Miso Glazed Cod with Baby Bok Choy

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Cod is glazed in sweet miso before being broiled in the oven. The bok choy is flavored with orange zest and pepper flakes for a spicy, flavorful side.

Serves 2 

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons white miso paste
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon raw honey
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, divided
1 1/4 pound  skinless cod fillets
6-7 baby bok choy, halved
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 teaspoon black sesame seeds, for garnish

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk miso,  soy sauce, vinegar, honey and ½ teaspoon sesame oil until smooth. Add fish to bowl and spoon marinade on top to coat both sides. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to broil on high. Place a rack over a sheet pan and place fish on rack. Broil for 4 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for an additional 8 minutes, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove the cod from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high, heat remaining ½ teaspoon of sesame oil. Add bok choy, cover and cook 3 to 4 minutes.

Whisk together orange zest and juice, cornstarch and pepper flakes. Add to skillet with bok choy and stir to coat; cook for 30 seconds, until sauce thickens.

To serve, transfer the bok choy and fish to the serving plates and garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

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Shrimp Scampi Florentine Pasta

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The classic Florentine preparation places the main ingredient on a bed of buttery spinach, topped with sauce and cheese and browned under the broiler. We’ve replicated the basic idea, giving you all those rich and cheesy flavors, but with less effort than a full-on Florentine. We’ve even improved it, with a bit of heat from the red pepper flakes. Tip: An easier way to mince parsley? Gather them all in one hand and lay on the cutting board. Use your knife in rocking motion to cut, then turn 90 degrees and repeat until the herbs are properly minced!

SERVES 2

INGREDIENTS:

5  ounces spaghetti pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound 16-20 count shrimp, peeled and deviened
1 shallot, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 ounces  baby spinach, roughly chopped
¼  bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, minced
2 teaspoons mirepoix base or vegetable
¼ cup light cream
1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese
Salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Bring 3 1/2 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a medium pot. Once water is boiling, add pasta and cook until al dente, 8-10 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup pasta cooking water. Drain pasta in a colander and set aside. While pasta boils, cook shrimp.

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, until oil is shimmering. Working in batches if necessary, add shrimp to the skillet n and cook undisturbed until seared on one side, 1-2 minutes. Flip shrimp, and add shallot and garlic. Cook until aromatic, 30-60 seconds.

Lower heat to medium. Add the parsley and spinach to the skillet and stir occasionally until spinach is wilted. Add the shrimp and stir to cook until the shrimp is opaque and pink when it reaches a minimum internal temperature of 145ºF, 2-3 minutes. Stir in cream, Parmesan, half the pasta cooking water, mirepoix base, and pasta. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Once simmering, cook until sauce is slightly thickened, 2-3 minutes. If too dry, add additional pasta cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

Remove the skillet from the heat and season with salt and  crushed red pepper flakes, to taste.

To serve divide, the shrimp Florentine between two plates and garnish the pasta with parsley.

 Bon appétit!

Cook’s Notes:

Many chefs consider mirepoix to be the key ingredient for adding that extra umph to a dish. It’s the secret sauce; the essential ingredient; the reason your food tastes so good. Mirepoix plays an important role in flavoring soups, stews, casseroles, braised meats, and marinades.358 (1)

You can find mirepoix soup bases in the soup aisle of your local supermarket. If that is not the case you buy it online at speciality gourmet shops. Click here for the link.

To learn how to make your own mirepoix base, just click here for the link to a great teaching video.

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All photographs and content, excepted where noted, are copyright protected. Please do not use these photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this photograph and all other contents, then we kindly ask that you link back to this site. We are eternally grateful and we appreciate your support of this blog.

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Chicken Lo Mein

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Did you know that March has been designated as the National “Noodle Month”?

And if you are feeling like you are running out options for take out during the COVID-19 pandemic, and you are craving something salty, something savory, but you don’t know quiet these flavors are combined into your favorite take out dish, then this easy peasy recipe is just for you. It’s Chicken Lo Mein and it is packed with oodles of noodles and veggies to keep you happy and healthy at the same time.The noodles in this dish are big on flavor without the greasey guilt that you find in most take out foods. This recipe is pretty much straight forward. It is composed of just noodles, chicken and spinach cooked in a garlicky hoisin/soy sauce and dude, it is seriously fresh!

For the most part, lo mein noodles in the ethnic foods section of most major supermarkets. However, in this quarantine kitchen pantry, I substituted the lo mein noodles with the fettuccine I had on hand. You can also use spaghetti or soba noodles. I did not have any hoisin sauce, but there was a bottle of honey barbecue sauce in the fridge, which is somewhat similar to hoisin. I am happy to report that both of these substitution worked well in this dish and it turned out just as delicious.

So, are up to honing you home cooking skills with this dish? Are you game? Ready! Set! And away we go!

 

ENJOY!

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From the Quarantine Pantry:
Soy sauce, sesame oil, olive oil, honey bbq sauce, fettuccine, cilantro, garlic, carrots, arugula/spinac salad mix, snow peas and chicken breasts.

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS:

For the Sauce:

3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

For the Lo Mein:

8 ounces uncooked lo mein noodles

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup snow peas

3 cups fresh spinach

1/4 bunch of cilantro sprigs, optional

DIRECTIONS:

To make the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce and sesame oil. Set the sauce aside.

For the lo mein: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lo mein noodles and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a large nonstick sauté pan set over medium heat, add the olive oil and sesame oil. Once hot, add the garlic and chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until the chicken is cooked through, no longer pink. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set it aside.

Add the carrots and snow peas to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until the vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes. Add the spinach, cooked noodles, chicken and prepared sauce to the pan and cook, stirring, until combined and the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

To serve, place in shallow bowls and garnish with cilantro, if desired.

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Thank you so much!

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