Something (not so) fishy!

Since moving to New Zealand I have learned to appreciate some fresh seafood. The American Heart Association recommends that you eat fish at least twice a week, so it is helpful to have some easy recipes and meals on hand that include fish. If you are a beginner seafood eater (trust me, I'm one of them), it can be hard to know what to get from the store and how to prepare it in a way that is flavorful and not fishy :). I've been copying recipes from friends/restaurants in our time here, and now I feel like I have some good "go to" fish meals. Below are my top 3 recipes and all are really simple, but look/taste fancy! 

I think it quite fitting that when eating/preparing fish to think about The Bible story of how 5,000 men were fed with only five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21). Even though Jesus and his followers only had a little food, they shared what they had, and because Jesus thanked God for what they have, there was enough to go around! How many times in our life are we asked to give for various reasons, but we think, "Oh, I only have enough 'X' for me", "Oh, they'll just spend it on booze", or "Oh, someone else will stop and help that person"? We need to realize that God will provide and we should always help the needy. Maybe when you prepare/eat fish you should make double sure you thank God for what you have and give a little something extra to those in need? (See how that practical application can be so easy?!)

Snapper and Risotto

Risotto:
1/4 cup olive oil
finely chopped 
1 1/2 cups arborio rice 
1/2 cup white wine 
4-5 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter 
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 
salt and black pepper, to taste 
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

1. Hold the broth warm in a saucepan. Heat oil in a separate pot over medium heat. Add rice to olive oil and stir for 2 minutes.  Microwave white wine for about  20-30 sec so it becomes quite warm (prevents it from shocking the rice). Add white wine and let evaporate.
2. Add broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently. Wait until each additional 1/2 cup is almost completely absorbed by the rice. Continue to add until all of the broth has been used, or until the risotto is cooked to desired doneness.
3. Turn off heat, add butter, Parmesan cheese and all herbs. Stir to combine with rice/risotto. Transfer to large bowl and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately. Finished risotto should be creamy and rice is firm.

Snapper:
snapper
butter
lemon juice

1. Sprinkle some salt and pepper of the fillet. Coat snapper in flour mixed with some spices (use whatever you have on hand- I use turmeric, paprika and garlic)
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat
3. Put snapper in the pan and cook for about 3 min on each side. I just eyeball it and when it cooking and turn it when the fillet turns mostly white (it starts out more translucent). 
4. Just before you take it out of the pan, squeeze lemon juice and add a tab of butter and toss those all around in the pan so the juices flow freely over the fillets.

Plate it and done! I usually serve this meal with something green (salad, green beans, broccoli)

Roasted Salmon and Veggies

Roasted Veggies:

1 sweet potato, diced

3 parsnips, diced

1 potato (whatever variety you have on hand), diced

1. Heat oven to 350F/180C.

2. Combine all the root veggies in a baking dish big enough for the veggies to not be layered too thick. I would use a 9/13 cake pan. 

3. Coat the veggies with olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika 

4. Cook for about 20 min on high temp by itself, then 15 more minutes once the salmon has been put in the oven (35 min total).

5. Take out the veggies when the salmon is half-way done.

Salmon:

salmon

lemon juice

olive oil

assorted spices

1. Turn oven down from veggie temp to 250F/130C

2. Marinate Salmon in olive oil, and assorted spices (paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper). Let sit for 15-30 min)

3. Place Salmon in oven with the veggies and cook for 30 min.

Plate it and done! Again, I serve with green beans, salad or broccoli. 

White Fish and Orzo Pesto Salad

Orzo Pesto Salad:

1 bag baby spinach

1-2 cups broccoli, chopped and steamed

a good handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half

orzo

homemade or pre-made pesto

1-2 cups pumpkin/sweet potato or both, diced

1. Roast pumpkin pieces in oven under high heat (300-400F) until fork tender, set aside.

2. Cook Orzo as directed from box, once cooked and drained, add a couple tablespoons of pesto and stir it around.

3. In a big serving bowl put about 3/4-1 of a bag of baby spinach. Then add orzo on top of the spinach (the heat wilts the leaves a bit--good!). Then add your cooked veggies and tomatoes. Put another tablespoon or two of pesto on top and toss it all around, coating everything in delicious pesto-ness. 

I got this recipe from a co-worker and have since made it part of my usual rotation of meals. I serve this salad with any white fish available in your supermarket (snapper, gunard, tilapia...) cooked as with flour coating as directed in the snapper recipe. These proportions make 4 servings of the salad.

Some other seafood options for your twice a week fish:

• Shrimp tacos
• Salmon white pizza
• Fish tacos
• Shrimp Scampi
• Homemade fish sticks with fries