shoulder season when somedays still feel like Winter, it's something you can make from pantry staples--a few aromatics, cans of tomatoes and broth. Having tried many brands of fire roasted tomatoes, I like Hunt's best and while I prefer homemade, Swanson's is the only canned chicken broth I use.

Another little trick in this soup is the addition of cream cheese. I don't typically keep heavy cream on hand so I am always looking for other ingredients to add creaminess to recipes. In this case a tiny bit of cream cheese adds a lot of richness. But in all honesty this soup is really wonderful even without it.


Smoky Tomato Soup
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 14.5 ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes
2 14.5 ounces chicken broth (or homemade)
2 Tablespoons cream cheese, optional

Instructions

Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add the oil, onions and carrots and cook, stirring frequently for 8 minutes or until soft and golden, but not brown. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the smoked paprika and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until fairly thick and saucy.

Add the cream cheese if desired. Blend the soup in batches or use a hand blender. When the soup is smooth, it's ready to serve.

Enjoy!