Provencal Fish Stew

I had all the ingredients to make a fish soup, so that's all the inspiration I needed. I used Sea bass, fennel, onion, tomato, saffron, garlic and black olives. I would have liked to use mussels and maybe a grilled bread slice to go with it.

Ingredients:
8 oz. Sea bass, diced
1 Fennel Bulb , diced
1/2 Onion, diced
3 clove Garlic, chopped fine
1 Roma Tomato, diced
2 Cups Water or Fish Stock
Kosher Salt/ Pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon Parsley, Chopped
Black Olive paste as desired
1 Pinch Saffron

Method:
1. Saute all vegetables in extra virgin olive olive oil.
2. Add diced fish, saffron and broth, bring to simmer and cook till fish is done.
3. Ladle into preheated bowls and garnish with chopped parsley and olive paste.

Yield = 4

Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli

I made a simple fresh ravioli tonight using a herb pasta dough and a filling of garlic sauteed spinach with ricotta cheese. I added fresh chopped parsley to the pasta dough while mixing which gave it bright green flecks of herbs on the thinly rolled out sheets, next small tablespoons mounds of the spinach-ricotta filling were placed along the sheets of dough every few inches, then the dough was folded over and sealed, pushing out any air bubbles. The next step is to cut out the ravioli and either cook them right away or freeze for another time. The best thing about using fresh pasta is that they cook very fast and you will not have to wait too long before eating them. I served them with a simple sauce of ripe cherry tomatoes, herbs, black olives, garlic and extra virgin olive oil.

Mediterranean Style Sea Bass

I cooked a simple dinner tonight using Sea Bass and all the Mediterranean flavors that I love, Garlic, Fennel, Olives and Tomatoes. The fish was a locally caught sea bass bought from my fish guy at the market, he is honest with me and will only recommend whats new and fresh. The fish was simply seasoned and sauteed in olive oil. While the fish was cooking I sauteed diced fennel bulb, sliced onions, garlic and cherry tomatoes, I bunch of spinach was added at the end to quickly wilt and then the vegetables were placed in a mound on a preheated plate. I like using condiments with fish and I decided on using a classic black olive tapenade. I love all the different flavors and bright colors of this dish and it was Delicious too.

Tapenade

Ingredients:

1 cup pitted Nicoise Olives

1 Tablespoon Capers (salt packed)

2 each Anchovies (salt packed)

2 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Juice of one Lemon

Method

1. Finely chop to a fine paste or pulse all ingredients in a blender.

Note: If using salt packed ingredients, rinse well to remove excess salt.

Harissa, The North African Hot Sauce

If you like making your hot sauces, then this should be one to try, Its Harissa from the North African Countries of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Its a very common condiment that's used in a wide range of dishes from these Countries, its spicy but with a lot of smoky flavor from the dried chilies and toasted spices. Try it as you would any other hot sauce.

Ingredients:

10-12 dried Chile de Arbol or Ancho Chilies

3 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 cup olive oil

Method:

1. Soak the dry chilies in warm water for about 30 minutes to rehydrate and soften them.

2. toast the seeds in a hot dry saute pan for a few minutes till they just start to smoke.

3. Blend all ingredients in a blender till smooth.

Store refrigerated in small jars with a layer of olive oil on top of the paste.

Father's Day Breakfast Hash

Normally people would cook for the father on this day but I like cooking too much to let someone else have all the fun doing it. Making some kind of hash on Sunday mornings is common in my house and today we will keep up the tradition. Today's hash is a "use what I find in the refrigerator hash" and there were good ingredients available, Cooked Chicken, Italian Sausage, Yellow Bell Pepper, Russet Potato, Bacon and Eggs. Everything is cut into cubes and cooked in a non stick pan till tender and golden, a Fried Egg and a fiery spoonful of North African Harissa sauce to finish because I like spicy foods.

Ingredients:

1 russet Potato, diced

1 Yellow Bell Pepper, diced

1 cooked Chicken Breast, diced

1/2 cooked Italian Sausage, diced

1 strip Smoky Bacon, diced

1/4 yellow Onion, diced

2 Eggs

Optional: Harissa or other hot sauce

Method:

1. Saute all ingredients in a non stick saute bacon till golden brown, divide on warmed bowls.

2. Fry Eggs in a dash of olive oil in a non stick pan and serve one per bowl of hash, spoon Hot sauce over eggs if desired.

Yield= 2

Orzo Pasta Salad with Olive, Feta and Radicchio

Orzo Pasta Salad

I made a very flavorfull and colorfull salad at work the other day, it has a lot of ingredients that I love like Radicchio, Kalamata olives, Feta Cheese, Fresh Basil and sun dried Tomaoes. I used orzo pasta which resemble grains of rice and quickly grilled the radicchio which gives it a slight smoky flavor.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked Orzo pasta

1/4 cup slice Kalamata olives

2 each lightly grilled Radicchio

1/4 cup Feta cheese

handfull Fresh Basil Leafs

1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes

Pinch whole Flat Leaf Parsley

1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons Sherry Vinegar

Kosher Salt/Fresh Cracked Pepper

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients and add salt to taste (note: the feta and olives are salty)

Avocado

I was trying to come up with ideas for serving avocado which is one one my favorite foods, a different way is using a mellon baller to make perfect balls of avocado. These were just drizzled with sea salt and extra virgin olive oil, but adding other ingredients would make a nice salad. Maybe cucumbers or tomatoes? I will continue to play with my foods and dream up new combinations of flavors.