The High-Protein Cookbook - Linda West Eckhardt [10]
To serve, arrange romaine lettuce leaves on a chilled dinner plate, add the fish, and top with some of the relish.
Nutritional Analysis: 173 calories, FAT 2 g, PROTEIN 33 g, CARB 7 g, FIBER 2 g, CHOL 124 mg, IRON 3 mg, SODIUM 738 mg, CALC 50 mg
Cooking Lesson
Steaming is an excellent method for cooking sushi-quality fish. In other words, be extra careful that the fish you cook is pristinely fresh. The delicate flavor of the fish will shine through.
Menu Suggestion
Add a ¾-cup serving of strawberries with whipped cream for dessert, and you will have added no more than 5 grams of carbs to create a totally satisfying meal.
Roasted Oysters with Spinach, Pernod, and Orange Mayonnaise
You’ll like this sophisticated first dish best if you begin with fresh baby spinach—the kind in the cellophane package that doesn’t even require washing. But you can also use regular fresh or frozen spinach. You’ll need to wash the regular kind in a big bowl of ice water to remove the sand; if you use frozen, you’ll just have to thaw it. But trust us. Baby spinach is the best.
MAKES 2 SERVINGS
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Grated zest from ½ orange plus ¼ cup fresh orange juice
½ cup mayonnaise
12 ounces baby spinach
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons Pernod
12 fresh oysters
Preheat the oven to 500°F. Coat two small gratin dishes or one medium baking dish with some of the olive oil and set them aside. Stir orange juice and zest into mayonnaise.
Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Film the bottom with the remaining olive oil. Add the spinach and sauté, stirring, until spinach is just wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the garlic and Pernod.
Divide the spinach between the ramekins or arrange it in a baking dish. Top with the oysters. Add a dab of orange mayonnaise to the top of each oyster and bake just until the mayonnaise is slightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Nutritional Analysis: 578 calories, FAT 53 g, PROTEIN 11 g, CARB 13.5 g, FIBER 5 g, CHOL 54 mg, IRON 10 mg, SODIUM 599 mg, CALC 231 mg
Health Benefit
Popeye wins again. This recipe provides 170 percent of the RDA for vitamin A, 95 percent for vitamin C, and 51 percent for iron. And besides that? It tastes good and is easy to make.
Sautéed Salmon with Lavender on a Bed of Summer Vegetables
Herbes de Provence, a perfume-y blend of herbs from the South of France containing rosemary, lavender, savory, and thyme, will lift a salmon fillet to new heights. Just marinate 15 minutes or so while you sauté the vegetables, and the result will be well worth your patience. The crisp, aromatic crust and a tender cooked-to-order fillet makes your mouth water. Don’t want your fish rare? Cook it longer.
MAKES 2 SERVINGS
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Two 6-ounce salmon fillets
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly milled black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 cup chopped zucchini
Place the salmon on a sheet of wax paper. Rub the herbs, salt, and pepper into both sides; cover with plastic wrap and set aside. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Film it with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the peppers, garlic, parsley, and zucchini. Season to taste with salt and freshly milled black pepper. Sauté, stirring often, until golden brown and crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to warmed dinner plates. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and add the fish, skin side up. Pan-fry 5 to 8 minutes,