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.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Garlic Vinaigrette

Spinach really ups the iron in this salad. Serve with warm, crusty bread on the side to make it a complete meal.

Serves 2 to 3

Ingredients:

For the roasted garlic vinaigrette

2 heads roasted garlic 

juice of 2 lemons 

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar 

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup olive oil 

salt and pepper to taste 

For the salad

2 chicken breasts, patted dry 

1 romaine heart, chopped 

1 cup chopped spinach leaves 

3 tomatoes, seeded and diced 

6 sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, julienned 

1/4 cup black olives, sliced into thin rounds 

1/2 cup macaroni, cooked according to package directions, drained, tossed in 1 tablespoon olive oil 

Parmesan shavings

Procedure:

1  Make the vinaigrette: Squeeze garlic into a large bowl. Whisk lemon juice, mustard, balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar, and sugar into the garlic purée. Drizzle olive oil slowly into the bowl, whisking continuously. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. 

2  Make the salad: Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper, then grill  on a nonstick pan over medium heat until juices run clear. Set aside to cool, then cut into cubes. Combine lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, macaroni, and chicken in a large serving bowl. Toss with 1/4 cup dressing, adding more if you prefer. Shave some fresh Parmesan over the salad. Serve immediately, with more dressing on the side. 

Chinese-style Hunan Beef with Spicy Sauce

Add a fiery flavor boost to egg noodles with this delectable, chili-infused sauce. Dress it up even more with marinated beef slices and mixed vegetables for a lip-smacking treat.

Serves 3  

Prep Time 40 minutes  

Cooking Time 40 minutes

Ingredients:

For the marinated beef

250 grams top round beef, sliced into 1 1/2x1-inch strips

pinch of baking soda

1 teaspoon liquid seasoning

2 teaspoons oyster sauce

2 teaspoons ginger juice

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon each pepper and sugar

1 tablespoon egg white

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 cups cooking oil for frying

For the sauce

2 tablespoons corn oil

2 tablespoons chopped onions

2 tablespoons chopped garlic 

5 pieces Thai or Taiwanese red chili, chopped

1 stalk leek, sliced into 1 1/2-inch lengths

1/3 cup sliced carrots

1/3 cup sliced red bell pepper

1/3 cup sliced lotus root (optional)

1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

3 tablespoons Chinese wine

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 cup chicken stock

200 grams egg noodles, blanched in boiling water 

        until al dente, drained, and tossed with 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Procedure:

1  Make the marinated beef: Mix beef with baking soda and let it rest for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the cooking oil. Heat oil in a wok, pour in the beef mixture, and fry until half-cooked. Drain and set aside. 

2  Make the sauce: Heat oil and sauté onions, garlic, and red chilies until fragrant. Add leeks, carrots, bell pepper, lotus root, and chili garlic sauce. Season with oyster sauce, Chinese wine, soy sauce, and add chicken stock.

3  Allow the sauce to boil then add beef. Lastly, stir in noodles and toss until well combined. Serve immediately.

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.