Fish Tacos

Meyer Lemon Curd

I actually used only two Meyer lemons, since they were as large as grapefruits! I'm surprised at how really easy this was to make!

Recipe based on www.RecipeGirls.com's write-up of a Gourmet recipe.

3 to 4 meyer lemons
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 stick butter (the original recipe suggested 1 stick butter, but I tried 1/2 a stick the first time, and 1/4 stick the second time I made this recipe and both come out fine)

Zest the lemons (there should be able 2 tsp zest). Juice the lemons (about 1/2 cup juice). Whisk together the zest, juice, sugar, eggs, and butter. Place the the mixture over a double burner. Keep whisking until the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon or until it is 160 degrees Fahrenheit. (The receipe suggests that this should take only 5 to 6 minutes, but it took me more than double that). Remove mixture from heat, and force curd through a fine collander, which is set in another bowl. Serve warm or cool completely. It thickens after being cooled in the refrigerator.

Straight from pan, its pourable and bright yellow:

Engrish: Lame Chops

Hummus

The secret to making creamy hummus? Use lots of tahini!

1 can chickpeas
1 meyer lemon
a few pinched of salt
1/4 jar tahini
olive oil

Strain chickpeas from can liquid--save the liquid and do not wash (because there is lots of flavor in the liquid). Blend these ingredients: chickpeas, juice from 1 lemon, tahini, a few pinches of salt, a drizzle of olive oil. Add the reserved chickpea liquid as needed to achieve the proper consistency.

Optional: Serve garnished with smoked paprika and/or roasted pine nuts, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Spinach Triangles

This is similar to Spanakopita, except I used Gruyere instead of feta.

1 package phyllo dough
1 stick butter
1 bunch spinach leaves
1 large yellow onion
a pinch of grated nutmeg
salt
3 dried red chilies
4 cloves garlic
1 small block Gruyere cheese, grated
oregano

Defrost phyllo dough as suggested on the package (e.g. leave it on the counter for a few hours).

Mince the onion, and saute with some olive oil and butter. While the onions are sweating, peel and mince the garlic. Add the minced garlic to the onions and also add a pinch of salt. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the red chilies into flakes over the saute pan. Continue sauteing until the onions are nearly caramelized (about 20 minutes).

While the onions are cooking, remove dirt from the spinach by filling a sink with cold water and soaking the spinach. Remove any large stems. Boil some water in a large pot. Drain the spinach and blanch it by quickly immersing in the boiling water. Drain the spinach immediately and rinse with cold water until the spinach is cold. Squeeze as much water as you can out of the spinach (this is so that the triangles don't get watery). Mince spinach and set aside.

When the onions are cool, mix them with the minced spinach, the grated cheese, a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg, a pinch of salt, and some minced oregano. Since only a small amount of filling is in each triangle, I seasoned the mixture heavily. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Melt 1 stick butter. Preheat oven to 350 or 400. Prepare to damp cloth towels to store the phyllo dough between, and set up your work area with a pastry brush, the filling, a spoon, the melted butter, and a few baking trays. When you are ready, open the phyllo dough and cut it into long strips about 4 inches tall, and 10 inches long. (I did this by cutting the dough horizontally across the middle of the short side, and then by cutting each piece horizontally in half one more time). Put the dough in between the towels.

Take 2 sheets of dough and lay it on your work area. Lightly brush them with butter, and place one sheet on top of the other. Place a spoonful of filling near the end of the dough. Fold the dough into triangles, similar to how you would fold a flag. Brush some butter on the outside. Place the triangle on a baking tray (the triangles will not expand so they can be fairly close together). Work quickly since phyllo dough can dry out. Continue making triangles until you run out of dough or filling.

Bake at 350 or 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. The phyllo dough may color quickly, but it doesn't seem to burn to easily, so it is not necessary to worry about the exact time. Cook until the insides are warm, and all of the phyllo layers are flaky.

These appear to freeze reasonably well. If you need to make these ahead of time, then I recommend freezing them raw, rather than baking them ahead of time because the baked triangles don't stay as crispy 24 hours later. Simply, bake the frozen triangles right out of the freezer with no defrosting for 20 - 25 minutes.

Sea Bass en Papillote

Well the good news is that I'm even faster at folding these packets than I used to be. The bad new is that I still can't time this correctly. I put it in the oven for 10 minutes at 400, torn it open, and decided it needed 10 more minutes... Luckily after that it was cooked perfectly and really moist!

Cucumber Raita

I didn't use onion, green chili, mint, or cilantro since I didn't have any around. However I had some left over green chutney from an Indian restaurant which I mixed in, and the cilantro in that was mild enough for my taste, even though I don't like cilantro.

plain yogurt
1 large cucumber or a few small ones
salt
optional: 1 finely chopped green chili or a small amount of chopped onion
optional garnishes: mint, cilantro, chili powder or cayenne pepper

The basic recipe is to peel and seed 1 large cucumber. Then grate the cucumber. Lightly salt the grated cucumber and let it sit for 30 minutes until it is watery. Squeeze out the water. This step is to make sure that the cucumber won't make the yogurt watery. Taste the cucumber--it if it really salty then rinse it and let it sit for a while longer and re-squeese. Mix the salted cucumber with yogurt and let sit for at least half an hour in the fridge so that the flavors combine. Add the onion and green chili if you are using them. Taste and adjust for salt.

Before serving you can mix in freshly chopped cilantro leaves, and mint leaves, and optionally also garnish with chili powder or cayenne pepper