Last Night's Dinner #124: Seafood Stew

Hillsy and I were walking around the Farmer's Market this morning and we saw these lovelies, which inspired last night's dinner.


We've been wanting to try out the fish from the market and everything looked so good - so what better way to test out a couple of different things that with a seafood soup stew?

This is an easier version of the Fish Soup I made a while ago.


You'll need:
5 plum tomatoes coarsely chopped (not necessary but they looked so good, I couldn't resist)
one white onion coarsely chopped (big pieces)
2 cloves of garlic, remove skin & leave whole
1/2 big can of Italian tomatoes
2 lbs of your favorite seafood (I used 1/2 lb scallops & mussels, small piece of tuna and flounder)
handful of fresh parsley coarsely chopped
a couple of sprigs of oregano and thyme, leaves only *optional
2 cups of water
splash of wine (white or red) *optional
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste

Cover the bottom of deep pot (cast iron if you have one) with olive oil. Add garlic and onion, season with salt. Add 1/2 of parsley, oregano, thyme and pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Cook for 3-5 minutes then add tomatoes. Season again with salt.

Cook until the tomatoes soften, about 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn. Optional - add a splash of wine. Mix and cook for a minute or two.

Add canned tomatoes and juice (crush tomatoes). Cook for about 15 - 20 minutes, lower heat if necessary.

In the meantime, cut fish into big chunks. I'd have to say that the tuna worked really well in this dish, the flounder - not as much. I thought it was a little fishy and too flaky. Next time, I'll probably give swordfish a try or maybe even squid. The scallops were the best - nice and sweet! Season fish with salt.

Taste the soup base and make sure that you've added enough salt. Transfer seafood into the pot and cover with lid.

Be careful not to overcook. It took me about 3 to 4 minutes. As soon as the mussel shells opened, everything else was ready. You might have to mix it midway to turn the fish pieces.

Serve with hunks of bread and top with hand torn fresh basil and parsley!

ps. one of my pet peeves is overcooked seafood, so once the fire goes out I immediately fish out the fish so they don't cook any further from the heat of the soup.

It was really good!

Last Night's Dinner #103: Fish Soup with Garlic Toast

Here's another recipe I adapted from Gourmet. As you know, I've been in a fish kick this month - hey, at least it's not another Salmon dish!



You'll need:
(serves 2)
1 lb mixed freshwater fish fillets (I used Catfish, Tilapia and Trout)
1/2 cup total of chopped carrots, celery and onions (less than 1/4 cup of each)
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup fresh parsley chopped
1/2 cup of dry white wine
14 oz can crushed Italian tomatoes
1 cup of water
salt & pepper

for toasts:
1 baguette
1 garlic clove
olive oil for brusing



1. Pat fish dry, cut into 2 inch pieces and season well with salt and pepper. Set aside. Cook the onion, celery, carrots and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a heavy skillet. Cook until tender but not browned (approx 5-8 mins). Then add parsley (be careful, they like to jump around). Cook for a minute then add wine and boil until it reduces by about half (~5 mins).




2. Add crushed tomatoes, water and another teaspoon of salt and bring to a simmer. At this point, you can decide whether or not you prefer a smoother or a chunkier texture. I prefer chunky so I left it alone. If not, you can use a hand blender and smooth it out or use a standard blender. Or you can make sure the tomatoes are finely crushed prior to adding them to the onion, celery, carrot mix.




3. Add fish and reduce heat to a bare simmer and cook fish until just cooked through (about 10 minutes). Garnish with parsley.

Note: This dish is super easy to make but if you don't add enough salt it can really fall flat so please make sure you season well!




In the meantime, preheat the broiler and cut the baguette into 1/2 inch slices. Toast both sides until nice and golden, turning once.

Cut a garlic clove in half and rub on toast.



Then brush with oil.

Last Night's Dinner #82: Thai inspired soup

I love tom kha soup, although I usually like to eat it as a main course with rice. My sister Cheryl told me that I could actually use tamarind powder (same one I used last week) to make some of my favorite Thai soups. So I gave it a shot and of course she was right! I wish I had some lemongrass on hand but I couldn't convince myself to go outside yesterday so I just used whatever I had around. Slices of red bell peppers and button mushrooms would be perfect in this dish.



I first sautéed ginger and shallots, then added chunks of chicken breast, salt, fish sauce and cooked it until slightly browned.



I added a can of coconut milk and about a tablespoon of tamarind powder and lowered the heat to a simmer, covered it and cooked it for about 30 minutes.



In the meantime, I boiled my veggies (eggplant, string beans, carrots and onions) in chicken stock until tender. I decided that I wanted something less soupy so I didn't add the stock to the end dish - but if you wanted, I suppose you could add the broth to the coconut milk and chicken.


I added a bit of it this for some heat, but I think I was a little too shy with it and should've added more than I did. Calamansi looks like a mini lime but tastes like a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange.

If you don't have tamarind powder, you can try experimenting and adding white vinegar instead - I've seen some recipes for tom kha using vinegar.

Then just add the veggies to the chicken, taste for seasoning - you many need to add more salt, fish sauce, or tamarind powder.

Last Night's Dinner #77: Ready-made soup

I was busy working on the new line and didn't have the energy to cook last night. Luckily I had some Trader Joe's Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup on hand. Their organic soup line is pretty good - in comes in a lots of flavors, butternut squash is another one of my favorites.



I like to add a dash of warm cream (I scoop a tablespoon or so to each bowl), a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Ready-made soup needs love too and it makes it look more than just soup from a box! Serve with hearty bread (I love Ciabatta) and you're all set. This is probably the quickest and easiest meal I've "made".

Last Night's Dinner #55: Sopas (Chicken Noodle Soup)

Ooops I lied, one more for the road...



It sounds like the weather is about to dip down to winter levels by this weekend. So what can be better than a nice hot bowl of chicken noodle soup?

This recipe is pretty flexible and the quantities can be adjusted according to your taste. Elbow pasta is traditionally used but I prefer to use small pasta shells. You can also use whole milk, half and half, evaporated milk or heavy cream - I just don't recommend 2% or skim. Again, you can adjust how much cream to add - obviously, the more the better!!

Serves 2
You'll need:
1/4 onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1/4 head cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, peeled and chopped into 1/4" rounds
1/2 stick of celery, chopped
1/4 whole red bell pepper, chopped
1 pint of half and half
2 to 3 cups of small pasta shells
1 tbs of oil
salt, patis and black pepper to taste

Homemade Broth:
1 chicken breast (skinless, bone-in)
4 to 5 cups chicken broth, low sodium
1 carrot cut in half
1/2 stick of celery
1/2 onion
3 cloves of garlic (whole and skin on)
1 tsp of kosher salt (more or less to taste)
dash of pepper



step 1. Add all of the ingredients under "Home-made Broth" in a large pot and cook on high until it boils. Once it boils, lower the heat and simmer for approx 30-40 mins. Just make sure your heat is low enough or keep the lid slightly off the pot so it doesn't boil over. Remove chicken and allow to cool. Set aside. You can get rid of the boiled veggies. Save the broth. If the broth is cloudy, go ahead and strain it through a sieve. My broth was still cloudy after I strained it, so I strained it again using a coffee filter + sieve, which did the trick. It should be nice and clear. Set aside.

step 2. Once the chicken has cooled, shred and set aside.

step 3. Heat up a tablespoon of oil and sautée onion, garlic, carrots, celery, cabbage and peppers. Add a dash of patis. Cook until onions are translucent. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Add broth. Taste and season accordingly - add patis, salt, pepper as needed. Boil until carrots are just about tender.

step 4. Add 2 to 3 cups of shell pasta (depending on how much pasta you want). It should take 6 to 8 minutes to cook, follow box instructions.

step 5. At this point, you can add the half and half. If you mix it in, make sure that you stir as you add the milk. You don't want it to clot up. I prefer to put the milk in the serving bowls so each person can control how much they want. I use a 50/50 milk to broth ratio. So I pour the milk in each bowl, top it with chicken and a mixture of veggies (this quickly brings the temperature of the milk up) then I scoop in some broth and mix.

I love this stuff, it reminds me of my childhood - specifically having to stay indoors during the rainy season and visiting my aunt Ruth (back in the Philippines).