Something fishy going on
According to the SeaPak Shrimp Company, the 40-day period between Ash Wednesday (today) and Easter is the biggest seafood season of the year. For those who don’t know, this 40-day period is called Lent. Many Christians choose to give up an indulgence or take on a new civic responsibility during Lent, and meat is a popular item to give up temporarily. Catholics who do not give up meat are still supposed to avoid eating it today and every Friday during Lent.
But fish is not forbidden, so all manners of seafood can be consumed with wild abandon. Fish, in particular, is a very healthy food, but if you are like me, you often suffer from sticker shock when you see the price of fresh fish at your local grocer or fish market. How is a family on a budget supposed to incorporate healthy fish into its meal plan without breaking the bank?
Some families choose to limit fish purchases to once a week. Others turn to frozen or canned fish to meet their needs, but those products can require a little more imagination in the kitchen. Nobody wants tuna salad or tuna casserole for dinner twice a week (except maybe my cats).
My grandmother used to make salmon cakes from canned salmon quite often, and they were a favorite of my grandfather’s. I tend to keep a bag of frozen tilapia fillets in my freezer, because they thaw in a flash and can be broiled or sauteed pretty quickly, too.
For my column next week, I’m seeking other ideas. How do you incorporate fish into your diet? Do you find the expense to be a hindrance? Do kids these days still turn up their noses at fish? If you have a tasty recipe to dress up canned or frozen fish, I would love to hear about it.
Meanwhile, I’ll pass along a recipe for seared salmon with blackberry sauce.
Seared Salmon with Blackberry Sauce
Serves 4
For the fish:
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 1/2 lbs. salmon, cut into 4 equal fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the sauce:
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 1/2 cups red wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sugar
3 sprigs fresh thyme
12 oz. blackberries (fresh is best)
2 tsp. cornstarch
1. Combine all ingredients for the sauce, except cornstarch, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the berries are so soft that they fall apart with a gentle prodding with a fork and the mixture is reduced by about half, about 30 minutes.
2. Set a fine-mesh sieve over the top of a large bowl. Pour the berry mixture into the sieve and use a spoon to strain the sauce through the sieve, firmly pressing and stirring the solids until as much liquid as possible has been extracted. Discard the solids and transfer the sauce back into the saucepan. Pour cornstarch into a small bowl and add a couple of tablespoons of the strained sauce. Stir until smooth, then add back to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat; keep warm.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Season fish fillets generously with salt and pepper. Cook on both sides until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side.
4. Serve immediately with a couple spoonfuls of the blackberry sauce.
Adapted from “The 10 Things You Need to Eat” by Dave Lieberman and Anahad O’Connor.
February 17, 2010 - 1:50 PM
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What I heard about Lent: In the middle ages people gave up butter, thus came about the Pancake Suppers many churches have on Shove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday) to use up all the butter in the house before Lent started. Middle agers bought “indulgences” from the ministry granting them the right to use butter during Lent – thus the great cathedrals were built. Interesting, huh?
Seared Salmon with Blackberry Sauce – sounds wonderful!
I got a recipe out of a taste of home for some scallops. I don’t have it with me so I might forget some of it, but it was surprisingly easy. It called for sea scallops which I didn’t have (they are a bit expensive). Instead I used some of the small froze ones which I had gotten on sale for a dollar each. The recipe was pretty much sauteed shallots, then add the scallops, some half and half, fresh sage and serve over noodles. It was surprisingly rich and not too expensive. I think it was called Scallops in creamy sage sauce.
Another easy, if a bit more expensive, is to wrap sea scallops in prosciutto and fry in a little bit of coconut oil. (I guess this isn’t so bad since it’s not a ton of ingredients.)
I have another one that’s awesomly simple, but since I haven’t made it in a while, not sure of the cost. You use white fish filets like cod or whiting (can be frozen, just thaw), coat in light flour, fry in a just enough butter to keep from sticking, remove from pan, add butter, lemon juice and parsly to make a sauce, serve over the fish. It’s called Fish Meuniere if you want to search for the exact amounts.
As far as fish though, I have an in. My dad lives in Myrtle Beach and if it’s a clear day he’s out fishing. We get plenty of flounder from him.
Lindsey, do you happen to have your grandmothers recipe for her salmon cakes? I keep trying, but cant seem to make them like Nanny did.
Hey Lindsey (and the fridgemagnet World)!
We’ve recently been using this recipe at least once every two weeks or so. It works great with frozen white fish – we like the Tilapia that we find at the grocery store vacuum sealed in individual packets. Because it’s so soaked in liquids, you can barely tell the fish is frozen, though it’ll definitely work with fresh fish, too.
Plus, it takes half an hour or less to prepare! It serves four with this recipe and tastes great with rice pilaf and grilled asparagus!
Ingredients:
4 filets of white fish
1 large can of diced tomatoes, with about half the juice drained
1 small can of whole, black, olives (pits removed), drained
3 tablespoons of capers
2 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
2 teaspoons of rosemary
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
Lemon Juice
–> Preheat oven to 425.
1) Season the filets with salt and pepper.
2) Lightly oil the bottom of a Pyrex dish and lay the fish inside.
3) Top with tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic, lemon zest and rosemary.
4) Drizzle with lemon juice and a little more olive oil.
5) Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until fish is light and flakey.
Oh, and Alton brown’s beer-battered fish and chips recipe is AWESOME:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chips-and-fish-recipe/index.html
I would LOVE to get some ideas on how to incorporate more fish in my diet. I totally forgot about Lent. I kept wondering why in the world I kept seeing all these ads and recipes for fish all over the place. I did not know Wendy’s even served fish – yet they do!
Thank you, Dana and Jennie! Those sound like great recipes.
Charles, I’m sad to say that I don’t have my grandma’s salmon cake recipe, but I can ask my dad and mom if they remember how she made them. I do recall that she left the “drums,” as they called them (fish vertebrae) in and some people like the texture of them. Not me!
Amanda, have you seen the Wendy’s commercial with the school of question marks? It’s pretty good.
Yeah Lindsey – I saw the ad the other day…I am personally looking for healthy fish recipes. I have never been a real fish fan, but I do like salmon and printed out your recipe. I am with you too – get that bone out of my fish! You know – that could be why I don’t like fish. I like the taste – don’t like the surprise of bones in my fish. Which fish are good to get that have no bones? I remember eating my mom’s fish and it had all these tiny bones in it and I was completely grossed out. There ended my fish eating and started shrimp eating.
Yum Jennie, your recipe sounds wonderful! I need to eat more fish. I love it, but I suffer from sticker shock too and don’t buy it as often as I should. My grandma used to make salmon cakes from canned salmon too. They were so good.
My 4 year old grandson does not like meat, but he loves fish. He doesn’t like chicken nuggets but loves fish sticks or fried filets.
Here’s a simple recipe for crispy baked fish.
2 decent size frozen cod fillets, thawed
half pint milk
half cup panko bread crumbs
quarter cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons grated parmesan (the inexpensive kind works best)
quarter teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons butter
juice of one lemon
Combine panko, flour, white pepper and parmesan
Dip fillets in milk
Bread fillets, pressing crumbs into the fish
Place single layer in greased baking pan
Pour 1 tablespoon butter and juice of half lemon over each fillet
Bake in 400 degree oven center rack for 20 to 25 minutes until fish flakes with fork.
I’m not a big fan of fish but my husband is. I have been trying to eat more of it by taking baby steps with salmon and tilapia. He was watching Giada on the Food Network one day and saw her make a salmon dish he figured I would like. As it turns out, I love it and actually get a craving for it now! Maybe some other fish rookies (and pros) will enjoy it too!
Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon, Basil and Salmon
1/2 pound of whole wheat spaghetti pasta
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning if desired
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning if desired
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 (4oz) pieces of salmon
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil leaves
3 tablespoons capers
1 lemon, zested
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add pasta. Cook until tender but firm, stirring occasionally (about 8-10 minutes). Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Add the garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Add fish to the pan and cook until medium-rare, about 2 minutes per side depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove salmon from pan.
Add the basil, capers, lemon zest and lemon juice to the spaghetti mixture and toss to combine. Place 1/2 cup spinach in a pasta bowl or on a plate and top with 1/4 of the pasta. Top each mound of pasta with a piece of salmon and serve immediately.
My mother used to make salmon cakes quite often. She would simply use a can of salmon, some finely chopped onion, salt, pepper, and some eggs as a binder. Mom fried them in Crisco and served them as is. I keep fairly close, adding only minced garlic and a small amount of seasoned bread crumbs. I also serve them with a remoulade, which seems to liven them up a twitch.
Wow! Blackberry sauce is a fantastic idea! That sounds delicious!
I don’t have time right now, but later I’ll post a recipe for pecan crusted Catfish that I enjoy. Trout or red snapper can also be substituted.
I usually end up having fish about every other week, and it’s easy to bake, pan fry, or grill. This year, I’m trying to up that to once a week, just to be more healthy. Mediterranean diet, etc., you know!
It’s really hard to get decent enough fish around here. Salmon cakes are a good way to get fish along with canned or bagged tuna and canned clams. I make my tuna salad with low-fat mayo. If you can taste the mayo over the tuna, you used too much mayo. I prefer bagged tuna but that’s a backpacking tradition. You can just open the pouch, pour in the ingredients(mayo, relish, hot sauce from packets) and eat while standing.
Flash frozen fish is good.
More wonderful recipes and suggestions; thank you all! Art, I think it’s important to find recipes that turn out a crispy breaded baked product. We all love and crave those crispy breaded foods, but fried food is so unhealthy. So your recipe looks great.
I can vouch for the fact that my sister, Kim, has never really loved fish. If her husband has found a recipe she craves “like chocolate cake,” as she put it in an e-mail to me yesterday, then that really says something! Thanks, Kim!
Ab, I’d love to see that catfish recipe. And thanks for the salmon cake tips, Jeff.
Henry, I am glad you mentioned canned clams. Some folks might shy away from them, but my mother and father use them in clam chowder and a delicious linguine with clam sauce.
Debbie, I make salmon cakes a lot with canned salmon – I’ve also done salmon loaves with it. It’s pretty much the same group of ingredients as the fritters only in a meatloaf shape. You can use canned salmon to make burgers and put them on the grill…they’re great! I often serve them with a sauce I make combining dried wasabi, sour cream, and a little mayo.
I miss Captain Pauls…it was a great source for good fish I thought.
Art, I picked up some mustard panko on sale at Kroger yesterday…using them to bread fish is exactly my vision for it.
Salmon loaf can be quite tasty if done well!!
Its also chock full of protein and can be low carb.
Two Gordon Ramsay tricks that we love:
Crispy Pan Fried Salmon: Pat dry a skin on salmon fillet and salt and pepper generously on both sides, pressing seasoning into the fish. Heat a little olive oil in a medium hot pan until very hot and shimmering. Carefully lay fillet skin side down and allow to saute until color changes 2/3 of the way up the fillet. Don’t move it around or the skin will tear. When the color change is at the mark the fish will release easily from the pan. Carefully flip it and saute until the fish is done, just a couple of minutes. The fillet will be perfectly cooked and the skin crispy. Works well for other fish.
When making breaded or floured pan fried fish, add a generous pinch of curry along with the salt and pepper to the crumbs or flour. It’s not overpowering, just adds a nice something extra to the flavor.
Hey, I found this recipe for Cajun Salmon Cakes that looks pretty yummy:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1072187
On the same site (Cooking Light) there’s a 20/20 feature with 20 fish recipes that take 20 minutes or less to prepare.
http://www.cookinglight.com/food/quick-healthy/20-20-superfast-fish-recipes-00400000040840/
I love salmon patties. But instead of bread crumbs, I use Kellogg’s Corn Flake Crumbs. The taste is so much better.
Has anyone used the salmon bits that are in vacuum sealed packages? I saw them today in my grocery, in the same aisle with the canned fish. They also had tuna & chicken. It looks like they might be intended for dips & such, but they could probably used for a lot of dishes. They may have been around for years, but I just now saw them…
When I visit my brother near DC, we always eat at the Bonefish Grill, so I can get the tilapia with Warm Mango Salsa. The recipe is on their website. I charred the onion under the broiler (and charred the red pepper as well) and it turned out great. It was also good with peach in place of the mango.
Bonefish Grill Warm Mango Salsa
1 cup red onions, charred and chopped (quarter inch pieces)
1 quart small diced mango (drained and chopped in quarter inch pieces)
1/4 cup diced red pepper (eighth of an inch pieces)
1/2 cup mango puree
1/4 cup scallions (chopped on bias)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Peel and slice red onion in 2 to 3 large pieces lay on hot grill and char.
Chop the red onion into quarter inch pieces.
Dice the Mango and red pepper.
Mix all the ingredients together
When ready to serve, heat in microwave or on stove top for three minutes. Add scallions and cilantro and serve over grilled fillet.