Lucid Food_ Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life - Louisa Shafia [64]
Serve immediately with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if using.
Pizza Toppings: The Sky’s the Limit
Making your own pizza is fun and creative, especially in the summer, when there are so many fresh ingredients available. For the toppings, use any combination of cooked or raw vegetables, shredded or crumbled cheese, sauce, and herbs. Recipes from this book that make great toppings include: Stinging Nettle Pesto; Smoky Eggplant Dip with Yogurt; Watercress Mashed Potatoes; and Chicken Paillards with Sun-Dried Tomato Purée. There are also many vegetable dishes that work beautifully on pizza: Grilled Maitake Mushrooms; Fava Beans and Seared Zucchini; Baby Artichokes with Fresh Chervil; and Sautéed Leafy Greens. Choose from cheeses such as mozzarella, ricotta, fontina, or Gruyère.
Sustainable Seafood Choice: Farmed Mussels
Mussel farming is an exemplary sustainable operation due entirely to the nature of the animals. Mussels do not need fishmeal or fish oil in their diets but instead nourish themselves by drawing seawater through their gills and retaining the tiny plants and animals known as plankton. Mussels are not prone to contagion, so antibiotics and chemicals are not needed to maintain a disease-free population. In fact, mussel farming often improves water quality because mussels cannot live in polluted water. Farm owners thus have a vested interest in keeping the surrounding coastal waters clean.
Grilled Mussels with Simmered Tomatoes over Couscous
Grilled Mussels with Simmered Tomatoes over Couscous
I tasted grilled mussels for the first time last summer and they were a revelation. Grilled mussels cook in their own brine and have a rich, undiluted flavor. This Mediterranean-style meal pairs them with fluffy couscous and a quick tomato sauce. This recipe also works beautifully with clams. You can cook the tomatoes a day ahead and warm them up just before serving.
Serves 4 to 6
8 tomatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 sprigs fresh oregano
½ cup white wine
2 cups Israeli couscous
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds farmed mussels
1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped for garnish
Position a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Holding the tomatoes over the strainer, scoop out the seeds, letting the juice and seeds fall into the strainer. Press the seeds with a ladle to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the seeds and set the juice aside. Halve the tomato quarters and set them aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, and oregano. Add the wine and tomato juice and bring to a boil. Decrease the heat and boil gently, uncovered, for 12 minutes. Remove from the heat. Set the tomato mixture aside, covered.
Put the couscous in a saucepan with 1 teaspoon salt. Bring 2½ cups water to a boil and pour it over the couscous. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and let it rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then cover and set aside.
Just before cooking, clean the mussels. Gently tap any open shells against a countertop and wait a minute for the shell to close. If the shell stays open, the mussel is dead and must be discarded. Remove the little thistle of fiber, called the beard, that sticks out of the shell by yanking it toward the narrow end of the mussel. Fill a large bowl halfway with cold water and stir in a handful of salt. Soak the mussels in the water for 30 minutes, then lift them out, leaving the debris behind, and set them in a colander.
Heat a grill and place the mussels between the grates. Grill until the