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Chickpeas are somewhat unique and I'm hard pressed to think of a good substitute for them. Leeks have the difficulty of looking somewhat like giant versions of but being quite different from green onions, scallions, and chives.
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I'm not a fan of olives, so I left those out. We were worried the food might not be enough (one housemate has an enormous appetite) so we thought to add apples, tomatoes & brie.
Lemon on the apples as I'm addicted to lemons
et voila
The cheese was separated as there's an infidel in the house who claims he doesn't like cheese (ridiculous, I know).
We stuffed the food in the bread rolls along with some honey
Tasty! Didn't really follow the recipe, but I almost never do anything with salad and green onions or this much garlic so this was interesting. I liked the result!
But to start, we prepare our chickpeas.
Canned chickpeas are already cooked, saving a lot of time and hassle. I used about half the can for a single person serving.
Now the biggest change: The fish.
Tilapia is a great fish to work with when you're starting out with seafood. A simple recipe to bake it was my go to recipe for fish for a good while. But the best part of many fish is the skin and tilapia is never sold with skin still on around here. Instead, I went with some rainbow trout. Going with a fish with skin is by far the biggest deviation from Spool's original recipe I took.
Working with fish skin brings several challenges. It's something contestants on Chopped will screw up and it seems like most recipes you find will be for skinless fillets even for fish regularly sold with skin. I've experimented with ways to prepare fish with skin a lot over the past several months and could devote an entire thread to my experiments. The preparation benefits from a number of things.
The first: The skin needs to be descaled.
Most fish skin is sold with the scales still on. It's less work for the stores and processors and fish is often sold by weight. I solely buy fish from stores with seafood counters so I can have a fishmonger descale it. I've often run into issues with new hires that insist the fish doesn't need to be descaled and have sometimes returned purchases when the new guy (and it's always the guys) barely did anything. I swear I've seen at least one guy that had a really unhelpful attitude get let go after one of these incidents but most have gotten used to the request after they realize how much stuff I'm buying off them each week and that the more experienced fishmongers all say 'Hi' when they see me. Inevitably some scales get missed so you have to do at least some touch up work. In this case, the trout fillets were small and so were the scales so the specialized gadget the store used missed a lot but it's still much better than having to do the whole thing yourself. The back of a paring knife run against the scales eventually gets off most of the remaining scales as well as squegeeing off some of the water from the skin.
You'll note the skin is less silvery compared to the first picture.
Next we season the flesh with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.
Then we go back to the skin side and salt that to draw out more water followed by laying a paper towel top to absorb that water. Wet fish skin steams, dry skin crisps up. We let this sit for about 20 minutes though longer would really be better for the seasoning on the other side.
Time to start up our chickpeas. I heated up a saucier over medium heat, poured in olive oil, put in the garlic, and then added the chickpeas when I could smell the garlic from afar.
I added salt and spooned in some smoked paprika and stirred to coat. I added in a bit of water when the pot looked a bit dry and then covered it.
At some point I started the pan for the fish on medium high heat and finished the last bit of fish prep. Descaling and getting the skin dry are a must. Dusting it with Wondra instant flour is not. But it is highly recommended.
Wondra is flour that's been cooked and dried plus some barley flour. It seems to originally have been meant to thicken gravies but chefs from Julia Child to Jacques Pepin have adopted it to a variety of uses. For fish, it makes getting skin crispy much, much easier. These fillets are thinner than the salmon and bass I usually work with so they don't have as much time to crisp up in the pan before becoming overcooked. In hindsight, I also should have peppered the skin for more flavor after adding the Wondra and removing the excess but it's not a big deal.
More so than with any other food I can think of, getting a pan hot enough for fish skin is critical. Protein changes shape when cooked. Terrestrial and avian protein mostly sticks to itself. Fish protein will stick to metal pans. Hence the oil needs to be hot enough to cook that outermost layer of the fish skin on contact so it's done changing itself before it contacts the actual metal of the pan. The pan is deliberately started without oil so you can test if it's hot enough by dropping in some water.
Note how the biggest drop of water has a slight tail on it. If water merely sizzles when it hits the pan, it's not yet hot enough for fish skin. When the water slides around and absorbs other drops of water it comes into contact with and basically looks like mercury trying to go somewhere in a hurry, then it's hot enough.
I don't trust even non-virgin olive oil to not burn at this temperature so safflower oil, which has a higher smoke point, is added to the pan. The fish is laid skin side down and I jiggled the pan a little bit to make sure the fish isn't sticking. If it sticks, the skin's outer layer didn't cook quickly enough, a sure sign the pan and oil didn't get hot enough and you're in for a miserable job cleaning later. Once the fish is ambulatory in the pan, I reduce the heat to medium and press down with my fish spatula.
Fish skin contracts when heated and if left alone the middle section will not cook properly as it rises above the pan. Forcing it back down is important and eventually the heated skin flattens as its shape sets. A friend describes this as the fish still fighting you even when it's being cooked.
It doesn't take long for the edges to start turning opaque on fillets this thin so I flipped it over after a minute or minute and a half and just gave it a brief cook on the flesh side. It's already mostly cooked on the skin side and internal temperature reaches the 140 F mark that is the ideal temperature for white fish really fast. The skin is not as crisp in the middle given the short cooking time, but the edges are good. We plate this sucker fast and wipe off some of the excess oil with a paper towel.
This is what the flesh side looks like for reference.
At this point the chickpeas are thoroughly spiced and fragrant so we add in our spinach and toss over heat to wilt.
Once the spinach is wilted, we finish plating.
Fish skin is tough to get right so we serve the trout skin side up for the heavens to gaze upon.
A previously mentioned, parts of the fish skin weren't quite crisp due to such a short cooking time but it was still tasty. The chickpeas had some great flavor from the smoked paprika though they were a little dry. That's partially the nature of chickpeas though. Having both the fish and chickpeas share spices makes for a great pairing. This is a great way to introduce seafood newbies to cooking fish in the pan.
Edit: Forgot to mention that I couldn't find leeks in any amount smaller than ridiculous for one person that's out of town this weekend at the store I hit up for produce. Hence their absence.
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The haul
Prepped the fish
Chopped the leeks, drained the chick peas
Cook the fish - I used coconut oil instead of olive oil and butter. Why? FU that's why.
Finished!
I used salad greens as a base instead of cooked spinach (I've eaten a large amount of spinach this week and needed a break). Also, I used tongs instead of a spatula to take the fish off the pan. Well, that was a dumb decision. At least I have a bunch of quasi-crumbled fish to make tacos with at lunchtime!
Also apologies on the blurry nature of some of this video... I tried what I thought would be a better camera but it was far worse.
There are two things that seem to tear apart fish in the pan. The first is not getting the heat and oil temp high enough to cook the surface on contact. My comments about fish skin also apply to fish muscle tissue, there's just more flesh if lose a little to the pan.
The other is not using the appropriate spatula. Even properly heated fish flesh sometimes sticks to the pan and a fish spatula (aka a flexible spatula since companies want people that don't eat fish to still buy these things) does a great job of slipping under the length of fish in the pan to more cleanly break off bits that stick and also provide enough support for fish that might break apart under its own weight.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
If you have enough oil in the pan and aren't overcooking the fish, moving the fish around isn't really to keep it from sticking. It's more of a sanity check to make sure the outside got cooked quickly enough and isn't about to become overcooked. Mind you, I move it around in the pan a lot because that sanity check is important to me and anyone doing more than one fillet especially will benefit from knowing if pan conditions are good before throwing in more fish.
Normally I might say it was a combination of the spatula and the pan being hotter when that 4th fillet went in but yours all look like they cooked perfectly when they hit the oil so it's probably just the spatula and maybe being able to choose the best oiled spot for the lone fillet.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Here is Week 2;
Didn't love this one as much as the first - not a fan of fish, really, and thought the chickpeas were a lil' bland, but that might be entirely my fault if I didn't put enough paprika on or something. :P
Both tilapia and chickpeas need a fair amount of seasoning/flavoring to really shine. Chickpeas are really popular in North Africa, the Middle East, and India, all places with access to a lot of spices. Tilapia is a somewhat neutral fish in terms of flavor. Jefe's picture of his fish in the pan is a good guideline to what you want the fish to look like when seasoned.
But it also looks like the fish came apart on you a little and anytime you lose a fight with a dead animal you're not going to feel as awesome. Just human nature.
On a side note, today's lunch was the remaining half can of chickpeas with spinach and bacon. The bacon was cut up into pieces and cooked first so the chickpeas could coat in their fat and the spinach could wilt in it. So not all strong flavors to add to chickpeas have to come from spices.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Cod also is somewhat mild in flavor but has a firmer texture than tilapia. It's wonderful when prepared well though. A local chef described how rising food costs forced him to start serving cod as opposed to other fish and patrons were genuinely surprised when they tasted how much flavor he coaxed out of it. I believe he served it alongside fennel and an asparagus cream sauce (that's the dish he taught us when telling us this story anyway), both flavors that pair well with most seafood. A simpler preparation would involve rubbing the cod with dill and basting it with some butter while it cooks. That works for most white fish really.
Edit: One huge difference between the week 1 and week 2 recipes is that week 1 had us mix the chicken with the mushrooms and other ingredients so all the flavors melded together. If the chicken was underseasoned, it would be less noticeable with the buttery mushrooms and green onions picking up the slack. In week 2, the fish stands alone so any issues with flavor are going to stand out big time.
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Butter beans would work pretty well.
The haul. In retrospect it's a surprisingly short grocery list, especially since I have the oil, spices, and garlic all on hand already. I grabbed a backup can of chick peas just in case the big can wasn't enough (measure twice, cut once and all), but it turned out to be unnecessary. The leeks were like the intimidating big brothers of the green onions from last week, but there was little to fear, as Porkrist was up to the challenge and they were diced up in short order. There also may or may not have been some leek spinning happening.
Look at them in there, just sizzling. They have no idea how paprika'd their world is about to become.
Two pans at once! Everything except the spinach is in the veggie pan at this point, and I drowned that shit in paprika. It was maybe not okay how much I put in there. But whatever, it's tasty. I really need to find an excuse to use that central burner at some point...
Plated and ready to eat! The fish didn't really give me any trouble in cooking, and I think I'm going to try to incorporate it more into my regular eating habits, since it's tasty and pretty healthy. I tossed some balsamic vinegar into the dregs of the fish pan and made a quick sauce to drizzle on the fish, and it complimented it mightily. The chick pea mix was really flavorful and good, but I feel like it could benefit from a little something else. Maybe cumin? I'll have to experiment with it a bit next time. Also a lot of the spinach clumped together after wilting, forming a sort of vitamin A-infused katamari that had to be broken up. Not sure how to avoid that. Overall though this was simple and delicious! You're 2 for 2 so far @spool32, keep up the awesome work!
Supplies:
(Not pictured = garlic, hiding behind the spinach and the rocket which is still in the fridge at this point)
So. Instead of paprika we have coriander, cumin and turmeric. No fish but grilled Sicilian aubergine and a rocket and spinach salad for extra veggie goodness.
The finished dinner:
This was very yummy. Looking forward to having the leftovers with some salad for lunch tomorrow.
A big impediment to cooking by recipe early on is a lack of spices and herbs. They're expensive from most Western markets so it's a rough up front cost. Once you do have them though, your kitchen becomes a lot more flexible.
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That is the best. My pantry is full of bags of stuff from Penzeys with little one dollar jars of herbs in ready access.
Second best for those on a budget is to do the same but hit a local Indian/Pakistani/Middle Eastern market and then Trader Joe's for the things you can't find in the former. They may not be the best quality or freshest this way, but they aren't overcharging you so you can compensate somewhat by using more (you're seasoning to taste generally anyway, exact measurements aren't a part of things).
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I know you're hungry...
Here we have the chickpeas thoroughly seasoned with smoked paprika and the fish swimming in olive oil and butter:
And the final dish:
The fish was delicious of course but I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed the chickpeas. Paprika is a hell of a spice! For anyone who has yet to prepare week 2, really pour it on those chickpeas.
Now I'm just trying to figure out where the hell my plug in to my computer is so I can actually upload images
Blegh
I didn't have my pan hot enough for the fish, but I did it in two batches because they were big, flat pieces of tilapia. Once I notched up the heat, the second batch came out with a nice crispy texture on the edges that worked nicely.
The chickpea stuff was amazing. I didn't think the color looked right so I ended up using what I thought was way too much smoked paprika (one of my favorite spices in barbecue and grilling) but it ended up being just the right amount. Seriously, pour it on. If I had to guess, I used about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons.
I would probably cut the leeks into shorter bits since the long strips liked to clump together when they cooked, and I'd chop the spinach up too for the same reason. But beyond those small adjustments I wouldn't change a single ingredient. The fresh lime really added the exact kick it needed, along with a little black pepper at the table.
So like I said before, it turned out pretty great, I think it's actually better as leftovers than it was initially too. I made a couple significant divergences from how the recipe was presented.
Lookit that giant pile of motherfuckin' mushrooms!
Additional prep assembled in bowls. I added a couple extra cloves of garlic because I had a head I wanted to finish up.
Major divergence 1: BACON. I cooked up a couple strips, and I also had some fat left over from the day before's breakfast. Next time I cook it I'm using more bacon, I ran out of sizzling liquid midway through and had to throw in some olive oil. Still used the butter and salt/pepper as initially suggested.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle.
Almost done! Picture here is the second major divergence. Instead of cooking the chicken in strips and then removing it from the pan, I chunked both the breasts, salt and pepper, and then just threw them in. This is totally because I get additional maillard reaction this way and not because of general laziness or the fact that I only have the one cutting board. Because of this I also threw the green onion and additional garlic in earlier because I wanted to make sure they had enough time to cook down.
Additional secret ingredients.
Done!
Despite a valiant effort on @Melinoe 's part this dish failed to convert her to mushrooms but that's okay because that left more for me. The peas were definitely a good add and imparted a lot of flavor to the dish that wouldn't have been there otherwise. The only bit I might do differently next time is more balsamic vinegar as the taste was very subtle, on the other hand Melinoe isn't a fan of vinegar either so it might have been just right.
Unless somebody can convince me otherwise I'm convinced that cubing the chicken first is the thinking man's way of preparing this dish.
I will definitely be making this again if only because of how quick, tasty, and cheap it was. Already had a bunch of chicken breast from Costco in the freezer so the entire thing cost me <$15, and most of that was a $10 bottle of balsamic, also from Costco.
A++ Spool. I will be cooking the tilapia probably Thursday or Friday, and I'll be doing eggplant "steaks" for Melinoe because she's decidedly against seafood.
It could be worth cooking down the mushrooms more. Their texture and flavors really change depending on how much water you cook out and how brown you get them.
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@Giggles_Funsworth : Having historically been a foe to mushrooms, I chopped off the stem and then diced the cap (I think it was someone in this thread who suggested this since the cap and stem cook at different rates). Changed everything.
Agreed. Undercooked mushrooms are a curse on this world. Mushrooms should either be raw or well cooked.
I can has cheezburger, yes?
I'm sttaaarrrvvvving.
I need more food!
All of you who haven't made the Fish & Chicks, get cracking...
*magic*
aka holyshitholyshit everything's going wrong I need help oh god I can't take pictures like this noooo
Made tastier with the power of Instagram.
This was such a good idea. I think I added a liiiiittle bit too much balsamic vinegar, but it was still very tasty. I made some potatoes to go with it, instead. They're super easy. You buy them frozen like that and just pop 'em into the oven for fifteen minutes.
Week Three - Spicy Black Beans & Rice
Ingredients:
One 15oz can of black beans OR 15oz dry beans
white or brown rice, your choice
Cayenne pepper
Chili powder
5 celery stalks
1 white onion
2 bell peppers
2-3 cloves of garlic
tomato paste
1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
3 strips of bacon
veggie or chicken stock / broth (no bullion cubes, don't you even dare) OR water
salt
pepper
olive oil
red wine vinegar
monterey jack cheese (or other soft mild white cheese)
Bread of your choice
Total cost: $14.02
I should say at the outset that while this recipe looks expensive, I'm basing the price on needing to buy all the ingredients not previously mentioned. This means you'll have 6-8 meals worth of rice, lots of red wine vinegar, probably half a block of cheese, and nearly a pound of bacon you'll need to eat later. If you consider only the cost of the food you'll consume, this meal drops down into the $5 range.
A note on dry beans:
Now then. Begin by dicing the entire onion, and an equivalent volume of both bell pepper and celery. In cajun country this is referred to as the Holy Trinity, and forms the base for nearly every cajun or creole dish. In french cooking, it's called mirepoix and they use carrots instead of bell pepper. You can do the same if you prefer! The main thing here is that the veggies should be chopped to between a quarter inch and a half inch square. Throw all this into a bowl and cover it with a towel to prevent the onion making you cry.
Split the jalapeno pepper lengthwise in half and remove the seeds. Dice it into quarter-inch square bits and throw it into the bowl. Chop the garlic small as you can without losing a finger and toss it all in as well.
Get out your big pot. Form your preferred tribal pattern with your olive oil and turn the fire on medium-high. Lay four strips of bacon in the pot and close up the rest for some other meal (if you can resist, we'll be using this next week). Cook this until it's just on this side of done, starting to get brown and the fat is leeching out into the pan. Maybe 30 seconds to a minute before you'd take it out to eat it.
Throw all the veggies into the pot and stir stir stir until it's all coated. Initially you'll see all the liquid vanish from the pot but stir it a few times and within a minute the water from the veg will begin to leech out. Add 2-3 large pinches of salt, some pepper, and a tablespoon of chili powder, a couple dashes of cayenne, and if you like you can throw in some of your paprika as well. Stir this and let it cook down, no more than 6 minutes. You're aiming for the onions to go translucent and start to cook away.
Add two or three generous spoons full of tomato paste, a couple tablespoons or so of the red wine vinegar, and stir it all in, cooking for another 2-3 minutes or so. Don't let anything stick. Now is a good time to taste what you have and decide if you'd like it to have more salt or spice. Remember that the dish will grow in spicy flavor as it cooks. If it's not quite spicy enough, hold off on adding more. The goal here is to have the veggies very wilted.
Add a cup of rice, two cups of broth, stock, or water, and the can of beans. Bring all this to a boil then cover it and simmer (turn the heat down to low until it's just bubbling a little bit), stirring occasionally, for 30-40 minutes. Continue tasting what you have. Add more water if the pan goes dry and the rice isn't done. When the rice is soft, the soupyness has gone completely and it looks like wet rice & beans, and the flavor is to your liking, turn off the heat and stir thoroughly. Replace the lid and let it cool for at least 10min or so, then spoon it into bowls and grate the monterey jack over the top.
I like this meal with hot cornbread and black coffee.
Note: I actually ended up not eating this meal immediately after it was done, because of various things. Instead I gave it a final stir, threw the lid on, and left it. I came back to the pot about 30 minutes later and it was even better tasting than when it'd just come off the stove. If I were you, I'd follow the doubling notes below and make enough for the day after. And if you have the time, let it sit longer than 10min. You'll be glad you did.
Enjoy!
To double this recipe and have lots of extra food: