Last year, on a business trip to Boston, B returned with 50 lbs. of seafood. Yes… 5-0. We made linguine with scallops, steamed clams, Thai-style mussels, lobster fra diavalo, lobster benedict, lobster salad… it was a lot of sea goodness. We didn’t even get around to eating the 10 lbs. of oysters he’d bought!
We’ve been in a bit of a food rut lately, making stir-fry after stir-fry, and wanted to mix it up a bit. I’ve also been craving seafood like nobody’s business… hard to believe I was a vegan a little over 6 months ago! So when B returned from a recent trip to Boston, he came back with another seafood haul. This time, though, the load was more manageable, and we had time to enjoy it all.
First up, we made this recipe for Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon. It was easy and delicious, made even simpler by not making the accompanying glaze. (We ended up having enough sauce left in the pan, which was flavorful enough.)
With the leftovers, we made toasted salmon sandwiches! We topped Udi’s gluten free hamburger buns with tomatoes, avocado, salt, pepper, lettuce, and a mustard maple sauce I made by whisking dijon, maple syrup, + water together. Hearty, healthy pub fare! We’ll be cooking more salmon around here.
The whole mackerel was a bit more challenging. We used this recipe for Grilled Whole Mackerel with Lemon, Oregano and Olives; after reading a few consumer reviews saying oven-roasting worked just fine, that’s what we did.
We stuffed the fish with oranges instead of lemon, and used fresh herbs from our window garden.
Mackerel is typically a pretty “fishy” fish (as one would expect…) but it was a little too fishy for me. I also forgot to use the lemon/olive/oregano sauce, which would have helped to cut the taste…. B used the leftovers to make a fish stew, which he liked but I declined. Still, I’m glad we tried the recipe out!
Our final meal was Linguine ai Frutti di Mare. Mollusks may seem like the most daunting type of seafood to cook (excepting lobster), but it was really easy. When the shells are open, they’re done!
B enjoyed his over pasta, while I spooned mine over polenta. I think we’ll be adding this to our regular rotation!
It was a fun challenge to find interesting- but minimally time-consuming- healthy recipes. We did snag a few bones, though…
Oh boy.
