Mediterranean Poached Tilapia with Tomato and Fava Beans

Tags

fava beans, fish, main dish, middle eastern, tilapia

Fish fillets cooked in a tomato sauce are the main attraction for a healthy quick meal.

It’s a delicious blend of Old and New World ingredients: onions, olives, herbs, and garlic weave their way through two greatest contributions from Mediterranean cuisine – tomatoes and fava beans. Though practically any firm, white-fleshed fish would work well.

When my family requests some other fish “rather than the trout or salmon,” My husband suggest, let’s be tempted by tilapia. A mild white fish, tilapia is rapidly growing in popularity because it is such a versatile seafood. Use tilapia in many easy recipes for chowders, tacos, baked entrees, and casseroles.

Before we getting into the recipe, I would like to thank Fati of fati’s recipes, she’s a nice blogger, don’t forget to check her blog, who gave me and some of her beautiful followers The Leibster Award.

Mediterranean Poached Tilapia with Tomato and Fava Beans

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium-size onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1 1\2 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen fava beans
1/2 cup water
pitted kalamata olives, cut in circles
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
cumin and coriander, 1\2 teaspoon, each
4 fillets (5 to 6 ounces each), such as tilapia, flounder or halibut

Season the fish with salt, pepper,cumin, coriander, lemon zest and the lemon juice, set in the fridge for at least half hour.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and garlic. Cook until softened, stirring so garlic does not burn.

Stir in tomatoes,and fava beans, let cook in medium low heat, stir regularly. Add water, olives, fresh thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Add fish and cook, covered, over medium-low heat for about 8 to 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Gently turn fish halfway through cooking.

Serve with plain couscous or rice, if desired.

 

A Brief Look at Stillwater Farmers Market and The Luffa Stew

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eggplant, farmers market, healthy, kabsa, luffa, middle eastern, rice dish, seafood, stew, Vegetables, vegetarian, zucchini

My favourite things to do while visiting our friends in Oklahoma, is to come around their local farmers market with my friend Raeda.
Located in a small town of Stillwater; ” OSU Home Town “.Hey, Where’s the fans…? Stillwater, where my husband spent about 12 years of his college life, also I have plenty of happy memories every time I visited this charming, beautiful, and quiet little town.

The Sunflowers, part of the market, bread and cheese section.

I admit it, I’m madly in love with their farmers market, as much as it reminded me with our middle eastern markets and streets venders.
Well, actually, we have plenty of farmer markets in Wichita, but they don’t have that variety of produces like the Stillwater’ farmers have.
A lot of farmers bring their produce and goodies to share it with the locals, all with tremendous variety of vegetables I always adore to look for and actually not available in grocery stores near us, those kinds were used to find it all the yearlong in Middle eastern ‘ markets.

The bakery section in the market have the fresh bread loaf, the cheese woman makes the cheese fresh and yummy.

Different kinds of winter and summer zucchini and squash.

I’m always looking for the Ishtar Squash, it’s similar to Zucchini Squash, only sweeter. Plenty of vegetable you can see in the market; the small eggplants, small Okra, Jews Mallow (Molokhia), the small fresh cucumber, the Fava beans, the long beans (Lubia), even sometime figs which is hard to find it here with the cold weather in kansas.

The snaky snake gourd, the long beans, the luffa, and the bottle gourd

Plus you can find some strange vegetables like the snake gourd (it’s an asian vegetables, it’s really seems like a snake shape, used also in crafting and it’s the same one that used for scrubing in bath, or the one they making sandals but this when the plant get too much big), it’s my first time I see like this vegetable or even know a bout it. The bottle gourd, or even some shapes of bowl zucchini squash, the luffa (also known as okra squash, it looks like the okra but in bigger shape)and plenty of winter squash and summer squash.
the indian section also have the Naan bread and Gollab Jamon and different kinds of chutney and stews.

The herb section, some kinds of pepper, the indian section, the luffa and the stew.

My friend ‘ daughter. Don’t you think the Bumpkin looks bigger…???
Well, it’s for $36. I mean the bumpkin.
Our lovely farmer;Rita and her husband, she always know what kind of vege we like and grow them, she even knows the sizes we wants.

Among the various kinds of produces, there was always a chance to try some of the farmers adorable recipes from their fresh produce and some cooking tips.

For my today recipe, some winter vegetable stew where the luffa is the star and the rice added to complete the meal, the recipe (not completely) from the farmer we met in the market, she offered to me and my friend a plate to try the luffa stew, and mentioned some of the ingredients and tips on how to cook it, with promises that the complete recipe will be on Stillwater newspaper in a couple of weeks may be, but who wants to wait, not me…

so I took some luffa to try it at home, I added the flavors according to my taste bud, that was almost nearly to the one I tasted at the market, but I didn’t add rice to it, the one we tasted at the market, there was a delicious after taste, we figured that it might be the soya sauce so I add some plus some teriyaki sauce which adds a depth to the final taste, I could not imagine how good and delicious that was. Plus don’t forgot how healthy it is with these fresh vegetables and plenty of fibers, that make it a very good vegetarian dish.

Luffa and Winter Vegetable Stew

1\2 cup chopped onions finely chopped
2-3 gloves of garlic minced
1 small green zucchini
1 small eggplants chopped
1 snake gourd
3 luffa squash, trimed, cleaned, and chopped
1 yellow or orange sweet bell pepper
1 cup chopped fresh mushroom, shiitake is preferable
3 Roma tomatoes chopped fine
1\2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper
2 tablespoon soya sauce
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce

Start with chopping the vegetables, peel the edges that apear on the side of luffa.
In a small sauce pan, add 3 tablespoon oil, the chopped onion and the garlic, sauté and stir in the vegetables one by one, stir after each add, add the salt and pepper, the stock and the soya and teriyaki sauce, stir and cover the pan and let the vegetable cook on medium low heat until tender and cooked.

Serve it either with rice on the side or some your favourite bread.

________________________________________________________

As for a bonus recipe, I asked my friend Raeda to share her delicious recipe of seafood kabsa, (the one she cooked for us while visiting her), and she was very welcome. Wishing her God’ blessings and her family. By the way she’s a good cooker, I really feel my self eating from five-star chef.Thank sister for the good times we always spent in your home.

Seafood kabsa with Herbed Baked Fish

It’s a well-known middle eastern rice dish, where the spices is the star in it.
sauté a 1\2 cup chopped onion with 2-3 tablespoon olive oil.

In the food processor, chop 6-7 garlic cloves and 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves,add it to the onion keep stirring. Add about 4-5 chopped fresh Roma tomato, stir, then add a small pieces of tilapia fish (cubes cutted), shrimp, crab legs, or any kind of fish you like.

Add all the spices that you could imagine( that’s what she’s doing, and dam, it’s so delicious) salt and pepper, cardamom,cumin and coriander, special kabsa spices (you can find it at any Pakistani or Middle Eastern grocery store), dried basil and oregano. Stir in the rice (she used uncle pins, but you can use also basmatti rice or any long grain rice), soak some saffron thread in water and add it, add water or chicken stock, cover and let it cook on low heat until the rice fluffy tender and cooked.

Sprinkle some toasted pine nuts or slices silvered almond and fresh chopped parsely on top.

Serve with fresh middle eastern vegetable salad.

For the fish, season with lemon and spices, cumin, dried coriander, pepper,and salt, fresh chopped cillantro and garlic paste, let soak for at least an hour, put in the preheated oven for 1\2 an hour at 400 f.

Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo : For The Daring Cooks July Challenge ” My Noodle Hands! “

Tags

alfredo sauce, daring cooks, fettuccine, homemade fettuccine, homemade pasta, main dish, mushroom, Pasta, shrimp

Steph from Stephfood was our Daring Cooks’ July hostess. Steph challenged us to make homemade noodles without the help of a motorized pasta machine.
Mandatory Items: Prepare some pasta by hand, without the use of motorized tools, and prepare the appropriate sauce/seasoning to go with it. The concept of “noodle” or “pasta” is being applied very loosely here, as some traditional recipes may seem closer to a dumpling than what you consider a noodle. Use your own judgment and creativity here.
Many variations are allowed here – no strict recipe is required. I choose to make the fettuccine as it is more easy to make, especially without machines in use.

Shrimp Fettuccine Alfredo

for the pasta dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1\2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1\4 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix flour and salt, make a well in the center, add the eggs and oil, mix, if the dough is too dry add water to make the dough easy to handle, if the dough too sticky add flour gradually.
Gather the dough into a ball knead on lightly floured surface 5-10 min until smooth and elastic cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 15 min.
divide dough into 4 equal parts, roll each into rectangle 1\8″ thick, keep the others covered, fold the rectangle into thirds lengthwise, cut crosswise into 2 inch strips, unfold and gently shake out strips, hang pasta to dry (I used a long metal skewers to hang it), let stand for 1\2 hour until dry.

Heat enough amount of water add salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil, add pasta, boil uncovered 2-5 min until firm and tender. Being testing for doneness when pasta rises to surface of water. Drain the pasta add more salt, olive oil and toss.

for alfredo sauce:

1\3 cup butter
1 tablespoon flour
1\4 cup heavy whipping cream
1\2 cup milk
3\4 cup parmesan cheese
1\2 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
dried basil, thyme

Heat butter add the flour until combined, stir, add the cream and the milk gradually, stir frequently until the mixture starts to bubble. Reduce the heat to low, stir frequently until slightly thickened, add the cheese, salt, pepper and the herbs, remove from the heat.

to assemble the shrimp fettuccine alfredo:

shrimp cleaned and cuted to medium pieces
fresh mushroom sliced
1 tablespoon butter
fresh basil and thyme
dried garlic powder
salt and pepper

add all the ingredient in a big pan, stir frequently and let sizzle for 2 min.
Add the alfredo sauce into the shrimp, let cook for 1 min more, remove from heat, pour all the mixture over the fettuccine and serve.

Pan Roasted Salmon with Couscous Salad Plus Your Summer Vacation Plan

Tags

couscous, couscous salad, fish recipes, main dish, salmon

We are planning for summer vacation, but until now we didn’t decide  where to go.
So how about you beautiful bloggers share us ideas for: where you plan your summer vacation?
We are planning to travel within the US this year, and will travel with our friends, so two family traveling together will be very interesting, we have a passenger van so we all will be fitting quietly with much room for every body, and with kids in company it will be difficult somehow, but if we plan to move at night while the kids sleep, it will be perfect and time-consuming, since kids get bored with long driving and sitting too much in the car.
My husband suggests Yellow Stone National Park, we never been there yet, so this will be our first time there.
We already been 5 years ago in Colorado and we love it,  it was very fantastic, with nature land and parks, camping and wild life adventures,with many activities and hiking, and some cool in the Rocky Mountains, I can remember it was very charming place to visit.
We probably might spend 2 or more days somewhere in Colorado this summer vacation, since we must cross Colorado to go to Wyoming from Kansas, I mean if we decided to go to Yellow Stone National Park.
Until we decide, how about you what’s your plans for summer vacation?
And who ever been to Yellow Stone before, where did you stay there? whats the most activities you like?
Can you please share your memories and places you liked to go in Yellow Stone specially and within US in general?

Since we are in summer, why not you boost your diet with a sufficient amount of omega-3, with this recipe of fresh salmon seasoned with middle eastern famous fish spices, the cumin, coriander and dill, roasted to perfection in a pan with some olive oil and finished with some mashed garlic paste and chopped parsley with hint of lemon juice, all along with a side of mediterranean couscous salad, delicious,  refreshing and make a good companion with the salmon.

Pan Roasted Salmon With couscous Salad

salmon fillet cut to medium serving pieces
3 tablespoon olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 lemon
salt and pepper
cumin
dried coriander
dried dill weed

For couscous salad:

Moroccan couscous
grape tomato
black olives sliced
green onion
1 tablespoon of each red yellow and orange bell pepper
chopped parsley
feta cheese
olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper

First make the couscous salad,  keep it in the fridge until you prepare the salmon.
To make the couscous, for every 1 cup of couscous you will need 1 1\4 cup of hot boiling water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. The couscous is quick and easy to prepare, add the hot water and the oil along with the salt and pepper to the couscous, cover and set for 5 minutes with the stove off, and let the couscous absorb the water and become soft.

Fluff the couscous with the fork, add the other ingredients, the tomato, pepper, olives, parsley, onion, then the salt, pepper, lemon juice and oil. stir gently.

For the salmon, season the fish fillet with salt, pepper, cumin, and dried coriander, sear in the pan for 5 minutes on each side.

Quickly add the chopped parsley, mash the garlic into a thick paste like and add it, squeeze some lemon juice, stir all together, left it from heat.

This will let the garlic send its aroma and perfume the fish, without burning the garlic and parsly, sprinkle some on top of the fish along with the oil when plating.