Tag Archives: entree

4-3-2-1 Scallop Cheviche

4-3-2-1 Scallop Cheviche

Simple to make – Pretty to look at – Delightful to eat!

INGREDIENTS:

4 Lemons, juiced

3 Oranges, juiced

2 Limes, juiced

1 Blood Orange, peeled, sliced into thin wedges*

1.5 pounds Scallops, cleaned, sliced into thin, round discs

1/2 cup Yellow Pepper, diced

1/2 cup Orange pepper, diced

1/2 cup Red onion, diced

1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp White pepper

3 small Chilies, seeded, chopped

1 small chili, chopped (seeds left in)

PREPARATION:

In a large, non-reactive bowl, gently toss ingredients to mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Serve cold over a bed of greens.

For a spicier Cheviche, leave in more seeds from the chilies

Serves 6-10

*If blood oranges are unavailable, you can substitute with a regular orange or a tangelo


Roasted Peppers with Quinoa and Corn Stuffing

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup               Tofu, extra firm, crumbled

1 tb                  Lemon juice

¾ tsp               Paprika

½ tsp               Cumin

¼ tsp               Black pepper

¼  tsp              Coriander powder

1/8 tsp             Chili powder

1 tb                  Thyme, fresh, chopped

½ tsp + ½ tsp   Olive oil

1/4 cup              White onion, small dice

1 clove             Garlic, minced

¼ cup              Quinoa grain, red

¼ cup              Quinoa grain, white

1 cup             Vegetable stock

2 tsp                Vinegar, white wine

¼ tsp               Salt, sea

½ cup              Corn kernels, fresh cut off the cob

¾ cup              Zucchini, small dice

¼ cup              Scallion, chopped

¼ cup              Parsley, fresh, chopped

1/8 cup             Basil, fresh, chopped

2 each              Pepper, yellow bell, large, halved lengthwise and seeded

2 each              Pepper, red bell, large, halved lengthwise and seeded

2 each              Plum tomato, small, sliced into thin rounds

8 tsp                Feta cheese, low fat, crumbled*

As needed        Cooking spray

PREPARATION:

In a small bowl, mix crumbled tofu with lemon juice, paprika, cumin, black pepper, coriander, chili powder and thyme; refrigerate for several hours so flavors meld.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In small pot, heat vegetable stock. In a medium pot, sauté onion and garlic in ½ teaspoon olive oil until onion is softened. Add red and white quinoa and stir to coat grains. Add the hot vegetable stock and bring to a boil; reduce to simmer, cover and cook until stock is absorbed by quinoa, about 15 minutes.  Place quinoa into large mixing bowl; toss with white wine vinegar and salt.

In a sauté pan with ½ teaspoon oil sauté zucchini and scallion about a minute; add basil and parley and sauté about 1 minute more; remove from heat. Add the sautéed vegetables to the quinoa, along with the seasoned tofu, corn kernels, parsley and basil. Toss well to mix ingredients.

Stuff each pepper half with 1/8 of the stuffing mixture; top with a couple of tomato slices plus 1 teaspoon of feta cheese, then place on a sprayed baking sheet.  Cook in oven until pepper is roasted and cheese is melted, about 9-12 minutes.

Plating: Serve each person 1 red and 1 yellow stuffed pepper half on a small bed of baby arugula greens.

(*omit Feta Cheese if cooking Vegan)

YIELD: 4 servings


Southwest Chicken

So much flavor, you won’t mind a bit that it’s also lower in fat and calories than many other marinated chicken recipes.

Serve with Fresh Tomato Salsa and Traditional Guacamole or Fruity Guacamole. Fabulous with a small side salad. For a bigger meal, serve also with Spanish Rice.

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup Lime juice
1/8 cup Tamari (soy) sauce, low sodium, gluten-free
1/4 cup Wine, white
1 taplespoon Olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Cumin, ground
1/2 teaspoon Coriander, ground
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Honey
1/3 teaspoon Thyme, dried (or 1 tsp fresh, minced)
1/8 cup Cilantro, fresh, minced
6 each Chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, 4-5 ounces each

PREPARATION:
Mix lime juice, Tamari, olive oil, chili powder, cumin, coriander, garlic, honey, wine and thyme well in a large bowl. Put chicken breasts in shallow pan with marinade mix and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Reserve marinade.

Heat grill. Pour reserved marinade into small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer a few minutes to reduce slightly and make a sauce. Grill chicken breasts, occasionally basting with some of the sauce, until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Add cilantro to sauce. Serve each breast with a teaspoon or two of the sauce.

Serves 6


Tangelo Stir Fry with Scallops and Forbidden Rice

Tangelo is a tasty citrus fruit that is a cross between orange and tangerine, and pairs very nicely with “Ocean Candy” (my nickname name for scallops!)  If you cannot find tangelos, substitute with either fresh orange or tangerine zest and juice, or even combine the two.

Grape seed oil is excellent for use in high temperature cooking techniques like stir-fry. Forbidden rice is black rice and is usually pretty easy to find (see notes below).

INGREDIENTS:

1 dozen  Scallops, large, fresh, cleaned

.5 tsp Canola oil

1 tsp Grape seed oil

3 tb Tangelo juice, fresh squeezed

1 tb Vinegar, rice

1 tb Vinegar, red wine

1 tb Tamari or soy sauce, low sodium, gluten-free

1.5 tsp Sugar, brown

1 tb Tangelo zest

1 tsp Chile-garlic paste

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1tb Ginger, fresh, peeled and minced

3/4 cup Zucchini, with skin, cut in half then sliced on bias

3/4 cup Summer squash, cut in half, then sliced on bias

1 large Carrot, peeled, cut in half, then sliced on bias

4 each Water chestnuts, cubed

1/2 cup Forbidden rice (black rice)

1 cup Water

1 tb Green onion, chopped

PREPARATION:

In small bowl, mix the tangerine juice with the Hoisin sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and chili-garlic paste. In another small bowl, combine the tangerine zest with the chopped garlic and ginger.

Bring water to boil in small pot. Add black rice, stir briefly, cover and simmer until all water is absorbed, about 18-25 minutes. Stir in chopped green onion.

Lightly spray a large, heated pan with the canola oil. Add scallops in single layer and cook on high heat with out stirring until they are golden on bottom, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook until scallops are firm, about 1 ½ minutes longer. Transfer to a plate.

Add grape seed oil to a very hot wok along with Tangerine zest mixture cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the carrot and stir-fry for about 2 minutes. Add the zucchini, squash and water chestnuts  to carrot and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 3 more minutes. Stir tangerine sauce and add to wok; cook sauce until slightly thickened, about 30 seconds. Add scallops to the wok, stirring just until heated through. Toss veggies and Scallops in Tangelo Sauce. Serve scallops and vegetables on top of forbidden rice.

TIP: Only use water, not vegetable stock, when cooking black rice- it will have a much better, lighter taste. Do not season black rice until after it has finished cooking. While rather easy to find it imported from China (where it originated), I recommend searching out for black rice from the United States or Italy (“Riso Bello” brand, “Venere” rice from Italy is my personal favorite).

YIELD: 4 servings