dinner : portuguese-ish fish stew

Our usual M.O. for dinner preparations is to decide on the food first, and then pick a wine to match.  But once in a while, we like to mix things up and go the other way.  Vinho Verde is one of my very favorite wines, and we buy it quite frequently, but we often drink it with whatever food we're having - because it goes with so many things.  As a result, we sometimes miss out on its full potential as a food wine.

But tonight I decided to bring the food to the wine and prepare a hearty Portuguese-style fish stew.  I'm careful to say style because people get all huffy when you suggest that your particular version of an ethnic dish hovers in the vicinity of what is truly authentic, whatever that is.  That said, here's my recipe.  I don't like to specify measurements because I rarely measure, so let your taste and judgement guide you.

Sautee some minced garlic, diced red onion and diced fennel in olive oil. Add some fresh thyme, red pepper flakes, diced chorizo, bite-sized cubes of sweet potato and white potato and equal parts clam juice and water.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until potatoes are just tender.  Then add bite-sized chunks of fish (I used basa, but any mild,white-fleshed fish is fine) and a few large handfuls of baby kale.  Stir gently to get the fish and greens down under the vegetables. Cover and cook until the fish is done and the baby kale is wilted.  Serve with bread, for soaking up the juice, and of course a nice glass of Vinho Verde.*

*our selection tonight was Gazela Vinho Verde, which usually runs between $6 and $10 a bottle.

dinner : white bean and tomato stew

This was super easy and very tasty!  I've seen many recipes similar to this, but they usually call for poached eggs, and there was no way I was going to attempt egg poaching in my exhausted state. Here are the basics for about 6 servings:

Sautee a diced onion, some red pepper flakes and minced rosemary in olive oil.  When the onion has softened, add two cans of fire-roasted tomatoes with the juice, and 2 cans of white beans (drained and rinsed).  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer for 15 minutes.  Serve in bowls, topped with one or two fried eggs per serving, grated pecorino and shredded basil.  You might also want to have some crusty bread for soaking up the juices.  

Not the prettiest picture... I had already taken a few bites before I remembered to get  a photo.

I used low-sodium versions of the canned products, but feel free to use the salted versions, or add salt to taste.

dinner : chicken tagine, moroccan roasted vegetables, spinach salad

Enjoying the leftovers from the African Food Cookalong that I participated in a few days ago.  We're having Chicken Tagine, Moroccan Roasted Vegetables, and instead of couscous or quinoa, I decided to go with a simple salad of baby spinach, cherry tomatoes and red onion, tossed with olive oil and white wine vinegar.

Here are some shots from the original cookalong:

Grocery shopping done!

Preserved lemons and chopped olives

Spices for the vegetables

Dinner is served!

dinner : rotisserie chicken with pine nut brussels sprouts and spicy beets

The beets are back!  And they brought company!!

I actually decided to time myself for this one.  Thirty-two minutes from start to finish*.  Here's how it's done.

Stuff you need close at hand:
1 rotisserie chicken
1 lb pre-cooked packaged beets (yes, beets again)
1.5 lb fresh brussels sprouts
3-4 tablespoons pine nuts
3 scallions
3 oz soft goat cheese
olive oil
red pepper flakes
salt (optional)
2 big bowls
1 non-stick skillet
big knife
easy to clean cutting board (because this could get messy)
utensils for stirring stuff

Put the skillet over medium-low heat and toast the pine nuts.  While that's going on, trim and quarter (or halve, depending on the size) the sprouts, but be very careful to keep an eye on the nuts.  Once the nuts are nice and golden, throw them into one of the big bowls (we'll call this bowl #1). Raise the heat to medium, add some olive oil to the skillet and throw in the sprouts.  Toss them around to coat them in the oil and let them cook while you move on to the next steps.  Every few minutes, go back to the skillet and move things around to keep them from burning, you can add a bit of water to steam the sprouts once they have accumulated some nicely browned spots.

Slice the scallions thinly and toss them into the other big bowl (bowl #2)  Cut the beets into bite sized pieces  and throw them into bowl #2.  Sprinkle in some red pepper flakes, a splash of olive oil, and some salt if you like. Stir to combine.  Spicy beets are done!

Cut up the rotisserie chicken (remove the skin if you want) and set aside.  Rotisserie chicken is done!

At this point, you will just be babysitting the sprouts, tasting occasionally to see if they're cooked through.  Once you're satisfied with the texture, plop them into bowl #1 along with the pine nuts, throw in the goat cheese and stir to combine, until the cheese is melted and evenly distributed.  Pine nut Brussels sprouts are done!

This made 4 very generous and very delicious servings.

*2 minutes were spent idly nibbling on a piece of chicken back.

dinner : rotisserie turkey breast, beet, avocado and arugula salad, quinoa

Tuesday night is rotisserie chicken night in our household.  In an ideal world, I'd have time to season and roast a whole chicken on a weeknight, but in my world, we'd be sitting down to dinner after midnight if I tried that.  On this particular night, I had the good fortune to come across some rotisserie turkey breast, which I actually prefer to chicken, because it tends to come out more evenly cooked than a whole chicken.

I try to keep things interesting with the side dishes, without getting too complicated, and thus defeating the purpose of the pre-cooked poultry.  The quinoa is super-easy to prepare, but the package directions won't always tell you to rinse the grains before adding them to the pan.  That extra step helps eliminate any bitterness that is often associated with quinoa.

While the quinoa was cooking (about 15 to 20 minutes), I diced up some cooked beets, which I usually find in vacuum sealed packages in the produce section of the supermarket, and tossed them with some sliced red onion, and a vinaigrette made with lemon juice, thyme, minced shallot and olive oil.  I placed the beets on a bed of arugula and topped them with some diced avocado.  Then I nestled the cooked quinoa and sliced turkey breast alongside the salad and proceeded to bask in adulation!

dinner : shrimp, spinach and tomato omelette

This one came together in a rather odd way.  My intention was to put the spinach, shrimp and tomatoes into the omelette.  But as I was peeling the shrimp, I was thinking it would be a shame to waste the flavor in those shells, so after I cooked the shrimp in a bit of olive oil and some spices, I set them aside and added the shells to the same pan, with some water (wine would have been better but I didn't have a white on hand).  Once the shells had cooked for a few minutes, I removed them from the broth and added a couple handfuls of halved cherry tomatoes.  I cooked those down, adding more water when the mixture dried out, until they began to fall apart and make a light sauce.  Then I cleaned the pan, and sauteed the spinach with some minced garlic and red pepper flakes. 

Spinach and shrimp, waiting to be enveloped in eggy goodness.

 Serving the sauce on top turned out to be a nice touch, and it came in quite handy as camouflage in the spots where I tore the egg (like I always do).  My omelettes are not the prettiest you've ever seen, but they sure are tasty!

Side note: My beverage for the evening was Hoegaarden wheat beer, with a wedge of lemon.  Perfection!

wine down : ahead of the curve

I stumbled upon this recent article, in which the author documents the latest and greatest wine trends sweeping the industry.  Among them are Eastern European wines, modern rosé and Finger Lakes wines, all of which we have been enjoying for several years.

I don't want to toot my own horn, but as far as I'm concerned, that makes us bona fide trailblazers!

I'll celebrate by recommending one of my favorites, a fantastic Croatian white:

Kozlovic Malvazija, Istria, Croatia

Usually available for under $20

Cheers!