Posted on 04/02/2015 3:01:36 PM PDT by Jamestown1630
It finally feels like Spring here today,and my thoughts turned to the wonderful things that will soon spring from peoples' gardens.
I thought I'd post a recipe for an old favorite that I recall from the 1970s and is difficult to find on store shelves nowadays:
Green Goddess Dressing
(This is a case where you really do taste the anchovies, so you may want to start with a smaller amount until you get the anchovy-level you like.)
2-oz. tin of anchovies, undrained
2 T chopped fresh chives
3 T tarragon vinegar
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 Cup sour cream
1 Cup mayonnaise
1/2 Cup chopped parsley
1/4 tsp. salt, or to taste
Black pepper to taste
Whisk everything together and chill.
(I have also used the anchovy paste that comes in a tube, and that works out very nicely for this, as well as for Caesar Salad Dressing.)
Does anyone have a recipe for what we in the US call 'French' dressing? (The bright orange stuff ;-)
-JT
We spread anchovy pastse on toast and then top it with sauteed wild mushrooms, which have been seasoned with fresh thyme and chives. Finally sprinkle on a bit of grated cheese. Broil quickly to melt cheese and serve openfaced with knife and fork. Great for lunch with a salad!
/johnny
Many thanks! I have most of that already on hand. I love pepper sauce, though Mr Kitty does not. Parsley, eh.
:-)
Mr Kitty absolutely insists that the bones are what makes the sardines crunchy (good)
i am working to get there :-) But skin, that I could eat.
I don't even skim off the stuff when I'm cooking soups and stuff. My ancestors ate it because it had food value. I don't waste that foamy stuff. I just stir it back in, when I'm cooking for me.
Fine dining is totally different, of course.
/johnny
i’ve always wanted to try that pickled herring that I see in the grocery store. I think it’s a staple on ‘smorgasbords’.
What’s it like?
-JT
My goal is more than 2400 calories per day, and that's a lot of work.
I'm only at 1990 calories today so far. I may make my goal with either some fish (unlikely, but possible) or a standard rarebit. I haven't got breads now, though. Bread has been impossible to swallow recently.
I'm glad I've got a chef in the house.
/johnny
I'm ok with smoking fish, kippering fish, peppering fish, salting fish, drying fish, and all of that.
Rotted fish doesn't appeal to me personally.
I think that in the cold north countries where that food is found... well... lets just say alcohol is generally involved.
/johnny
I think we should agree, though, that the flavour profiles of chicken and/or beef differ markedly from that of fish, yes? Barring stews, I've never observed that the bones of any small fish, eaten directly, are very flavourful.
Serve with an old-fashioned cornbread and a cabbage-based slaw. You'll have a happy Mr. Kitty on your hands, I'll guarantee.
The tail, btw, comes out like a potato chip. The spine, only bone left in the smelt after deep-frying, will be delightfully crunchy for him. You, perhaps, might want to pull the spine before eating the smelt; unless you're a crunch freak, eating the spine WILL be a very different experience for you.
Nice mild acidic taste, a bit chewy, but that’s intentional. Think of a ‘tough’ (not very) sushi-grade tuna.
Fish is a whole different.... um kettle of fish.
I do use shrimp shells for flavor in stocks, and bones and all that, but the solid stuff gets removed for a clear stock.
I may separate out the skin and fat and bones of beef for use in other stuff, but I never throw it away. I'll eat it somehow.
And yep. Tastes are never right or wrong. I can't see telling someone else what they should eat. That, to me, is the height of arrogance.
/johnny
My husband loves French dressing. He doesn’t like any other salad dressing, and French is hard to find around here. He hates vinegar and mayo, which is why pretty much every dressing he doesn’t like. I tease him that I’m going to make some for him by mixing ketchup and mayo. He eats salad with no dressing.
This is one of my favorite spring dishes. All the herbs from the garden go into this.
ROASTED SLASHED FILLET OF SEA BASS STUFFED WITH HERBS, BAKED ON MUSHROOM POTATOES WITH SALSA VERDE – A LA TONY BLAIR
Recipe courtesy Jamie Oliver
4 (8ounces) sea bass fillets
1 handful mixed herbs (green or purple basil, parsley), roughly chopped
2 1/2 pounds potatoes scrubbed
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Handful parsley leaves, chopped
1 1/4 pounds mixed, preferably wild, mushrooms, sliced
4 lemons
1 recipe salsa verde, recipe follows
Preheat the oven to 240C/475F/Gas 9. Slash the fish fillets about half way down and stuff with the herbs. Wash the potatoes and slice them lengthways, just under a 1/2-inch thick. Dry them off with kitchen paper and very lightly coat them in olive oil. Mix in half of your finely chopped garlic, season with salt and pepper, then lay them out in one layer on a flat baking tray. It is always helpful to put a bit of greaseproof on the bottom of the tray, rubbed with olive oil. Lay your potatoes out in a thin layer and put it in the oven for around 12 minutes until they are lightly golden and soft. Remove and put to one side. In a pan add the remaining garlic with 2 good knobs of butter and sprinkle with parsley. Now scatter the mushrooms over the potatoes. Place your sea bass fillets on top, cut the lemons in half and place in the tray as well. Now bake in the oven for 12 to15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Remove the tray, cover the top with foil and let sit for about 5 minutes during which time all the juices will run out onto the potatoes. Serve it with salsa verde and a crisp white wine.
Salsa Verde:
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small handful of capers
1 small handful pickled gherkins (the ones in sweet vinegar)
6 anchovy fillets
2 large handfuls flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves picked
1 handful fresh mint, leaves picked
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
8 tablespoons best quality olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
The secret of a good salsa verde is to chop all the ingredients very finely and to use it the same day, as it doesn’t tend to keep for long, even in the fridge. A fantastic accompaniment to any grilled meat or fish. Particularly good with sea bass recipe. Finely chop the first 7 ingredients and put them into a bowl. Add the mustard and red wine vinegar then slowly stir in the olive oil. Balance the flavors with freshly ground black pepper and, if necessary, sea salt and a little more red wine vinegar. Yield: 8 servings
Yield: Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Made this last year and will again. I added dried cranberries to it. This disappeared very quickly on the table.
https://food52.com/recipes/4023-absurdly-addictive-asparagus
THanks - I will have to give that a try.
My father used to like smelts, but my mother would never cook anything that required any kind of “cleaning.” She wouldn’t even cut up a chicken. It would make her cry.
Cleaning smelt amounts to about 10-15 seconds per fish. My gran got it down to 5-7 seconds. Easiest cleaning on the planet except for seafood that one eats whole. Shouldn’t be a problem, your mom’s experience notwithstanding.
My mother was just odd. I loved her, but she was odd.
Next time I see smelts we’re going to give them a try.
I love kippered herring. Along with cornbread, it was a staple weekend breakfast when I was growing up.
-JT
That has gone away now, but I miss it.
Ain't nothing wrong with fish for breakfast even if it is unusual in the US of A.
/johnny
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