RECIPE CHALLENGE: Omega-3:ABC; 1,2,3

We haven't had a food challenge for awhile, and I think we need something to distract us from our discussions of politics (even cornbread became controversial; CORNBREAD!). So, here is what I propose -- let's see if we can't usher in the flavors of spring with a food challenge.

The rules: The main ingredient must be fresh FISH (of any kind). You must have entered your dish for review and discussion by Memorial Day proper, May 30th. Any cooking method is acceptable. You are declared the unofficial challenge winner if a serving of your dish comes in at the lowest calorie count and highest Omega-3 fatty acids total of any other dish as can be verified by using information from this site. You must submit a picture of the final prepared dish to be taken as a serious contender. Give your dish an official recipe name! Followoing are the criteria.

Primary ingredient: FISH
Givens: salt, black pepper, member of the onion family (only 1), cooking/dressing oil (only 1)

You may use only 1 ingredient, no more than 2 ingredients, and no more than 3 ingredients from Column A, B, or C (hope that's clear).
A - Companion Ingredients
Fennel (bulb, or other not a member of the onion family)
Leafy greens (swiss chard, bok choy, spinach, lettuce family, or other)
Tuber (potato, carrot, turnip, or other)
Citrus (orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, or other except vinegar)

B – Fresh Herbs
Cilantro
Parsley
Basil
Tarragon
Dill
Thyme
Bay
Rosemary

C – Spices
Fennel
Cumin
Mustard seed
Cinnamon
Cloves
Corriander
Juniper berries
Ginger (fresh or dried)
Saffron

1 bonus ingredient (declared for one of the columns above, but when added, will not make its addition more than 3 ingredients from that column – eliminating the possibility for 3 in any other column!)

Nutritional value of a serving should not contain more than 500 calories. State serving size and nutritional content (optional) based on information from the nutritional data website.
Who's in?!

[Jenise]

I'm in. Would love to see tomato in group A--any chance?

I'm in. Would love to see tomato in group A--any chance?

You've got one bonus ingredient! See bottom of the criteria.

Seems like fun! I'm in.

Seems like fun! I'm in.

Woo-Hoo!!
An American and an Aussie. This is shaping up to be a great challenge -- equal to the world cup, I'm sure!

Tonight we had the first trial of the proposed Adelaide entry for the Recipe Challenge. The Francophile tells me that it was too bland. Trialling again next week.

Anyone else working on this?

I'm going to give my first a try later this week. I have a couple ideas shaping up -- but I would have to use my bonus ingredient and I'm trying not to do that! Where's Robert, he usually likes these challenges?

Where's Robert, he usually likes these challenges?

I've been working my ass off, that's where. I saw this post a while back and joined the website you linked to. I searched their data base for some of my ingredients and they don't have them listed (Kona Kampachi, for example) so I backed off. Right now I am in the middle of a baking series with yeast breads coming up this weekend. Tomorrow I start a wine and food pairing/tasting that we do every spring and fall. Add my training schedule into this and my time is very limited.

When I realized that the dish I had in mind couldn't really be cross referenced with the nutrition site then I just moved on. Sorry.

rwj

When I realized that the dish I had in mind couldn't really be cross referenced with the nutrition site then I just moved on. Sorry.

rwj

If you think it would be fun, don't let that stop you! I'm certain your products have nutrition information on a panel somewhere. Use that as a substitute. Or, don't bother with that aspect of the challenge. It's about the recipe. I know from busy! See you around.

When I realized that the dish I had in mind couldn't really be cross referenced with the nutrition site then I just moved on. Sorry.

rwj

If you think it would be fun, don't let that stop you! I'm certain your products have nutrition information on a panel somewhere. Use that as a substitute. Or, don't bother with that aspect of the challenge. It's about the recipe. I know from busy! See you around.

Memorial Day, huh? I'll see if I can pull mine together. Thanks for thinking of me.

rwj

Pretty good first effort:
(4 oz) Pacific Cod fillet = 256 mg Omega-3 fatty acid
A=3 - fennel bulb, oranges, lemon
B=1 - tarragon
C=2 - fennel seeds, sesame seeds (bonus ingredient)

Wild in Seville
1 lb Pacific Cod fillets
1 lb fennel bulb
2 oranges
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 C water
1 Tbsp fresh tarragon
2 Tbsp fennel seed, ground
2 Tbsp white sesame seed
2 Tbs black sesame seed
1/2 large onion, sliced
salt and pepper
olive oil

Omega-3 Challenge 001.jpg

Using a spice grinder, grind fennel seeds to powder, mix with sesame seeds in pie plate.

Omega-3 Challenge 006.jpg

Heat about 2 Tbsp olive oil in skillet. Cut fillets into 4 oz pieces, rub each piece with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and dredge in seed mixture. When oil is hot, put fish into pan to brown, making certain to not overcook fish or burn seeds. Remove fish to ovenproof dish and place in warm oven until ready to serve. Meanwhile, trim fronds from fennel and slice bulb lengthwise into 1" wide pieces. In a separate sauce pan, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil, add onion slices and fennel and saute until onion is translucent. Remove orange rind in 1" wide strips, being careful to not include pith. Juice one orange and add juice, orange rind, and water to fennel and onion, cover and simmer til tender. Chop tarragon and add to fennel with lemon juice.

Omega-3 Challenge 008.jpg

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce sauce til slightly thickened and glistening. Plate fish and fennel. Spoon some of the sauce over fish. Enjoy.

Omega-3 Challenge 013.jpg

Total calories about 240

The fennel and orange accompaniment was awesome. The fish did not stand up to the side. This dish would have been much better and richer with either tuna or salmon, and the Omega-3 component would have been much higher. A tbsp of butter to finish the fennel would also have been a good addition. I will make these changes and try this recipe again. I've got one more I'm thinking about for next month. How about the rest of you?

Trial #2 has been put off till I got back from a business trip - got back today - trialling again shortly. Watch this space

[Jenise]

Jo Ann,

Cod is an odd fish for me. I find it has a strong oily taste when baked that I don't care for, and yet deepfried--the strong taste disappears and I love it. I can't explain the difference, but as I read through your recipe I was thinking how much better I would like what you did if halibut, say, had been the fish. I don't think you have to go as far as tuna or salmon to bring it up to par--but of course, it's all about pleasing your own palate, and perhaps halibut isn't a fish you care for. Orange and fennel (in fact, fennel plus any citrus) are a match made in heaven and I can see how brilliant an accompaniament it would be for the fish.

Unfortunately I've not gotten around to making a dish here. I've been up to my, um, shoulders let's say in construction issues, not the least of which was the paint issue leftover from last week. Even all weekend. I had the painters coming back on Monday morning (I gave them Thurs-Fri off last week so I could buy and paint more samples), and was out of bed painting at 6 a.m. on Monday morning with the painters showing up at 8:00. At 7, I called and told them not to come until 10 as I still hadn't decided. There has been no room in my life for thinking about food. We eat, we sleep, but it's all at a pretty primary, hand-to-mouth level at the moment.

Finally!!! The long-awaited second and final trial was held tonight, and the Francophile pronounced it "good enough to serve to guests".

Recipe challenge April May 09.jpg

CLOVE AND GINGER BAKED SALMON

For two people:
2 medium sized carrots
2 salmon cutlets, skin off, about 200g each

Blend together a paste made of 3 large crushed cloves of garlic, an equal or slightly larger amount of finely grated ginger root, ¾ teaspoon ground cumin seed, and ½ teaspoon ground cloves. Use a small amount (up to 1 tablespoon) of light-flavoured extra-virgin olive oil to bind and blend.

Rub the marinade paste over all surfaces of the salmon cutlets, and let it stand for up to 2 hours, covered, in the fridge.

Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Bake the fish, with the marinade paste on, in a covered casserole for 25 minutes (taking the lid off for the last 5 to 10 minutes). Do not add any further oil for cooking.

While the fish is baking – peel, slice and steam the carrots till soft. Mash, with a generous pinch of ground cloves and ground cumin.

While the carrots are steaming – strip off the zest of a medium to large sized lemon with a lemon zester, and finely chop a handful of flat leaf parsley.

To serve: Place a generous scoop of mashed carrot on the plate. Place the grilled fish portion on it. Sprinkle the parsley over the fish and carrot, top with the strips of lemon zest.

INGREDIENTS USED

Fish: Tasmanian farmed Atlantic salmon
Givens: member of onion family – garlic; extra virgin olive oil
List A: carrot
List B: parsley (flat leaf)
List C: cumin, cloves, ginger
Bonus ingredient: lemon

NUTRITIONAL DATA - PER SERVE
(with reference to http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/finf ... cts/4259/2 ... some of the calories/amounts are a bit approximate.)

Atlantic salmon (farmed, dry cooked, 178g serve) ... (So, as the actual serves of fish cooked were a bit larger than this, the amounts need to be adjusted upwards a bit. Someone else who likes numbers can do the sums.)
Calories 367 (198 from fat)
Fat 22g
Cholesterol 112 g
Sodium 109 mg
Protein 39g
Omega 3 fatty acids 4023 mg
Omega 6 fatty acids 1185 mg

Ginger – approx 3 teaspoons – 6 calories
Garlic – approx 2 teaspoons – 8 calories
Carrot – generous ¾ cup – around 45 – 50 calories
Ground cloves ¼ tsp = 1½ calories
Ground cumin seed ¼ tsp - estimated approximately 5 calories
Parsley - 1 tablespoon – approximately 1 calorie
Olive oil – ½ tablespoon – approximately 60 calories

Matilda -- You just go, GIRL!!
This dish is beautiful and it sounds awesome. I am definitely going to make your marinade and try this dish. Love what you did with the carrots. For some reason it would never occur to me to mash carrots, though I have used those seasonings with them before. Beautifully done.

[Jenise]

Matilda -- You just go, GIRL!!
This dish is beautiful and it sounds awesome. I am definitely going to make your marinade and try this dish. Love what you did with the carrots. For some reason it would never occur to me to mash carrots, though I have used those seasonings with them before. Beautifully done.

Ditto on mashing carrots, mainly cuz I like them so much the other way. Sounds great and nutritious, though!

Matilda, I could actually eat and even enjoy that dish, and I generally don't care much for fish. Except for the *gasp* mashed carrots. I much prefer my carrots raw or with an al dente texture, and will only eat them cooked to mush if they've been cooked with a pot roast or stew.

Robert, I give you special permission to have the fish with different vegetables

Salmon and trout are two I like, and mahi mahi (when in Hawaii) & grouper (when on the Gulf Coast of Florida) are a couple of others.
I grew up eating catfish, bluegill and crappie, always dredged in cornmeal and pan fried, and grew to hate even the smell of that stuff cooking. If it smells the least bit fishy when it's cooking, I won't touch it, and refuse to even cook fried fish in my house.