Swordfish Nicoise Salad
By Jessica Verderame
Now, there is nothing wrong with the classic Nicoise salad, but it’s no fun if I just give you a recipe for something that has been done well forever. Here, I bring you the classic salad with a few twists. The classic uses canned tuna, anchovies, olives, capers, boiled potatoes, hard boiled eggs, haricots verts, and in some cases, tomatoes and Boston lettuce.
My version combines the olives, capers and anchovies in a tapenade; for those that have an anchovy phobia, this is a great way to forget it’s there while still getting the nuttiness and depth of flavor that they provide. Also, instead of canned tuna I used fresh swordfish steaks, which I served on top of fresh arugula, which wilts nicely with the heat of the fish. This is a beautiful and healthy composed salad that is simple to whip up.
If swordfish is unavailable, fresh tuna or salmon are great alternatives, or just go with the classic canned tuna—but if you go this route, try to use a good quality, oil-packed tuna.
Swordfish Nicoise Salad - Ingredients:
Serves two
2 6-oz fresh swordfish steaks
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tsp mustard, separated
¼ cup olive oil, + ½ cup
1 ½ cups small red boiling potatoes, quartered
4 oz haricots verts, or string beans, ends snapped off
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
1 ripe tomato, cut into wedges
1 shallot, minced
3 tbsp-1/4 cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup olive tapenade, homemade or store bought (recipe below)
Directions:
1. Combine juice and zest of lemon, chopped garlic, 1 tsp mustard, and ¼ cup olive oil in a zip-top bag and add swordfish. Marinate for no longer than 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, blanch green beans in salted boiling water for 2 minutes, then immediately add to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Bring the same pot back to a boil and add in the potatoes. Boil until tender, about 10-12 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the dressing: combine 1 tsp mustard with 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar. Slowly stream in ½ cup olive oil. If desired, add in more vinegar to taste, depending on how tangy you like your dressing. Add in shallots, salt and pepper.
4. When the potatoes are done, immediately toss with a spoonful of dressing.
5. After 15 minutes marinating, heat olive oil to coat in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Remove swordfish from marinade and pat dry. Season each side with salt and pepper. Cook swordfish steaks for about 4-5 minutes per side, or until cooked through.
6. Toss arugula and green beans, separately, with remaining dressing. Arrange each component on the plate, and serve swordfish on top of the arugula. Top the fish with tapenade. (See picture for plating ideas)
Olive Tapenade - Ingredients:
Makes about 1 cup
1 ½ cups good quality mixed, pitted olives
1 ½ tsp drained capers
1 anchovy fillet, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
¼ cup parsley, coarsely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients except olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until combined, scraping down the sides a few times. Stream in enough olive oil just to moisten and help come together.
Alternatively, if you don’t have a food processor, just chop all ingredients finely and combine in a bowl and add in lemon juice and olive oil.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Part A:
- 2 lbs. boneless chicken breast
- 1/4 cup yogurt
- 3 tsp minced ginger
- 3 tsp crushed garlic
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp mace
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp green cardamom powder
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- Melted margarine (for basting)
Part B:
- 5 oz. tomato paste
- 10 oz. tomato puree
- 2 lbs. tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 2 tsp garlic paste
- 2 tsp green chilies
- 1 tbsp red chili powder
- 2 tsp cloves
- 8 green cardamoms
- Salt To Taste
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2/3 cup cream
- 1 tsp fenugreek
- 2 tsp ginger, julienned
- honey to taste
Preparation:
- Whisk all of the ingredients in Part A together in a large bowl. Add the chicken breast, cut into 2 inch cubes.
- Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350º F. Bake the chicken for 8 minutes, basting with margarine twice. Drain excess marinade and bake for another 2 minutes.
- While doing this, make the sauce in Part B. Deseed and chop green chilies. Put tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato puree in a pot and add approximately 4-1/4 cups of water.
- Add ginger and garlic paste, green chilies, red chili powder, cloves, cardamoms, and salt. Cook over low heat until reduced to a thick sauce. Strain through a strainer and bring to a boil. Add butter and cream. Stir.
- If the sauce tastes sour, add honey to taste. Add fenugreek and ginger juliennes, stir, and serve with the chicken tikka masala
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Linguine ( with Fried Zucchini and Ricotta )
Enjoy with friends or family along with a glass of wine, Sicilian specialty with small, tender zucchini.
2 lbs small zucchini
1/2 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Salt
Pepper
1 lb linguine
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
8 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
Preparation:
1 – Scrub zucchini and blot dry with paper towel. Trim both ends and cut into 2-inch lenghts. Slice again lengthwise into 1/2-inch widths. Layer zucchini slices on a platter with paper towels between layers to absorb moisture.
2 – In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until haze forms. Add garlic and saute, stirring constantly, until very lightly golden. With a spoon, remove garlic and reserve. Fry zucchini in two or three batches until golden on both sides. Transfer to a platter lined with paper towel. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Remove pan from heat and let oil cool a little; return garlic to pan. Set aside.
3 – Cook pasta in 6 quarts boiling water with 1 tablespoon salt until al dente. Drain pasta in colander and transfer to a bowl; very quickly toss with oil-garlic mixture. Toss pasta again with half of the fried zucchini and romano cheese. Place individual servings of pasta in bowls and place 3 or 4 slices of fried zucchini on top of each. Spoon 2 Tablespoons of ricotta on top of zucchini. Serve with remaining ricotta and additional grated Romano cheese.
Serves 4 to 6
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Chicken and Pork Adobo
Ingredients
- 1 cup distilled white vinegar (or cider vinegar)
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons peeled and crushed garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 pieces of bay leaves
- half teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound chicken, cut into serving pieces, Chinese style
- 2 pounds pork butt, cut into cubes
- soy sauce
- oil
Directions
Add vinegar, water, garlic, salt, bay leaves and pepper into a large casserole. Bring to a boil.
Add the meat, cover and bring to a boil. Simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.
Sprinkle liberally with soy sauce and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Remove meat and reduce sauce.
Remove sauce to a bowl. Put oil into the casserole and brown cooked
Drain oil from the casserole, and return the reduced sauce back with the meat.
Add the meat, cover and bring to a boil. Simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.
Sprinkle liberally with soy sauce and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Remove meat and reduce sauce.
Remove sauce to a bowl. Put oil into the casserole and brown cooked
Drain oil from the casserole, and return the reduced sauce back with the meat.
Serve with rice.
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How to prepare the worlds best Lasagna?
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How to prepare the worlds best Lasagna?
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- 3/4 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup minced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
- 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
- In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
