Lemon Pepper Planked Salmon, Pesto Pasta Salad

Simple Lemon Pepper Planked Salmon, Pesto Pasta Salad with Artichoke Hearts , Summer Squash, & Cherry Tomatoes

Trying to keep this push up to make clean, healthy meals.  I went out to brunch today and was tempted by a “southern breakfast burrito” with Pork belly, pimento cheese, and the like – it was pretty yummy, but not what the doctor ordered.  After seeing the triglyceride count from my lipid panel, I need to rethink how often I indulge in such things.  With that guilt fresh in my mind, I decided to counterbalance with a simple clean dinner.  The pasta salad I made in advance, with store bought pesto. I wish I had some diced zucchini to add to this when I made it, but it was really great as it was.  The salmon really married well with the pasta salad and if there are leftovers, all can be saved and eaten cold as a healthy lunch the next day. If you don’t have a plank, you can bake this or grill it traditionally.  Happy Eating 🙂

Salmon:

Ingredients:

• Wild caught salmon fillets, cut into 6 oz portions (you can have them do this at store)
• Fresh Lemon
• Fresh Ground Black Pepper
• Low Sodium Tamari Sauce
• Garlic powder
• Onion Powder
• Cedar plank

Soak plank about 30 minutes in water.

Rinse salmon and pat dry with a paper towel.  Mix about 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice and 2 tablespoons tamari in a small bowl, add a pinch of onion powder and garlic powder then brush onto fillets.   Liberally grind fresh pepper onto fish until well peppered.

Place fillets on plank, then put onto medium heat on grill.  Cook for about 12-15 min or until fish is done.

PESTO PASTA SALAD WITH ARTICHOKES AND TOMATOES

• Pasta shells
• Fresh pesto, about 1/3 cup
• Mayonnaise
• 1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained and cut into thirds
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes washed and cut in half
• 2 cups Yellow squash, diced
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Fresh grated DOP Reggiano cheese

Boil water and cook pasta, drain

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients.  Adjust seasonings to taste, refrigerate for 2 hours

 

Drunken Jerk Grilled Chicken Legs

So now that is well into grilling season, I thought this would be a good one to share.  I am a big fan of all things that come out of the Secret Aardvark Hot Sauce Kitchen, and really appreciate the dedication that they put into the craft.  Their Drunken Jerk Sauce is no exception – bold Jamaican flavor and decent heat.  When putting this dish together, I was thinking about ways to enhance the flavors but diminish the heat a little bit and came up with diluting with coconut milk.  This turned out great and can be adapted in many ways – but I really loved the sweet hot flavor profile that came out of this simple dish.

Ingredients

• A value pack of chicken legs – bone in, skin on.
• ¼ cup Secret aardvark drunken jerk sauce
• ½ can coconut milk
• Optional – Fresh Chopped Cilantro

The night before:

Mix marinade ingredients together.  Put chicken legs in a large freezer bag, pour on marinade and let sit overnight.  If you want more heat, increase the Aardvark!

Grill over medium heat turning frequently until internal temp is 160.

Let cool 5 min, then dig in.

Serve with peas & rice, fried plantains, and other assorted yummies.  This works great with wings too, I like legs because they cook evenly and have more meat on them.

 

Vegetarian Lasagna with Homemade Spinach Noodles & Béchamel

Sunday Dinner Series – Traditional Lasagna with Homemade Spinach Noodles

I apologize again for neglecting this blog, but want to try to kick off a new Series of “Sunday Dinners” with the goal of posting at least once a week.  So I made this today and have a confession – this was the first time I have ever made pasta from scratch.  It was a tad messy, but I did it with a rolling pin – no need for a fancy pasta maker, stand-up mixer, or food processor.  I also made the vegetarian, but you can substitute ground meat and sausage for the “Beyond meat” that I used – which turned out fantastic BTW.   This recipe is adapted from Cook’s Country Best Lost Suppers by Chris Kimball.  I make the pasta first, then the sauce, then the béchamel, then roll out the noodles and compose the dish

PASTA:

• 3 Cups Semolina flour
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• 4 oz baby spinach (about 3 cups), chopped
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced oregano
• Water

Pulse the flour, garlic power, and1/2 tsp salt together in food processor (or mix in bowl) to aerate.  Add Spinach, eggs, oil, and oregano and process until dough forms a rough ball (@ 30 – 40 seconds).  If dough resembles small pebbles, add water, a teaspoon at a time, until process until dough forms a ball.  Turn dough out on a clean, floured surface and knead until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 min – 2 hours.  This step can be done in advance and dough kept in fridge for a couple of days until ready to use.

When ready, cut the dough into 4 equal parts, pat into a rough 4-inch square, and run through the rollers of a pasta machine or roll out.  Fold back on itself like folding a towel and roll out again.  Repeat several times.  Dough should be about nickel thick and 5 inches wide.  Store on waxed paper on a baking sheet until ready to assemble.

SAUCE:

• 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 celery ribs, chopped fine
• 1 large carrot, chopped fine
• 4 mushrooms, diced
• One 16 oz bag “beyond meat” meat substitute – or can use 1.25 pounds ground beef + 1 sweet Italian sausage
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Four roma tomatoes, minced
• 6 oz tomato paste
• ½ cup red wine
• 2 cups tomato juice
• Salt, pepper, red chile flake to taste

Heat the butter and oil over medium heat.  Add the onion, celery, carrot and cook until they begin to caramelize.  Add the mushrooms and beyond meat (or meats) and cook until browned.  Add tomato paste, cook well then deglaze with wine.  Add tomatoes, garlic, and tomato juice.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer and season to taste.

BECHAMEL SAUCE

• 3 tablespoons unsalted Butter
• ¼ cup flour
• 3 cups half + half
• Nutmeg
• Salt & pepper

Melt butter in medium saucepan on medium high heat.  Add flour and make roux, when this starts to get dark gold in color, add half and half while whisking vigorously.  Whisk until mixture comes to a boil, then reduce heat & season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

ASSEMBLE THE LASAGNA

Add 1 cup sauce to bottom of pan

Add noodles

Add sauce on top of noodles

Top with parmesan / mozzarella cheese blend

Top with béchamel

Repeat layers until casserole is 2/3 full

Top layer is sauce + béchamel + cheese

Bake, covered, at 350 for 40 min.  Remove cover, bake for another 20min, serve with salad and crusty bread.