Orange Juice Small Grain

Let me preface this by first saying that while this turned out delicious, there are many things I would have done differently. So, I wasn't sure what the title for this post should be.

I stole this idea from my friend, Cinzia, who brought this to a dinner party last night. She used Israeli couscous, but since I didn't have any on hand and had some orzo pasta, I thought, why not?

Things I Would Have Done Differently #1: Use a grain not a pasta. I think the difference is that there was A LOT of starch in the pasta and since you aren't draining it, the starch stays in the dish and makes it gummier than if you stick to a grain. Cinzia said she made hers in her rice cooker, too. Much easier I would think. The trick she taught me is to cook the grain/pasta in orange juice instead of water or stock. She used half orange juice half carrot juice.

Things I Would Have Done Differently #2: Do not use all orange juice. Orange juice is made up of a lot of sugar, right? When you boil it (and combined with all the starch in the pasta) it gets very thick. Cinzia's dish was more creamy than thick OR gummy. Actually, I think depending on your taste and price range (because carrot juice is pricey, man) you could just use a combo of water and OJ. I think 2/3 OJ to 1/3 water would work. I ended up adding water in the end to finish cooking the pasta.

Next are the shallots. Cinzia just said she fried some shallots. I sauteed them in butter.

Things I (maybe) Would Have Done Differently#3: I might use olive oil next time. It occurred to me that since I plan on serving this cold for my lunch tomorrow and olive oil is a liquid at room temp, using olive oil instead of butter might also have helped the texture of the dish. It's only a LITTLE bit compared the rest of the dish, but it couldn't hurt. The shallots, I think, are the key to this dish. The garlicky/onion taste combined with the sweetness of the juice make the dish. So, whatever else you do, don't forget the shallots.

Cinzia's dish was: Israeli couscous cooked in half OJ, half carrot juice, shelled edamame, sauteed shallots and sliced almonds. It was absolutely delicious!

My pantry's substitutions: Orzo cooked in OJ (eventually slightly diluted with water), shelled edamame, sauteed shallots, chopped peanuts and diced cilantro. Still pretty darn good.

I wish I could give you exact measurements, but I eyeballed everything. Here's a guess:

1 1/2 cups orzo

2 cups orange juice (I would suggest 1 1/2 cups oj and 1/2 cup water or stock)

Extra water to add while stirring the cooking orzo (I ended up cooking it like a risotto, stirring often)

1 cup edamame

2 large shallots sauteed in 3 tsp butter

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

Can be served hot or cold.

Mahi Mahi Braised with Green Mole

My favorite use of green mole is as a sauce for fish. I have some mahi mahi defrosted so I decided to braise it with a bit of the mole and serve with rice and green peas. I start some white basmati rice in my rice steamer and - to make it more flavorful - I add a few sprigs of cilantro and use chicken broth rather than plain water (1 cup basmati rice, 2 cups liquid and 3-5 sprigs of cilantro). Alternatively, you could chop the cilantro and stir it in after you cook the rice - this is a bit more work but would give you a "fresh" cilantro flavoring.

While that is cooking, I rinse my fish fillets, pat them dry and set aside. I also set up some frozen, organic peas in a pan of water that I will boil later. I wait until the rice is cooked to start both of the fish and peas because I don't want to overcook the fish. Fish is very delicate and cooks quickly; many times people who don't like fish have eaten either overcooked or not very fresh fish. When you buy fish it should smell fresh and only faintly like fish - if it smells strong or even overpowering then it is starting to turn bad and you shouldn't buy it.

My rice cooker turns itself off when the rice is cooked with a loud pop. It cooks that small amount of rice quickly (10 minutes) but this will be enough for dinner and a few lunches. I set the heat under my saucepan with frozen peas to high - I will turn them off as soon as they boil.

Under a large, skillet I add about two tablespoons of olive oil and a scant tablespoon of butter. I turn the burner on to medium-high heat. When the butter is melted and starts to sizzle, I add my mahi mahi fillets (I have about four-medium sized fillets no more than 1/2 an inch thick) and when a bit of white edging appears on each fillet, I turn them over. I then add about 1/3 of a cup of green mole to the pan and cover. I cook this for no more than 3-5 minutes depending on the size of your fillets. (I don't mind my fish even a bit underdone so in this case I turned the heat off after about two minutes and left it on the burner covered while I set up plates for dinner.)

With the mole already made, the rest of the meal takes no more than 20 minutes. It does payoff to make some items ahead of time and freeze them in batches that are easy to take out and use to enhance small meals. This recipe serves two for dinner and leaves leftovers for two lunches over even another meal if you don't like reheating a fish lunch at work.

Refreshing Jicama Salad

Making tamales is hard and hungry work so while so there was plenty to nosh on when you wanted to take a break. One of the favorites was a quick jicama salad that my mother made.

She took the medium-sized jicama that I had, washed it (since it is a underground tuber it is a good idea to clean the outer part to prevent food poisoning from e-coli that might have been in the fertilizer), peeled off the skin, and sliced the jicama into french fry sticks.

She then grated the zest of a medium-sized orange over the jicama and then added the juice as well. She finely sliced half a medium-sized red onion and chopped a few sprigs of cilantro. However, she felt it was still missing some tartness so she then grated the zest of a lime and added the juice of the lime as well. Her final ingredient as to add a bit of chili powder over it all.

This salad was crunchy and refreshing and didn't last very long.