Tuscan Fish Melt

Paired with pasta cooked in a slightly tangy tomato-based sauce, this sophisticated dish will go well with a glass of your favorite white wine. 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the tapenade

2 cloves garlic

4 tablespoons capers

1 cup pitted black olives

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon anchovies

600 grams cream dory fillet

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup all-purpose flour for dredging

1/4 cup oil

1 tablespoon of tapenade (see recipe above)

20-gram mozzarella cheese slices

1/4 cup garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup tomato sauce

600 grams spaghetti noodles, cooked according to package directions

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

basil leaves

chopped parsley

Procedure:

1  Make the olive tapenade: Blend garlic, capers, black olives, lemon juice, black pepper,  olive oil, and anchovies in a food processor until smooth. 

2  Wash and cut dory fillet into 150-gram pieces and season with salt and pepper. 

3  Lightly dredge fish in flour. 

4  Heat oil in a nonstick pan and cook fish until golden brown. Put tapenade over each fish fillet. 

5  Top each with a mozzarella cheese slices. 

6  Broil in the oven or put in the oven toaster to melt the cheese. 

7  Make the tomato pasta: In a pan, sauté garlic in olive oil. Add tomato sauce. 

8  Add spaghetti noodles to sauce and toss with Parmesan cheese. 

9  Season with salt and pepper. 

10  To serve, plate the pasta and the cheese- and tapenade-topped fish fillet. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, basil leaves, and chopped parsley.

Hot Prawn Salad with Mangoes and Pineapple

Featuring crispy prawns and sweet chunks of fruit, this Asian favorite makes for a light yet satisfying lunch. To retain the crunch, fry the prawns just before serving.

Serves 4  

Prep Time 20 minutes  

Cooking Time 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons condensed milk

1/2 cup mango, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup pineapple tidbits, drained

salt and white pepper to taste

1 egg

3/4 cup cornstarch

3/4 teaspoon salt

10 medium prawns, shelled, deveined with tails left on

oil for deep-frying

6 small romaine lettuce leaves (optional)

Procedure:

1  In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise and condensed milk. Toss in mango cubes and pineapple tidbits. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Chill and set aside.

2  In a small bowl, combine egg, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk until batter becomes smooth. Dip prawns in the batter, one at a time, and deep-fry in preheated oil. Fry a few pieces at a time. Cook prawns just until they turn pink and batter is light golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

3  To serve, arrange lettuce on a platter. Add the fruit-mayonnaise mixture and top with the fried prawns. Alternatively, you may toss the prawns in the mayonnaise mixture then transfer to the platter. Serve immediately.

Seafood in Green Curry with Brown Rice

Easy, healthy, and flavorful—just how your rice bowl should be! Combine the lightly seasoned, Thai-inspired topping with nutritious brown rice for a filling and delicious meal.

Serves 4  

Prep Time 10 minutes  

Cooking Time 20 to 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups brown rice

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup coconut milk 

1/2 cup chicken broth or water

1 tablespoon Thai green curry paste

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 cup sliced asparagus

10 to 12 pieces mussels

10 to 12 pieces shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tails left on

1 tablespoon lime juice

Procedure:

1  In a pot over high heat, bring brown rice and water to a boil; cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender to the bite, about 20 to 25 minutes.

2  In a frying pan over high heat, stir in coconut milk, chicken broth, curry paste, fish sauce, and brown sugar until sugar and paste are dissolved and mixture is simmering.

3  Stir in asparagus and mussels; cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add shrimps; cover and cook for another 3 minutes. Stir in lime juice.

4  Divide rice equally into four bowls. Top with the seafood curry mixture.

Seafood Pasta

The flavor from the seafood is what gives this sauce its personality, so make sure to get the best and freshest you can.  

Serves 4  

Prep Time 20 minutes 

Cooking Time 40 minutes

Ingredients:

olive oil

6 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 white onion, chopped

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon paprika

300 grams shrimp or medium prawns, peeled with tails left on, heads removed and set aside

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 kilo squid, cleaned thoroughly, ink sacs removed, and cut into rings

300 grams fish fillet, cut into bite-size pieces

1 (800-gram) can chopped tomatoes

300 to 400 grams linguine 

1/2 kilo clams, soaked in a bowl of salt water to get rid of sand, shells scrubbed

1 bunch basil, leaves picked, plus more for garnish

Procedure:

1  Heat a few generous glugs of olive oil in a skillet or pot that can hold all your ingredients. When oil is hot, add garlic and onion, and sauté until the onion is soft and translucent. Add Italian seasoning and paprika; stir. Cook until fragrant.

2  Remove onions and garlic from the pan; set aside. Add a little more oil if the pan looks dry. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. When oil is hot, add shrimp to the pan, along with the heads. Cook for a couple of minutes, turning once, and remove from the pan once shrimp turns orange. Discard heads or freeze them for making stock.

3  Season squid with salt and pepper. Add to the pan and cook until the pieces turn opaque and their ends curl, about a minute or less. Remove from the pan and set aside.

4  Season fish with salt and pepper. Add a little more oil to the pan if needed so fish does not stick. Fry fish until golden on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

5  Return the onion-garlic mixture to the pan and let this sizzle again. Add tomatoes, black pepper, and a swirl of olive oil and stir, making sure to scrape up all the seafood bits left in the pan. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until some of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is thick and pulpy, around 15 to 20 minutes.

6  While the tomato sauce is simmering, cook linguine according to package instructions. Reserve some pasta water before draining and setting aside.

7  Place the clams in the tomato sauce and cover with a tight fitting lid. Let this cook for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice. Uncover and check if clams have opened. Discard any clams that haven’t.

8  Taste tomato sauce and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add the rest of the seafood and toss gently, coating the seafood in the sauce and warming them up. If the sauce looks too dry, add some of the pasta water and swirl the pan to incorporate. Add basil, setting aside some for garnish. Toss again and take the pan off the heat.

9  You can mix your pasta noodles with the sauce in the pan or choose to serve it separately. Garnish with extra basil leaves.

Cooking tip: Saute all the seafood first in a paellera (paella pan)—an intense seafood flavor base develops in the pan, which then infuses the rice. Do the same for this pasta sauce. Aside from fantastic flavor, this also ensures that each component is cooked perfectly.