Sablefish $23/lb

Smoked Sablefish $29/lb

Now that Spring is just around the corner, we have to remain patient for a short while longer.  The following savory winter smoked blackcod recipe was created to infuse nutrients and flavor in order to draw attention back to the pleasure and simplicity of a relaxed home cooked winter meal.  I recommend serving this dish with quartered and roasted purple Yukon potatoes, fingerlings, Baby Red or Yukon Gold.  Potatoes should be cooked ahead of the fish and kept warm.  The acidity of the braising liquid compliments the starch of potatoes and the richness of blackcod and all will contrast nicely to the zesty fresh flavors of an onion salad.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups of any white wine
½ teaspoon  sea salt
½ cup water
4 [smoked or unsmoked] black cod fillets with skin on, 5 to 7 ounces each – thawed
dash of [smoked or sweet] paprika for garnish

Salad Ingredients:

1/2 bunch of choped flat leaf parsley – leaves only
1 purple onion – 1/4 inch slices
2 Tbs sea salt
¼-½ tsp sumac seasoning to taste [purple Turkish spice]

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a small glass dish just large enough to place (4) cut and portioned fillets skin side up, combine the first three ingredients.  Then place the portioned fillets skin side up in the dish and let stand for ½ hour at room temperature.
• In a small bowl, combine sliced onion and 2 Tbs of salt.  Let stand for 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Turn over the smoked blackcod fillets in their liquid and place the glass dish on the top rack uncovered into the 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Use a timer if available.
• While fish is cooking, gently squeeze the salted onion slices in over the sink to drain off excess moisture.  Taste the onion to check if it is too salty to serve.  Onion should be softer and not too salty.  Onion can be rinsed with cold water and resqueezed of excess water if necessary.  When the onion is salted just right to taste, add the parsley and sumac to the onion.  Serve braised blackcod hot; after pouring any remaining braising liquid over the fish and other vegetables garnish the cooked smoked  blackcod with the dash of smoked or traditional paprika and serve with Onion Salad.  Avoid excessive smoke flavor by using sweet paprika on smoked blackcod and using smoked paprika if using raw blackcod.
• Serving suggestion – Roasted root vegetables such as baby red potatoes, beets and red carrots or squash such as acorn or butternut go well with this dish. Roasted vegetables can be cleaned, cut, oiled and placed into the oven before the recipe is started.  The blackcod can be added to the oven about 15 minutes before the vegetables are done.  Because blackcod is harvested in the fall it is an excellent fish to serve in the winter and its bright white color provides appealing contrast to the rich colors of beets, red or gold potatoes, red carrots, or squash while blackcod’s abundant trace minerals compliment the vitamins of the fresh fall harvest.

Smoked Salmon and Prawn Scampi are deliciously easy

Serving Otolith’s smoked salmon as an appetizer and scampi made with Otolith’s shrimp, prawns and/or crab, you will relish the spectacular flavors and lavish in the time you have to spend with your friends or family.  Whether you have parties on the horizon or just want to make any night special, having made these two recipes for 20 guests myself on December 24, 2012, I know first hand the incredible results of a little effort that will make you and the company you keep feel splendid.

Smoked Coho Salmon w/ Tapenade

Time: 15 minutes to prepare; Serves 5

Ingredients:

1 lb of smoked coho salmon strips – cut into 1/2 – 3/4  inch pieces

2 Tbs capers – cut in half or diced up, not pureed

8 oz of pitted kalamata olives – half or coarse chop

7 oz roasted red pepper – 1/2 inch diced

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 Tbs EVOO – extra virgin olive oil

2 baguettes – sliced thin for easy eating pieces

2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley – divided

Coarse tapenade can be made up to one day in advance.  Slice bread and smoked fish no more than 5 hours before serving.  Refrigerate smoked fish before serving and keep bread and fish each wrapped air tight to preserve freshness until served.  Place sliced baguette directly onto your serving platter and cover with plastic wrap.

Mix capers, olives, lemon juice, EVOO and red pepper; cover and set aside in a small serving bowl or pretty ramekin.  Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.

Serve smoked salmon on a small plate.  One half hour before serving, place salmon plate and tapenade bowl on opposite ends of a large oval platter with the sliced baguette down the center of the platter and garnish with remaining parsley sprinkled across the platter.

Shrimp Scampi

It is tradition to make this recipe using prawns rather than shrimp.  Here is my own recipe using what ever Otolith shellfish is on hand.

Time: 20 minutes to prepare/20 minutes to cook; Serves 5

Ingredients:

2 pounds of raw shellfish – prawns, shrimp or crab; peeled and shells set aside.  If you are using crab then steam the crab before shelling and reserve only the strained liquid and shelled meat.  Crab shells can be composted or discarded.  Raw shrimp and prawn shells make an excellent stock for this recipe otherwise the water from the boiled pasta will work too.

1-1/2  cups of warm shellfish stock – strained liquid of boiled shells in 1-2 pints of water; set flavors for 20 minutes before straining [optional]

3 shallot – fine diced bits

5 garlic cloves – fine chopped or grated

1/4 c. of fresh lemon juice

1 cup of fresh parsley chopped

1 dried hot red chili pepper – chopped fine [optional]

1 stick of butter – unsalted

2 Tbs EVOO – divided

1 tsp capers – chopped [optional]

1 small fresh ripe tomato – diced small [optional]

1 large mushroom – sliced thin [optional]

1 c. grated Parmesan cheese for topping [optional]

1 lb of cooked hot pasta – not linguine or fettuccine

Cook 1 lb of any pasta except linguine or fettuccini according to its package and reserve 1- 1/2  cup hot pasta liquid if you elect not to make stock from your shellfish shells.  Coat hot pasta with 1/2 the EVOO to prevent clumping.  I prefer angel hair or orzo for Otolith’s Scampi.

In a large deep skillet, using medium heat not high, melt the butter, add 1/2 the EVOO then saute the garlic and shallots until just soft – about 5 minutes.  Add the peeled shellfish to the hot sizzling butter, oil and garlic mixture; do not brown butter or garlic.  Let the mixture cook without too much stirring for 3 minutes.  Gently turn over the shellfish so each side is cooked without over handling them; cook an additional 3 minutes.  Then if you are using them – add the capers, tomato, or mushroom; cook for another 3 minutes.  When the prawns are fully cooked add the 1 -1/2 of hot stock to the skillet and simmer together for another 3 minutes.  Add the lemon juice and the parsley then season to taste with salt and white pepper.  Turn off the heat and add 1/2 of the hot cooked pasta to your skillet to coat with sauce and shellfish then add the remaining pasta and toss gently.  You may need to use tongs or scoop shellfish from the bottom of the pan and place back on top of the pasta before serving so everyone can see the beautiful scampi over the pasta.  If you using tongs to transfer angel hair pasta to a serving dish after it is coated in the sauce then you can pour the scampi over the pasta in your serving bowl.  Serve scampi with Parmesan cheese on the side.

Suggestion: Make what you can in advance to allow time with guests.  You can peel the shrimp or prawns and make a stock up to 7 hours ahead of time.  Keep your stock and shellfish refrigerated until you are ready to use and remember to warm up the stock before you start to cook the scampi.   You may make the pasta and prepare the chopped ingredients up to one hour ahead; these do not need to be kept cold – room temp is fine for one hour.  The final assembly will take about 20 minutes however you can prepare the scampi 1/2 hour before serving and just heat it up in about 5 minutes before adding the cooked pasta. If your quests are eating smoked coho then they won’t miss you as much when you step away to put the finishing touches of the scampi together.