This was a really great dinner last night. I will admit that the idea and the recipe itself came from Chef Michael Smith, as did the advice he starts with. It was so good, although I made some changes and I will suggest some others. It’s worth doing and I will make it, with changes, sometime next week. It was so full of flavor, and a good thing to eat while we watched “Biggest Loser”. On Tuesday night I aways get to cook now, after my wife and daughter come home from yoga. It’s my chance to shine in the cooking department. I highly recommend this dinner!
A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don't like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour; you have to add your own!
Michael Smith
Halibut Provencal
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4x6 ounce halibut filets, dried on paper towels (I used tilapia, which was wonderful and half the price of halibut. It is a bit thinner, so it cooks up even faster. The whole dish is very quick after you start to cook.)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped or 1 can of whole tomatoes (I will use a can of Italian tomatoes the next time as they are very flavorful. The vine ripened tomatoes I used have not much taste in the winter months.)
• 24 black olives, pitted (I will chop them in quarters the next time.)
• 24 green olives, pitted (I will chop them as well.)
• 1/4 cup of capers
• 1/4 cup best quality balsamic vinegar
Directions
1. Preheat a large heavy skillet. Add enough oil to cover the bottom with a thin film. When wisps of smoke begin to appear, season the halibut with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Sear on one side until it has a crispy golden crust and releases easily from the pan. Flip and sear on the other side, remove to a plate and reserve.
2. Add the onions and garlic to the hot pan, and sauté until they smell great, a minute or two. Add the tomatoes olives, capers and balsamic and heat through. Add the halibut back to the pan and continue heating until the fish is cooked through, another five minutes or so.
Moroccan Zucchini
Ingredients
• 2 zucchinis, cut in half, lengthwise (I did 4 zucchinis, and added a bit more couscous and stock. I had way too much for 4, so I’d leave the couscous the same and add a bit more stock.)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup couscous
• 1 cup chicken stock (add a bit more if needed)
• 1 small bunch basil leaves, chopped
• 4 ounces feta cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place zucchini; cut side down, onto a baking dish (use parchment paper on a cookie sheet) and roast in the oven until it turns golden brown. Scoop the pulp out from the centre of the zucchini, keeping the skins intact for stuffing. Reserve pulp and skins.
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion. Sauté until golden brown then add the zucchini pulp, couscous, chicken stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer then turn off and rest until the couscous has absorbed all the liquid. Add the basil leaves and feta cheese and stir well. Spoon the mixture into the zucchini skins and place in an 8” by 8” baking dish. Bake until golden brown and hot.
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