Recipes for Lent

[dulcissima]

Halibut with a Lemon-Caper Sauce

4 fillets of halibut or other mild fish
flour for dredging
A little olive oil and butter for frying
about 6 T. sherry
Juice from 1 lemon
2 t. drained capers
1 T. butter

Rinse the fillets in cold water and sprinkle a little salt on them. Heat the olive oil and butter in a 12" cast iron skillet over low heat. Put about a handfull of flour in a pie plate for dredging the fillets. When you are almost ready to put the coated fillets into the pan, increase the heat to medium-high and make sure it is nice and hot. Place the fillets in the heated oil and cook for approximately three minutes per side. You can see from the side view of the fillet as the color changes, that the fish is cooked through. Each side should be lightly golden brown.

Place the cooked fish fillets on a serving platter. Over medium heat, in the same skillet, add the sherry and lemon juice, stirring the pan and releasing the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the liquid is reduced to about half its original quantity. Stir in the butter until just melted and you have a simple and delicious pan sauce to pour over your fish fillets.

All in all this takes only about ten minutes to cook. Serve it with some rice pilaf and veggie like asparagus for a nice dinner.

 

[Chancellare]

Hello,
Anybody here knows the Spanish way to prepare dishes with dried fish with other ingredients in tomato sauce?
Thanks.

 

[BeeSweet]

Hello,
Anybody here knows the Spanish way to prepare dishes with dried fish with other ingredients in tomato sauce?
Thanks.

Chancellare, is this similar to what your thinking? It sounds pretty tasty to me! I love cod fish.

Bacalao con Tomate - Cod Fish with Tomato Sauce

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs. Dried Salt Cod (boneless)
1 Large Onion
3 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
Olive Oil for Frying
1 - 28 oz Can Crushed Tomato
Flour - Enough to Coat Fish
1 Bay Leaf
1 - 12 oz Jar or Can of Roasted Red Pepper , Sliced
PREPARATION:
Serves 6-8.

Soak the Cod Fish
The salted cod fish must be soaked in water for AT LEAST 24 hours, preferably 48 hours before cooking. This is necessary to leach out the salt. Change the water 2-3 times in a 24-hour period.
If this is not done, the fish will be so salty that it will not be edible!

Brown the Fish
Remove the fish from the water. Pat it dry with paper towels and set aside. Pour about a ¼ cup of olive oil into a large, open frying pan and turn burner on medium heat. Put flour onto a plate and cover cod in flour. When the frying pan is hot, place the fish in the pan and brown fish lightly on both sides. Set aside.

Sauté the Onion and Tomato Sauce
Add the rest of the olive oil to the frying pan. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is translucent. Add the crushed tomato sauce and bay leaf and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Simmer Sauce and Fish
Add the cod fish back into the frying pan and reduce heat. Add the roasted red peppers and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

Serve with fried potatoes.

 

[Chancellare]

Thanks a lot BeeSweet!
I will try it first before Lent!

 

[Zooey]

Another really easy meatless meal that I like is from an old cookbook by a lady named Gladys Taber. It is one of those things that gets invented on the spot, because you have to feed unexpected visitors.
Supper Soup
For every 2 people:
1 small can clam sauce (white or red)
1 can minestrone ( Pasta e fagioli works).
Heat together, & I always serve it with grated parmesan cheese.
If you have a fairly sizeable can/jar of clam sauce, the 1 can can do for 2 cans of minestrone.
This makes a very good clam “chowder”–different from either Manhattan or New England varieties. I like it for times when I want something hot & comforting, like homemade soup, but there is no homemade soup.

 

[Linda_Marie]

A light savoury dish and very easy to make. In Britain, it is traditionally a breakfast dish, but I like it for supper.

Kedgeree
Cooking time 25 – 30 min
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 scant cup long grain rice
1 ½ cups water
salt & pepper to taste
¾ to 1 lb smoked haddock or cod (weight when skinned and boned)
¼ cup butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs
cayenne pepper to taste
½ cup frozen peas
1 Tblsp chopped parsley to garnish

Method:

1. Put the rice with the cold water and a little salt into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir briskly, cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes or until the rice is just tender and all the liquid has been absorbed. (or follow packet directions)

2.Cut the smoked haddock into portions, put into a dish, cover with boiling water and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Remove the bones and skin and flake the fish coarsely, take care not to mash it.

3.Meanwhile, heat a little of the butter in a saucepan. Add the onion and fry until transparent, but do not allow to brown.

4.Shell the eggs, chop the whites and sieve the yolks, or chop finely. Keep separate.

5.Stir the flaked fish, onion, egg whites, frozen peas and the rest of the butter into the cooked rice.

6.Season rather highly, remembering that smoked fish gives a certain amount of salt to the dish. Heat through gently and pile on a flat heated dish. Make a large yellow cross over the top with the sieved egg yolks and top with parsley

 

[BeeSweet]

Polenta is real tasty, and super simple. It’s really great if you go all the way through to the end of this recipe and cut it into squares and fry it up. Serve with some grilled shrimp and a green veg for a full meal.

Savory Polenta Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2004
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for grilling or sauteing if desired
3/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces Parmesan, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large, oven-safe saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the red onion and salt and sweat until the onions begin to turn translucent, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic, and saute for 1 to 2 minutes, making sure the garlic does not burn.

Turn the heat up to high, add the chicken stock, bring to a boil. Gradually add the cornmeal while continually whisking. Once you have added all of the cornmeal, cover the pot and place it in the oven. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring every
10 minutes to prevent lumps. Once the mixture is creamy, remove from the oven and add the butter, salt, and pepper. Once they are incorporated, gradually add the Parmesan.

Serve as is, or pour the polenta into 9 by 13-inch cake pan lined with parchment paper. Place in the refrigerator to cool completely.

Once set, turn the polenta out onto a cutting board and cut into squares, rounds, or triangles. Brush each side with olive oil and saute in a nonstick skillet over medium heat, or grill.

 

[puzzleannie]

Low Carb is tough in Lent unless you rely on fish, eggs, cheese and soy meat analogs (off my diet for medical reasons).

Low Carb bruschetta
Make this as part of an antipasto platter that contains everything traditional except the sausage

Lay slices of deli cheese (provolone works best) on a no-stick griddle at medium heat, until they get melty and crispy. Or try mounds of grated parmesan, which get more crispy and lest gooey.
You can also do this in the microwave on parchment or freezer paper with deli cheese slices (NOT wax paper or paper towel or a plate) but watch your time. in the microwave the cheese gets first puffy then crispy, you are going for crispy but not burnt, so experiment in 15 second increments.
lift the cheese slices carefully onto a platter and let them cool and “harden” a bit. Top with bruschetta topping. Our market has small jars of chopped artichoke hearts in an herbed olive oil garlic base, or chopped tomato with italian seasoning. Pesto would also work.

Other items on an antipasto platter
marinated artichoke hearts
good olives, get a mixture
blanched, drained and marinated veggies such as green beans, asparagus, cauliflower florettes (brocolli is not very good for some reason) sliced or baby carrots.
belgian endive or bibb lettuce leaves stuffed with herbed and seasoned ricotta cheese or cream cheese
smoked salmon
baby shrimp
clams or calamari
(I would not eat the last two, depends on your crowd)

If you can eat soy sausage, boca has italian sausage, cut in round slices, heat in spagetti sauce, and serve with toothpicks. There is a soy pepperoni, and soy ham, but I don’t like it.

This could be served with pasta salad or fried cheese tortellinni or ravioli for those who are not lo-carbing it.

 

[puzzleannie]

Anyone have a Lenten variation of stuffed green peppers? I usually stuff mine with a rice and beef mixture. Maybe rice and shrimp would be nice. Suggestions?

I just make my regular recipe with soy crumbles (morningstar farms), but for DH since I can’t eat soy any more. I use the same filling for stuffed cabbage–1/3 brown rice, 1/3 crumbles (or ground beef outside lent), 1/3 grated veggies like onion, carrot, celery.

For LoCarb stuffed peppers I plan to try cauliflower “rice”
Break fresh cauliflower into florets (discard green and tough stems), steam in microwave veggie steamer, with only the moisture that clings when you rinse it. I thought of using flaked poached or baked fish filets instead of the meat, will probably try this for Ash Wednesday because I can bake the peppers before work and it will reheat for DH. I just used marinara sauce from a jar over the top of the peppers or cabbage and bake, topped with grated cheese.

Anybody have a good recipe for Salmon Croquettes? The serve them at Luby’s cafeteria here and they are great with hollandaise sauce.

Chop coarsely to a “rice” texture and use as rice in any recipe (for a soup you could just chop fresh and add).

I have been using frozen cauliflower florets, which are rther small, for a pasta subsitute in any recipe that works with Ziti or Penne size pasta.

 

[Lissla_Lissar]

I really hate fish. Lent is a no-fish time for me. Actually, all times are no-fish.

Fritatta for six:

Saute three large diced potatoes at medium heat in olive oil for twenty minutes, until mostly cooked, in a large non-stick frying pan. Add two chopped zuchinnis, cook for another five minutes. Beat together half a cup grated parmesan, a couple of shakes of salt and pepper, and ten eggs. Pour the mixture over the veggies.

Cook for twenty minutes, or until it’s pretty much set. While it’s cooking heat the broiler. When the fritatta’s mostly done (only a little runny on top, solid at the edges) stick it under the broiler for five minutes, or until the top gets nicely browned.

Serve in wedges with toast and salad. Leftovers are good cold or warmed up, and make nice sandwiches.

Miso with stuff:

Boil chopped bok choy, green onions, and fine noodles for a few minutes in five or six cups of water. Cream a teaspoon of miso for each cup with a little water. Add it to the liquid. Don’t let it boil. Serve. It’s light and tasty. You can add sesame oil, grated ginger, and little tofu cubes to it if you like.

Make chili with TVP (textured vegetable protein) instead of ground beef. TVP is widely available in health and bulk food stores, doesn’t taste like anything, and has a texture very much like hamburger. It’s really really cheap, too.

Eat sushi if you don’t hate fish.

Cheating fondue:

Make four cups (or more) of basic white sauce (cook two tablespoons of flour with two tablespoons or butter until it’s all sort of a paste, add one cup of milk and cook on medium low until it thickens, whisking).

Add a cup of cheddar, grated or cut into strips. Cook it until the cheese all melts. Add salt and pepper to taste. Put the pot on the table, with a lot of good bread and veggies to dip (broccoli, mushrooms, pepper strips). If you’ve got a big family make two pots and a lot more sauce. Quick and yummy. The sauce is also good poured on baked potatoes, especially over vegetarian chili.

 

[BeeSweet]

Annie, have you tried quinoa (pronounced keen-wah)? You can use it similarly to rice, it cooks the same, but it’s slightly lower in carb, higher in fat and higher in protien and fiber. The higher fat, protien and fiber content will help keep from spiking your blood sugar too much. Compare the nutrient data for rice, versus quinoa Quinoa is also super mineral rich.

Most recipes say to rinse the quinoa before you cook it or else it will be bitter. I forgot to rinse mine once, and I couldn’t tell the difference, so I don’t bother. If you can find it in bulk it’s much less expensive than buying the teeny weeny box you usually can find in the health food section of the grocery.

My husband doesn’t care for the texture of it much, but for some funny reason he likes it when I serve it with fish. It’s kinda the same consistency as couscous, but with a bit of bite to it. It would probably make an excellent pilaf, but I’ve honestly only ever served it up plain like rice as a side dish.

 

[BeeSweet]

So many fish haters!

I finally found my twenty year old vegetarian cookbook with two recipes I love:

Forties Lentil Pie

3/4 c. red lentils (I’ve used plain brown ones too, no big whoop)
1 onion chopped
1 & 1/2 c. mashed potato
2 tbls chopped fresh parsley
~ 12 oz. can of sweetcorn, drained
2 tbls chutney (I usually don’t have that around, but I’m sure it’s tasty if included)
salt and pepper
onion rings to garnish

Rinse and place the lentils with the onion in a pan. Cover with cold water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about 25 minutes.
Drain thoroughly and mix with the potatoes, parsley, sweetcorn, chutney and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into casserole dish and cook under a broiler till golden & crisp (I usually just bake it @ 350* till it’s a bit crusty on top). Garnish and serve.

Potato and Eggs Bombay
(I haven’t made this in years, but plan to again as soon as I get to the store and get some fresh spices. The aroma is euphoric!)

3 tbls olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 & 1/2 lbs potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
4 eggs
salt & pepper
1 tbls chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
sprig of cilantro to garnish

Heat the oil in a saute’ pan with a lid. Add the cumin and mustard seeds and cook for a few seconds until the seeds begin to pop.
Stir in the diced potato, ground coriander, garam masala and turmeric, blending well. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 - 20 minutes until the potato is just tender.
Make four hollows, evenly spaced, in the cooked potato mixture and crack an egg into each. Cover and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes, or until the eggs are set.
Remove from the heat, add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with the chopped cilantro. Serve at once, straight from the pan.

 

[Pug]

So many fish haters!

It is difficult to get good fish in many parts of the country. In lent, you can get decent squid around here, and year-round you can get good shrimp or scallops. All three come frozen. Fish itself is difficult, though salmon can be easily gotten. Most fish, even the frozen stuff, has a clear fish odor to it.

Of course, one can get canned tuna. That isn’t fishy.

If I want non-smelly fish, I have to drive into the big city or its suburbs. It is one of my pet-peeves, this lack of fish.

 

[maggieodae]

Fried Macaroni.

Cook Mac , drain and place in a frying pan, with a little oil. Add scrambled eggs, salt and pepper. Cook until lightly browned. Great with any fish dish.

 

[BeeSweet]

Minestrone

There are many variations of minestrone, this is what I made tonight because I had a bunch of vegetables that needed to be used or thrown away. I asked my husband to bring home a couple of cans of tomato and I threw them in at the last minute. I’m kinda guessing on the amount of stock and water I used, so just make it soupy…

1/2 onion chopped
4 - 5 cloves garlic minced
1 lb. green beans cut into 1 inch pieces
4 carrots sliced
3 turnips chopped into 1/4 inch cubes
4 - 5 stalks of celery chopped
4 small zucchini sliced
1 can red kidney beans drained and rinsed
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 quarts stock (low sodium or homemade)
1 quart water
3 tbls italian herbs
1 bay leaf
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
3 or 4 cups cooked pasta (I used elbow macaroni)
grated parmesean to garnish
Olive oil or butter

Heat a good size stock pot with a lid, add oil or butter, toss in the onions and turn down the heat to medium or medium low (don’t scorch the onions). Once the onions begin to soften, add the garlic and the next 4 ingredients (don’t add the zucchini yet because it cooks real fast and will fall apart pretty quick). Add the herbs, pepper flakes and salt and pepper and heat the veggies for about three to five minutes or so (careful with the salt as the canned tomato will be salty and the cheese at the end will also be salty). Add the zucchini, and heat for another minute before adding the bay leaf, canned tomatoes, drained kidney beans, stock and water. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer and wait for all the veggies to be soft.
While the soup simmers, prepare the pasta according to the directions and set aside.

To serve, put 1/4 cup of pasta in the bottom of each soup bowl, ladle in the soup, and sprinkle parmesean cheese on top. Store any left over pasta and soup separate in the refrigerator.

 

[Zirconia]

For all the celiacs out there, here are some gluten-free Lenten recipes…

(Note: All but the last involve dairy products)

Cabbage-Potato Casserole

1 head cabbage
4 medium potatoes
butter for white sauce
sweet rice flour for white sauce
grated cheese for sauce
1 quart milk

Boil the cabbage. While it is on, thinly slice the potatoes and make the white sauce. When the cabbage is done, pour a third of the sauce into a glass baking dish, then add a third of the cabbage and then a third of the potatoes. Repeat until used up, ending with sauce. Bake at 350 degrees an hour or until potatoes are tender.

The Rice Dish

2 cups uncooked rice
4 cups water
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can diced tomatoes
grated cheese

Cook the rice in the water (or follow package instructions for ratio of rice to water). Then add the remaining ingredients and toss.

Black Beans

Two pounds dry black beans (or use two large cans)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can diced green chile peppers
1 large can tomatoes
Cumin to taste
Red wine vinegar to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

If using dry beans, soak them overnight, using six cups of water per pound of beans. Drain and rinse, then cook in six cups hot water and simmer gently until tender. Omit this step if using canned.

Saute the bell pepper, onion, and garlic, then add the tomatoes and chile peppers. Add the cumin (within reason, the more the better…), salt, and pepper. Take the whole mixture and add it to the beans. Heat thoroughly.

Add red wine vinegar to taste and serve promptly, preferably over rice.

And now for a few tips for “Lent”-ils

Remember that lentils are excellent for fast bean cooking because dry ones don’t have to be soaked overnight (unlike other dry beans) and not to add salt until the very end of cooking, because it makes them tough.

Bon appetit!

Zirconia

 

[levi86]

About $10 worth of takeaway fish’n’chips suits me just fine

 

[maggieodae]

About $10 worth of takeaway fish’n’chips suits me just fine

I just bought 10 Fish Fillets. I do it every year. They will stay in my freezer for me to stare at all through Lent. Then I will joyfully throw them in the trash on Holy Saturday. Yuck! Let them eat bread, Macaroni, beans, PJ & B, anything but Blech!!! FISH!

 

[BeeSweet]

I just make my regular recipe with soy crumbles (morningstar farms), but for DH since I can’t eat soy any more. I use the same filling for stuffed cabbage–1/3 brown rice, 1/3 crumbles (or ground beef outside lent), 1/3 grated veggies like onion, carrot, celery.

For LoCarb stuffed peppers I plan to try cauliflower “rice”
Break fresh cauliflower into florets (discard green and tough stems), steam in microwave veggie steamer, with only the moisture that clings when you rinse it. I thought of using flaked poached or baked fish filets instead of the meat, will probably try this for Ash Wednesday because I can bake the peppers before work and it will reheat for DH. I just used marinara sauce from a jar over the top of the peppers or cabbage and bake, topped with grated cheese.

Anybody have a good recipe for Salmon Croquettes? The serve them at Luby’s cafeteria here and they are great with hollandaise sauce.

Chop coarsely to a “rice” texture and use as rice in any recipe (for a soup you could just chop fresh and add).

I have been using frozen cauliflower florets, which are rther small, for a pasta subsitute in any recipe that works with Ziti or Penne size pasta.

How do you make stuffed cabbage?

I’ve made salmon croquettes by simply mashing canned salmon with egg, breadcrumbs and herbs, and then forming it into a patty. My husband likes them, but I don’t make them very often. I really like canned salmon, so it doesn’t stay in the house for long , not even long enough for me to plan a dinner with it.

I stay away from the soy / texturized protien stuff myself. I also try to stay away from gluten most days. I use either corn or rice pasta unless I’m just making something for my husband to eat alone (which is when I have a wine and cheese night )

For the stuffed peppers, I’ve had trouble with the pepper itself being a bit too crunchy by the time I serve them. Any suggestions on temp and time to keep this from happening and still keep the pepper from disintegrating when I serve it?

 

[BeeSweet]

Portabello Mushroom Pizzas

1-2 Large portabello mushroom caps per person
can of tomato paste
1/2 onion diced
3-4 garlic cloves minced
italian herbs
salt & pepper
sugar
olive oil
fresh basil leaves sliced
fresh tomato diced
mozzerella cheese
cheddar cheese
parmesean cheese

Preheat the oven to 350*
To prepare the mushroom caps, brush the dirt off the top, break off the stem, and scrape out the gills. Set aside while you make the pizza sauce.
Saute’ the onions and garlic in olive oil with the seasonings till the onions are soft. Add the can of tomato paste, and add water a little bit at a time till you get the thickness of sauce that you like on pizza. Once the sauce is the consitency you like, add a pinch or two of sugar and continue to heat to incorporate the sugar. Set the sauce aside, and brush each mushroom cap with a bit of olive oil on both sides (the mushroom will probably soak up the oil real quick, so don’t think you have to keep putting oil on it!). Place your caps topside down on a greased cookie sheet. Spoon your sauce onto the caps, and top with a few strips of basil. Top with mozzerella, cheddar and grated parmesean, a few diced tomatoes, and a bit more fresh basil. Heat in the oven till the cheese is browned a little. Sprinkle with more grated parmesean just before serving.

If your caps are especially thick, you may want to heat them in the oven w/o any toppings for about 15 minutes and then add your sauce and toppings. This is to keep the caps from being too watery.

Portabello’s are great on the BBQ grill too, they really take on the smoky flavor.