Swordfish – Grow. Cook. Eat.

December 17, 2010

Farmer Friendships (Recipe: Swordfish, Parsnip Puree with Vanilla Saffron Sauce)

If you are friends with a farmer, you know the only way to spend time with them is to visit them on their farm, and follow them around the fields as they tend to their crops and livestock. I learned this long ago when I became friends with Brett. While cultivating a friendship, I also learned how to save seed; “process” chicken, turkeys and pigs; sort tomatoes; and plant and harvest all sorts of vegetables.

Perhaps similar to working in a kitchen, there’s always something to be done – vegetables need harvesting, fields need weeding or irrigating, plants need staking, and of course produce needs to be sold. In the winter, the chores perhaps are not as time-sensitive, but the list is still long.

It was no surprise when I visited the O’Dwyers in November at their farm (Langwater Farm) that I would have minimal time to talk with them before the chores began to call. They just finished their first season of cropping on 5 acres in North Easton, and by all counts they had a highly successful season. As they plan for the next season, they are busy building two new greenhouses, clearing fields and developing strategies to finance new, labor-saving equipment.

The farm-stand is still open and well stocked with lots of leafy greens, cruciferous veggies and roots. I picked up some romenesco cauliflower, just because it looked so cool, and a bag of parsnips.

Perhaps not the best way to showcase the parsnips, but an exceptional dish… is a variation on Thomas Keller’s Recipe… The combination of parsnip, vanilla and saffron will knock your socks off. Really.

Seared Swordfish with Parsnip Puree, Vanilla Saffron Sauce and Wilted Spinach

4 swordfish filets – approximately 6 oz. each
1 lb. parsnips
1 cup cream
1 lb. spinach
1 orange zested
½ vanilla bean
¼ tsp. saffron
¼ cup wine
½ cup chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 shallot, diced
1 tbs. butter
plain oil
salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste

1. Make parsnip puree: Peel parsnips, and cut into chunks. Put in a pot of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil, cook until tender. Drain parsnips (reserving about 1 cup of liquid), and puree with ½ cup heavy cream, and cooking liquid as necessary. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

2. Prepare the spinach: Heat a large skillet. Add 1 tsp. of oil. Sauté garlic with orange zest for one minute. Add spinach, and cook until wilted, about w minutes. Remove from heat and set aside

3. Make the sauce: Heat butter in a sauce pan. Add shallots, and cook for 2 minutes, or until soft. Add saffron and vanilla. Deglaze with white wine. Reduce until 1 tbs. of liquid remains. Add cream and chicken stock. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

4. Cook the swordfish: Heat a large skillet. Season char with salt, pepper and a generous squeeze of lemon juice. Add oil to the pan, and cook the fish until golden brown. Turn over and cook through, 2 – 3 minutes depending on the thickness of the filet.

5. Serve swordfish with parsnip puree, spinach and sauce.

October 11, 2010

Green Tomatoes and Jam

Summer is officially over.

With threats of the first frost looming and the race to get the garlic in the ground, I spent the weekend playing in the garden. I gathered all the tomatoes – green, red and everything in between. In between digging up the tomato plants and preparing the soil for garlic, I made green tomato jam.

I scoured the web for recipes: a theme emerged – simmer chopped tomatoes with sugar and vinegar. Some called for additions of apples and/or raisins. Spicing ranged from ginger to cinnamon to a medley of warm spices. I decide to use an old recipe for green mango chutney. I had used it with great success substituting in strawberries and apples, so I figured green tomatoes would work well too!

Did it ever. Wow! I served it last night with swordfish – seasoned with lime and dusted with chick pea flour. The chick pea flour elicited enough of an Indian flare that paired perfectly with the chutney. I preserved the remainder into ½ pint jars.

Green Tomato Jam

6 cups chopped green tomatoes
2 cups sugar, brown
1 small onion, diced
2 cups vinegar – cider
1 in. piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 – 2 jalapenos, chopped
1 tsp. cinnamon

Put sugar and vinegar in sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Simmer over low heat until chutney is reduced and thick, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.

Here are canning instructions… reposted from here.

Preserving Tomatoes in Jars
The one thing to remember when canning tomatoes is that you need to boil everything. Boil the jars, boil the tomatoes, boil the tomatoes in the jar. The first two boil are necessary to sterilize the jars and the tomatoes, the third boil is to create a vacuum seal in the jar.

So to be clear, the process goes like this:

1. Purchase canning jars. I prefer the wide mouth because they are easier to fill. Consider buying a variety of sizes. Even if you are only canning one kind of sauce, the variety will enable you to maximize your tomatoes – if a recipe calls for a small amount of tomato; you open a small jar, instead of opening a large jar that may not be completely used. Also, buy a pair of “canning tongs”. These tongs are specially designed to lift the jars out of the water.

2. Wash the jars. Put the lids in one pot and the jars in another pot. The pot for the jars should be deep enough that the jars can be covered by at least on inch of water.

3. Cover the lids completely with water and put them on the stove. Bring to a boil, and turn off the heat. Let them sit in the water until you’re ready to use them.

4. Cover the jars completely with water and bring them to a boil. Continue boiling them for 10 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, bring the tomatoes to a boil, and continue cooking them for at least 10 minutes. Even if you smoked the tomatoes, you still need to boil them.

6. Remove the jars from the water, draining the water out. Fill each jar with tomatoes, leaving about ½ inch at the top. With a clean towel, wipe the lip of each jar clean.

7. Drain the water from the lids and cover each jar. Seal with the metal band.

8. Return the jars to the boiling water and let boil for 10 minutes. Remove from the water and let stand for 20 minutes. Remove the band and test the lids – if it comes off easily, then the seal did not work and you must repeat the process. If the lid is tight, then you are all set!

October 4, 2010

Power Foods (Recipe: Pomegranate Vinaigrette)

The FTC recently filed a complaint against POM Wonderful for the health claims it makes. Perhaps, this will put a crimp in POM’s sales, but it certainly didn’t stop me from making a wonderful dinner of Roasted Swordfish with Pomegranate Vinaigrette.

Whether POM’s health claims are true or not, I would argue it’s better than many of the dietary supplements available on the market. And when I served it with beets and kale – the most nutritionally dense food per calorie available, I knew I had a healthy meal.

Pomegranates and portobellos pair wonderfully with the combination of sweet and earthy flavors. The swordfish was a perfect vehicle to transport the flavor – meaty enough to keep its presence known but with minimal flavor competition.

In the past, when I’ve made the pomegranate vinaigrette, I squeezed my own – taking fresh pomegranates, cutting them in quarters and then squeezing the juice out with a potato ricer.

This time, I lazily just purchased bottled juice. The vinaigrette is thickened with cooked beets – which mirror the flavors of the pomegranates and mushrooms.

I served the sauce and 'shrooms with roasted swordfish, but you could also serve it with lamb or salmon. Or just toss some arugula with the mushrooms and vinaigrette for a bright fall salad.

Pomegranate Vinaigrette
1 small beet, cooked until exceedingly tender
½ cup pomegranate juice
1 small shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ lime, juiced
Salt and pepper to taste

Sautéed Mushrooms
2 tbs. butter
3 portobello mushrooms, sliced ¼ inch thick
1 small shallot, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 – 2 sprigs thyme
¼ cup dry sherry
Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

Heat a large skillet over medium high flame. Add butter. When butter is melted, and mushrooms. Cook without stirring for 2-3 minutes. Add shallots and garlic. Sprinkle thyme on top. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir mushrooms, and cook for 2 minutes more. Add sherry and let reduce. Set aside.