Flavors in Love

Luckily for me, my partner Michael loves to fish. A few weeks ago, he caught a huge (17 lb!) striped bass in Peconic Bay (the bay that flows between the North and South Forks of Long Island). We had to remove a few shelves from our freezer just to get it in!

Then on July 4th weekend, he went fishing in Alaska and came home with 25 pounds of King Salmon and some gorgeous Salmon Roe….what a great excuse to entertain some friends and get our Omega 3′s all at the same time!

We cooked like crazy on Saturday and although we wanted to eat outdoors, it was a rainy, sultry night…so I set the table inside and it was lovely..

For hors d’oeuvres I made my fava bean spread again, which everyone loves, and I served the Alaskan salmon roe with a sour cream dill and scallion sauce..

We had four great couples at our fish feast….Fred Devito and Elizabeth Halfpapp from Exhale Spa in Bridgehampton….actress Jacqueline Murphy and her husband Fred Stahl…..Swami Robin Cofer and her husband Dominick D’alleva….and Bob Roberts (owner of the Lucille Roberts health clubs for women) and his wife Lauren.

Fred and Elizabeth have a huge organic garden and brought us a basket of fresh kale…What a lovely gift!!I borrowed an idea from Jamie Oliver and cooked the kale in a foil packet on the grill with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper…

I stuffed the Striped Bass with fresh herbs and garlic..and drizzled it with lemon juice and olive oil, then sprinkled it with a generous amount of sea salt…I had never grilled such a big fish before, so it was an adventure…

We grilled this bad boy for about 30 minutes…then I served it with a green sauce made of fresh basil, parsley, garlic, and capers. It was absolutely scrumptious.

I covered the salmon with lots of dill and fennel fronds, then I grilled that as well and served it with a Tzatziki sauce (Greek yogurt, dill, cucumbers, lemon juice, garlic, and cumin).

I made a couple of summery salads…Heirloom cherry tomatoes with feta, olives, basil, and mint…..White bean salad with rosemary, thyme, olive oil, and garlic…..and a Green bean salad with zucchini and sweet corn.

I made a great pound cake trifle for dessert…but that’s a long story…lookout for my next blog so you can hear all about that one!

GRILLED STRIPED BASS WITH GREEN HERB-CAPER SAUCE

Preheat your grill and season your fish with thyme, oregano, or whatever fresh herbs you have on hand.

Drizzle fish with olive oil and lemon juice, and sprinkle with a generous amount of sea salt.

Meanwhile, to make your sauce, combine in your food processor; fresh basil, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, anchovies, and sea salt to taste. Stir in capers. Amounts can vary widely depending on how much fish you are cooking, so experiment!

Grill your fish until opaque and cooked through…Generally 10 minutes per inch of thickness…

Serve with sauce and garnish with lemon wedges.

Fava Bean Spread

Serve 4-6

This recipe is adapted from Marcella Hazan.

Unlike her, I like to cook the beans for a very few minutes, because they are easier to digest.

This recipe is one of my favorites and never fails to impress!!

1 pound fresh fava beans in the pod

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1/3 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons mint

3 tablespoons finely chopped basil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

¼ teaspoon salt

Remove the beans from the pods: you should have 1 ½ cups beans.

Bring a small pan of water to a boil.  Add the beans and cook for 3 minutes.

Drain, rinse with cold water and cool to room temperature.

In a food processor, combine the beans, cheese, oil, mint, basil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt.  Process, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times until smooth. You may want to add extra olive oil for a smoother consistency.

Adjust the seasoning.

Serve immediately with toasted or grilled Tuscan sourdough bread.

From Pamela Morgan’s Flavors

Published by Viking/ Penguin Putnam

Leeks and Roasted Beets Vinaigrette

Serves 4

8 large leeks

2 bunches beets

1 bunch parsley, stems removed and  chopped finely

Viniagrette

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1 shallot, chopped finely

Salt and freshly ground pepper

¼ cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup chopped Italian parsley

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

For leeks:

Cut off dark green tops of leeks and trim root ends. Halve each leek lengthwise to within 2 inches of root end. Rinse well under cold running water to wash away sand. Place leeks in a heavy skillet and cover leeks with cold water. Add salt and simmer leeks, uncovered, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.  Drain and plunge into ice water.  Drain again and cover with vinaigrette.

For beets:

Wash beets well. Cut off beet stems and place beets in foil and wrap tightly.

Place in 350 degree oven for 1 hour.

Remove beets from the oven.  Let cool.  You should be able to peel beets easily.

Cut into small squares, place in a bowl and cover with vinaigrette, salt and freshly ground pepper.

To serve, place beets in center of platter and arrange leeks in a circle around them.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley.  Serve immediately.