The High-Protein Cookbook - Linda West Eckhardt [8]
Place a large ovenproof skillet or gratin dish on the stovetop and preheat over high heat. Film it with the remaining olive oil, then add the fish. Cook 1 minute, then carefully turn the fish. Transfer to the oven and cook until the fish flakes, no more than 5 to 8 minutes.
Season the reduced citrus juice with zest, cayenne, and salt. Off heat, swirl in the butter, whisking until the sauce is thick.
To serve, divide Brussels sprouts between two warmed dinner plates, then top each with a fish fillet. Spoon the sauce over and garnish with the cilantro.
Nutritional Analysis: 278 calories, FAT 9 g, PROTEIN 34 g, CARB 15 g, FIBER 4 g, CHOL 78 mg, IRON 2 mg, SODIUM 776 mg, CALC 64 mg
Cooking Lesson
Zip up meals using citrus zest, a nearly calorie-free flavor enhancer. Buy one of those new Microplane rasps, and it’s all too easy. One pass of the fruit skin over the rasp and you have a neat, flavorful bite, plus the colorful oil of citrus, which lifts up many a plain food. Regardless of the tool you use to zest, take care not to bear down into the pithy white underflesh, which is bitter. All you want is color and flavor.
Menu Suggestion
Once in awhile, nothing but chocolate will do. For a ravishing 5-gram carb finish to this meal, take your choice: Melt a Hershey’s Nugget on your tongue. Want crunch? Chew on eight Starbucks chocolate-covered espresso beans. Need a kiss? Take two Hershey’s kisses with almonds. With this menu, you can afford it.
Grilled Halibut with Anchovy-Lemon Butter
People may think they don’t like anchovies, but when used as a flavor enhancer, as in this savory butter, it’s a simple addition that adds a subtle taste. Always use the canned variety rather than the salted, or use the paste. If your market doesn’t have halibut you can freely interchange with other cold-water ocean fishes—salmon, swordfish.
MAKES 2 SERVINGS
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 to 12 minutes
½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Two 6-ounce halibut steaks
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon cracked pepper
2 teaspoons softened unsalted butter
1 tablespoon anchovy paste or 1 tablespoon chopped canned anchovy
Zest of 1 lemon plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Preheat a large skillet, then film it with oil. Meanwhile, pat the fish steaks dry, then salt and pepper them. Brush each side with a little oil then place in the skillet and cook about 4 minutes per side.
Meanwhile, stir together the butter, anchovy paste, zest, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Transfer the steaks to warmed dinner plates and top with a dollop of anchovy butter.
Nutritional Analysis: 236 calories, FAT 9 g, PROTEIN 36 g, CARB. 2 g, FIBER .5 g, CHOL 65 mg, IRON 2 mg, SODIUM 745 mg, CALC 90 mg
Health Benefit
Choose cold-water ocean fish several times a week. You’ll increase your intake of EPA, an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oils that helps prevent heart disease. Which are the cold-water ocean fishes? Cod, salmon, mackerel, herring, halibut, and other less well-known fishes. If you can’t include fish often enough, take cod liver oil pills by mouth, but be aware that it takes three or four a day to equal one good fish dinner.
The Halibut Caper
Pan-frying fish is about the quickest, easiest way we know to get food on the table. Finish the crisp, golden fillet with a lemon-caper sauce, and you can call it a party. Dredge fillets in salt, pepper, and flour. Shake off any excess. Pan-fry in oil you’ve splashed into the skillet, then finish with a jot of chicken broth, a shot of lemon juice, a spoonful of capers and a pat of butter. Voilá. A French classic.
MAKES 2 SERVINGS
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly milled black pepper
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 tablespoon peanut oil
Two 6-ounce boneless, skinless halibut fillets
1 tablespoon