If you鈥檙e in need of quick dinner for two, don鈥檛 head to a fast-food restaurant with a drive-through. Instead, take a trip to your local supermarket or seafood store and purchase fresh sa国际传媒 seafood.
Many types cook quickly and, with that and a few other ingredients, you鈥檒l have a more nutritious, splendid looking and tasting meal on the table before you know听it.
One of today鈥檚 three recipes sees fresh clams steamed into a听one-pot meal for two with cannellini beans and flavourings such as chorizo sausage, garlic and herbs. You can prepare this full-flavoured Mediterranean-style dish in a skillet on the stove and, when ready, serve it directly from that vessel. Add some crusty bread and a glass of wine, and this mid-week meal will feel pretty special.
My second recipe, baked steelhead fillets with sweet Thai chili citrus glaze, is also packed with flavour, despite the minimal ingredients and preparation required. Put the fish in a pan, mix up a simple sauce with sweet, sour and spicy flavours, spoon over the fish, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake. To round out the meal, serve the fish with rice and a steamed vegetable, such as baby bok choy or broccoli.
Filling rolled sa国际传媒 sole fillets with small shrimp is how you begin my last recipe. The fish then goes into a baking dish, gets topped with a fresh tomato mixture, is baked and then is sprinkled with your choice of fresh oregano or basil. The end result is a light and appealing entr茅e that you could serve with boiled miniature potatoes and snap peas or green beans.
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Clams with Cannellini Beans and Chorizo
Clams and pulses, such as beans, pair well together, providing a delicious meal for two.
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Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking time: About 10 minutes
Makes: two servings
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1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely diced dry, cured chorizo sausage (see Note)
1 large garlic clove, minced
鈥� pinches crushed chili flakes and dried oregano
3/4 cup chicken, vegetable or fish stock
1 (14 oz) can cannellini beans drained, rinsed in cold water and drained again
1 1/2 lbs (about 700 grams) fresh Manila clams, rinsed well and drained (see Note)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet set over medium, medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell pepper, chorizo and garlic and cook until vegetables are softened, about three minutes. Add the chili flakes and oregano and cook one minute more.
Add the stock and beans to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Nestle the clams into the beans. Cover the skillet and cook just until clams open. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
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Note: Ready to eat, dry-cured chorizo sausage is sold in the deli section of many supermarkets and at butcher shops. Discard any clams that do not close when squeezed before cooking, a sign the bivalve is dead and should not be eaten.
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Baked Steelhead Fillets with Sweet Thai Chili Citrus Glaze
This ultra-easy-to-make fish dish听features alluring sweet, sour听and spicy flavours. Serve with rice and a steamed vegetable.
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Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 12 to 15 minutes
Makes: two servings
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2 (6 oz) steelhead salmon fillets (see Note)
1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 Tbsp orange juice
1/2 tsp finely grated lime zest
1 Tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup Thai-style sweet chili sauce (see Note)
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Preheat oven 425 F. Place salmon in a shallow, parchment paper-lined baking dish. Combine juices, zests and sweet chili sauce in a bowl. Spoon mixture over fish and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until听salmon is cooked through. Plate the salmon, spoon the pan听juices over top, sprinkle with听green onion and serve.
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Note: Thai-style sweet chili sauce is sold in the Asian foods aisle of听most supermarkets. Steelhead salmon fillets are available in听the听seafood section of most supermarkets.
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Shrimp-stuffed Sole with Tomatoes and Oregano
For this recipe, I used sa国际传媒 Dover sole, which is a species of flounder. The fillets are small, which is听why I served two per person.
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Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 12 to 15 minutes
Makes: two servings
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4 small (about 2 1/2 oz) fresh sole fillets
鈥� salt and white pepper to taste
3 1/2 oz cooked salad shrimp, patted dry
1 large, ripe plum (roma) tomato, cut into small cubes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp orange juice
鈥� A pinch of crushed chili flakes or ground cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano or basil
4 (1/2) lemon slices for garnish
Preheat oven to 375 F. Set the sole flat on a work surface and season with salt and pepper. Divide and set an equal amount of the shrimp at one end of each piece of sole.
Roll the sole around shrimp, and then set in a nine-inch round, or eight-inch square, baking dish.
Combine tomatoes, oil, juice and chili flakes (or cayenne pepper) in a small bowl. Spoon the mixture on and around the sole. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until just cooked through. Sprinkle with oregano (or basil), garnish with lemon slices and serve.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
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EVENTS
Vote for your favourite Borscht
The third annual Borscht Fest Victoria takes place Saturday from noon to 2:30 p.m. at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre, 3277 Douglas St. Think of it as a听chili cook-off, but with borscht, a soup of Ukrainian origin that is now simmered in many forms.
For a $10, the public is welcome to sample the offerings and vote for their favourite borscht.
Borscht Fest is a fundraiser for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. For details, call 250-857-1683, or go to facebook.com/BorschtFestVictoria.
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Help raise cash for meals and music
This Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the second annual From Breakfast to Beethoven fundraiser will take place at 35听Greater Victoria restaurants.
To take part, have breakfast, lunch or dinner at one of those eateries and leave a donation in听the envelope provided, for which you will receive a tax receipt.
Organizers are committed to providing hungry urban schoolchildren with breakfast each morning. They are also working with the Victoria Conservatory of Music to provide bursaries to students from schools struggling to provide music education.
For details, including a list of participating restaurants, go to myevent.com/fb2b
