fish success: tilapia with lemon vinaigrette.

 I made not one, but two, count 'em TWO tilapia recipes tonight in an attempt to take advantage of our extremely affordable tilapia here...this was the one that worked. Could I have taken equal advantage of this tilapia if I'd only made one recipe you might ask. Yes. Shut up.

Lemony dishes are not normally my thing, I'm not a huge lemon fan, but I am a sucker for the radicchio and beans partnership, and tilapia responds well to a simple fry, so there you have it. A tiny crumble of gorgonzola might've been perfect, but fish and cheese are unpredictable bedfellows. Or some cliche that actually makes sense. This recipe is adapted from something on Epicurious.

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tilapia with lemon vinaigrette.

8 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 large head radicchio, coarsely chopped
500 gr cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup fish broth (optional)
6 tilapia filets
All-purpose flour, for dredging
Lemon Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the radicchio and saute until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and broth, and cook until the beans are heated through, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Season the radicchio mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a 14-inch (or 2 smaller) nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the fillets with salt and pepper. Dredge the fillets in flour to coat completely. Shake of the excess flour and fry 3 fillets in each pan until they are golden brown and just cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Spoon the radicchio mixture over the center of the plates. Top with the fillets. Drizzle the vinaigrette over and serve immediately.

lemon vinaigrette.
1/8 cup fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
2-4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Blend the lemon juice, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper.

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salmon and red wine.

This recipe is not for Cheap Dirk Fish, it's for good salmon.

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broiled salmon with wild mushrooms, sweet onions, and pinot noir sauce.

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup sliced yellow onions
1 tbsp. coarse mustard (zaanse)
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. crushed black pepper
2 tbsp. olive oil

onions
3 cups sliced shiitake (or similar) mushrooms
3 cups sliced oyster mushrooms
3 cups sweet white onions, sliced thinly
1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, diced as finely as possible
2 tbsp mustard seed

sauce
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp shallots, chopped
2 cups Pinot Noir
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. halvarine

1.5 kilo salmon filets

Hopefully I'll add full instructions eventually, but the process is simple. Marinate the salmon. For the onions, caramelize them nice, then add the mushrooms and everything else and saute til tender. The only must is to seriously reduce the Pinot sauce.

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pan bagnat.

had a bit of an off day, dietarily speaking. but that's because it was Queens Day. Could've been worse, I guess...a little pate and a tiny bit of cheese. And a Wokkel or five. Like I said, could've been worse, and it really was my first real slip.

so, to compensate, today, we had Pan Bagnat (recipe at end of linked SF Chronicle article).

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