Blue Fish with Saffron Caper Aioli

Lewis and I have been vacationing in Cape Cod for over 10 years.  B.C. (Before Children) we used to car camp, first in Wellfleet and then in Truro.  However after Sebastian was born I could not face the idea of camping, not even the luxury tent car camping we always did.  My children are the kind who are into everything.  I often joked that I could hire them out as a baby proofing service, set them down on the floor and within 5 minutes they could find the most dangerous item in any room.  Camping was out because I could not figure out how to baby proof the world, really the whole idea did not sound relaxing to me.  Now we stay in a cottage with a tiny kitchen that I can only assume is well stocked for hot dogs and boxed mac and cheese.

Every year I bring a kitchen box with my most needed kitchen tools.  With the addition of my non stick saute pan, silicone spatulas, oven mitts, tongs, favorite knives, spices, pepper mill and anything else I remember to toss in the box, I can cook happily in even the tiniest of kitchens with the most motley assortment of pans.  However 3 years ago I had a new food quandry for vacation.  The previous summer, while on vacation, I read Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma and decided I was done with supporting the meat found in most supermarkets.  I would no longer buy meat from CAFO (contained animal feeding operations).  At home this was a simple decision to follow through on.  My favorite local store carries several options and I could always find something local in the reduced price section.  In addition I could easily buy a share in an animal directly from the farmer, further reducing my cost.

However the supermarket franchises in Cape Cod are not like City Market, so I was left arguing with myself over how to approach meat while on vacation.  I was not up for the task of bringing it with me, however I also knew I would not enjoy a week of CAFO meat.  The guilt alone would ruin the taste.  In the end I did not think of a solution until we went to the beach.  Somehow as a landlocked Vermonter I totally forgot seafood is local and wild in Cape Cod.

The other night I bought bluefish and was plotting in my head how to prepare it, trying to remember a tasty onion and lemon sauce I made last year.  I realized it was time to give up on that dish and move on.  Last year I added herbs in 4 inch pots to my "kithchen box," although technically they travel stuffed in a corner of the car, not in the box.  I always bring saffron as it goes so well with seafood.  Still plotting and thinking (and reading many bluefish recipes that called for spreading mayonnaise or mayonnaise and sour cream on the fish before baking).  I began by soaking some of my capers in water to temper their saltiness and to saute some onions.

Thinking of the mayonnaise preparations I suddenly remembered the saffron aioli my friend Cheryl went on about trying at The Bouillabaisse Bash I was not invited to.  I decided I could make a version that would be just right to spread on the fish before baking.  The end result was delicious, it had to have been as Julian asked me today if I would make it again, tonight.  Sebastian, on the other hand, tried a bite, tasted it slowly and after careful consideration decided he did not want any.  (Trust me, it tasted far better then it looks in this photo.  I decided this dish was too good not to post, even though none of the photos are good.  If nothing else I need to record the recipe for myself).

Blue Fish with Saffron Caper Aioli


1 Tbsp capers (preferably preserved in salt not brine)
scant 1/2 cup mini onions or shallots, sliced thin
1 Tbsp EVOO
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup white wine (I used riesling)
1/4 tsp saffron
1 Tbsp Champagne vinegar
3 sprigs lemon thyme (or use regular thyme)
1/4 cup sour cream (I did not have sour cream so I used half and half with 3/4 tsp Champagne vinegar mixed in and then allowed to stand for 10 minutes to thicken)
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 lb fresh bluefish

Preheat oven to 350°

If using salt preserved capers, soak capers in a small bowl of warm water to leach out some of the salt while prepping the other ingredients.  In a large saute pan melt butter and add EVOO, saute mini onions or shallots until tender and translucent.  Add wine, capers, saffron, vinegar and thyme to onions and reduce until it is a syrupy glaze, about a few Tbsp, basically until reducing any further means you will not be able to remove it from the pan.  (This took me a little less then 10 minutes, perfect for letting the half and half mixture become sour cream).

Mix sour cream, mayonnaise and reduced saffron glaze in a small bowl. Season aioli with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Line a baking dish with foil and place the fish on it skin side down, season the fish with salt and freshly ground black pepper and pour the aioli over the fish, spreading it all over the top.  Bake uncovered until cooked through and tender.  I baked mine for approximately 20 minutes.   Plate and serve.

Olive Oil Poached Cod & Roasted Tomatoes

I am in NYC this week where we are visiting family, hosted a belated Passover Seder and just enjoying the city and all it has to offer. I grew up here and I remember not fully understanding what is was like not to live in Manhattan. People would respond in awe when I told them where I lived, some with jealousy and some with simple wonder that I had not been murdered at a tender age. I was over 30 years old, siting in traffic in Burlington when I realized I was much safer growing up in New York City. The most dangerous thing we all do, often more then once a day, is ride in a car. Until I moved away from New York I rarely traveled in a car.

Now that I have moved away I get some of the awe, confusion and feeling of being overwhelmed by all there is to do, all the people and everything going on at once. As a teenager the closest I came to understanding came when I first visited Boston. I looked at the short buildings and wondered, "They call this a city? How can they call this city?"

I am grateful that my children can grow up riding the NYC subway, walking the streets, exploring the museums and interesting neighborhoods. They can do all these things as regular visitors who feel like they have some ownership and attachment to the city. However as I stood with them on the subway platform with their fingers stuffed tightly in their ears I was reminded that they are Vermonters in their hearts (even if it will take "true" Vermonters another 6 generations to stop referring to them as anything but flatlanders). In response I proved I still had some of my New Yorker's street cred by riding the subway without holding on, although I have to admit, as the game of chicken goes I lost, I kept my hand inches from a support pole the whole time, curved around it without actually touching it.

For most of the years that we have visited NYC as non residents we have allowed my father to treat us to take out food very night. However the week long festival of take out food began to make both Lewis and I feel wretched. The more our diet at home evolved to contain more vegetables and less but higher quality meat the worse it became. So on our last visit I cooked most of our meals in my father's understocked galley kitchen on his anemic stove. It was so much better in so many ways, we felt healthier, we maintained more of our usual schedule and the boys ended up going to bed closer to normal time. So here I am in April cooking again, still on an anemic stove in an understocked kitchen. Every time I come I add to the mental list of items that I need to bring when we visit to make cooking here easier.

Wednesday Lewis was away at dinner time and I had to prepare dinner for my father and two over tired boys. I am always amazed when my boys are exhausted and begin bugging each other, poking, pushing, grabbing toys etc. Normally they are best friends, people frequently comment on it. Not however when they are hungry, tired, or bored. So with both of them exhausted I decided to prepare olive oil poached cod with roasted tomatoes. Nothing like a fiddly sensitive recipe when there are tired boys pummeling each other.

The results where really wonderful though. The fish was luxurious with a moist and tender texture. The sauce is also very flavorful with the sweetness of the balsamic and the richness from the olive oil and a concentrated tomato flavor. If you don't want to hover over the poaching fish, the sauce would still be excellent with a pan seared and gently cooked fillet. Alternatively you can use the olive oil poaching method for salmon, swordfish or another firm fish.

The recipe calls for fresh thyme sprigs but I subbed the fennel fronds I had on hand. I think the thyme would have been better as the fennel fronds added almost nothing. A fresh bay leaf, rosemary, sage or oregano would all be excellent as well. Julian loved this dish, Sebastian however chose not to eat any, Julian happily declared, "Great, then I can eat yours."

Olive Oil Poached Cod with Roasted Tomatoes

Adapted from Charlie Trotter Cooks at Home

Tomatoes

1 1/4 lbs golfball or large tomatoes (I used the smaller ones as they are grown better)

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (use a high quality one here)

2 Tbsp aged balsamic vinegar (I used one aged for 21 years)

2 sprigs thyme or 1 fresh bay leaf, or 2 sprigs fresh rosemary or fresh oregano or 2 Tbsp fennel fronds

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 cups extra virgin olive oil (you do not need to use your highest quality oil here)

3/4 to 1 lb fresh cod fillets without skin

Preheat the oven to 375° and blanche and Peel the tomatoes. Cut each tomato into 4 wedges for golf ball sized ones or 8 for larger tomatoes. Place into a small roasting pan with the peeled garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, herbs, salt and pepper and bake until tender and soft. I cooked mine for 25 minutes. You are supposed to remove the tomatoes from the pan with a slotted spoon and then strain the cooking liquid. If I was at home I would have done that, however it was fine just spooned up as is.

To poach the fish heat the 2 cups olive oil to 120° in a small saucepan over a very low flame (it will reach this temperature very quickly I found). Season the fish on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper and slip into the warm oil. The oil needs to cover the fish completely. Cook the fish for 9 minutes on the first side. Monitor the temperature of the oil while cooking the fish, it should remain between 110° and 115° Mine slipped out of that range when I was checking on squabbling boys, but most of the time it was in the correct range. I found once it got to 115° it maintained its temperature very well with the heat turned off for about 5 minutes. Cook for 9 minutes on the second side or until done.

To serve place the roasted tomatoes on a plate and top with the poached fish. Drizzle some of the sauce over the top. The original recipe calls for serving it with blanched and butter sauteed broccoli rabe, I used broccolini instead.

Tomato Basil Butter: Summer Taste Year Round

This is the third summer I have grown tomato plants in front of my house. It began by accident one year when my husband and I pulled up the Yew bushes the house came with. We were planting perennial flowers from a friends garden when our neighbor said the space really needed tomatoes, and it just so happens he had 4 starts that he did not know what to do with. Well the tomato plants were so productive in the front of my house that I quickly decided to do it every year. Last year we were able to eat tomatoes year round from those plants. This year my plants are bigger then ever, more like trees then bushes. They are impressive enough that people have stopped their cars to ask me for advice on growing tomatoes. The only thing I can tell them is compost, Gardener's Supply Tomato Fertilizer, and Southern exposure.

I have been fearful of late tomato blight all summer but still optimistic, until this weekend. On Sunday another neighbor warned me that his tomatoes had late tomato blight. The very next day I went to pick tomatoes and found signs of blight. So I had to decide, what is the most important item to make with my tomatoes for the winter. What would leave the largest culinary hole if it was missing?

While I can crushed tomatoes and tomatoes in their own juice for year round consumption, that is less about the flavor impact of using home grown tomatoes and more about using local food as much as I can. However every year I make at least a quadruple batch of Tomato Basil Butter using a recipe by Ruthanna at Garden Web's cooking forum and recipe exchange. Tomato basil butter is a year round staple in my kitchen that can produce gourmet meals easily and quickly. Most often I use this butter when preparing fish. I have however been known to put some on top of rice or vegetables. I am sure that you could prepare tofu or chicken in a similar way to the fish and have wonderful results.

The balance of flavors in this butter is wonderful, the lemon provides a high flavor note while there is the familiar sweetness of the tomatoes, the bite of the garlic and the earthy sweet flavor of the fresh basil. Of course the butter does not hurt either...

Ruthanna's Tomato Basil Butter

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes (about 1 lb. if you must you can substitute canned tomatoes but do not use supermarket fresh tomatoes. Vine ripened summer tomatoes are really the best choice)

2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup unsalted butter softened

2 tsp grated lemon zest (I always take the lemon after, squeeze it into a small plastic container and freeze it for the next time I have a recipe that calls for the juice of 1 lemon without the zest)

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup minced fresh basil

Heat the oil in a small skillet (when making a double batch I use my large non stick saute pan). Add the tomatoes and garlic and cook over medium to high heat, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes form a puree that will mound, about 10 minutes. Let cool before putting the softened butter in a bowl and then adding the tomato puree and all the remaining ingredients. Place the butter on to a sheet of wax paper or parchment and roll into a log. Wrap the log in aluminum foil and refrigerate or freeze (personally I always freeze it, I have been able to store it in the freezer for 1 year or even longer).

Fish with Tomato Basil Butter

4 fish fillets, or 1 for each person (works with salmon, flounder, tilapia, bluefish...)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (the measurement here is a guesstimate, I add enough to coat the bottom of the pan)

1 cup white wine (use a wine you enjoying drinking with fish, or if you don't drink use stock or water)

1 1/4 inch thick slice tomato basil butter per fish fillet

Season the fish with kosher salt and black pepper on both sides. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick saute pan. Brown the fish on both sides over high heat, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Add the wine and bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Place a piece of tomato basil butter on each fillet and cook the fish for 4 to 5 minutes per side until it flakes easily when you press it with a finger or fork. Serve at once. (alternatively you can put the butter on the fish after turning it.)