Like most recipes I see an idea and then either modify it based on what’s to hand – or just try it according to what sounds right.
Somewhere I saw a recipe for a ‘pine nut and parmesan crusted halibut’ – I modified it to not use the parmesan, eliminate the pan frying – and still produce something that the kids and Grania would go ‘yum!’ – all in under 10 minutes of hands on time.
I think this is what I made.
Serves 4
750g / 1lb 10oz firm halibut steaks (skin off, about 3cm / 1.5” thick)
100g / 4oz pine nuts
50g / 2oz sesame seeds (I used black ones – but the usual beige ones are just perfect)
1 egg
50g / 2oz flour
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Pre-heat the oven to 375°F/200°C/Gas Mark 5
Clean and prepare the fish; cut into four rectangular steaks.
Beat the egg and place in a shallow bowl.
Roughly crush/chop the pine nuts. I put them in a gallon freezer bag and rolled them with the rolling pin. Mix the crushed pine nuts, sesame seeds, salt and pepper; place on a plate.
Put the flour onto a plate.
Pat each halibut steak dry, press into the flour, dip into the beaten egg then into the nut/seed mixture.
Place on foil on a baking tray/cookie sheet/pizza stone.
Bake for around 20 minutes until fish is still firm and the pine nuts start turning light brown.
Serve with seasonal vegetables. I added a fresh parsley sauce – anything light and simple would be good; a lemon wedge, lemon sauce etc.
Well – what a delicious Sunday evening bake this was.
I used the basic bread recipe and mixed it up to make a currant/raisin loaf. I made the dough in the machine (lazy me) and then baked in the oven.
500g/17oz strong flour
1.5 teaspoon dried yeast
1.5 teaspoon salt
200ml/7 fl oz warm water
200ml/7 fl oz milk
150g/6oz raisins or currants.
Lots of spice ¹
¹ I used all kinds of spice in this one. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves. I also added the end of a jar of marmalade – a suggestion from the River Cottage Family Cookbook that Es and Simon gave me for Christmas.
The dough was mixed using the dough setting on the bread machine to mix and prove; I baked it at 375°F/200°C/Gas Mark 5 for 20 minutes – adding a sugar syrup glaze at about 10 minutes in.
On Saturday we headed off for a grand tour of the Puget Sound. The plan was to go on a ferry and see Bainbridge Island. That changed on the way to be a round trip involving three ferries, two floating bridges and five counties in Washington State.
First Seattle (King County) to Bremerton (Kitsap County) on the ferry.
Next the drive up the Kitsap peninsula; over the Hood Canal Bridge into Jefferson County and up to Port Townsend.
We stopped for lunch in Port Townsend ..
.. then caught the little ferry across to Keystone on Whidbey Island (Island County
We went back to Fort Casey and the Admiralty Inlet lighthouse that we last visited in April.
Finally we headed home as it was getting dark; across the Clinton – Mukilteo ferry into Snohomish County and then home.
Sometimes I’ll post a recipe up here.
We invited friends over for lunch yesterday; that meant that on Saturday afternoon I needed to buy something to cook. I tend to buy what’s fresh, in season and hopefully local.
Whole Foods in Bellevue had some great priced lamb shanks from New Zealand. They looked good – and I fancied some tender lamb, just falling off the bone. Add to that two bottles of wine (one for the lamb, one to drink with lunch) and some vegetables – and we were done.
Here’s the recipe from memory. I cooked this in my big cast iron pot – you’ll need something similar.
4-6 lamb shanks (1.0-1.5kg 2.5-3.0 lb)
one bottle fruity, cheap red wine
beef/chicken/vegetable stock (whatever you gave, 500ml 1pint)
half a head of celery, chopped
one large red onion
4 medium carrots
thyme, rosemary, bay leaf
salt, pepper
olive oil
a little flour
Wash the lamb shanks, pat them dry, roll in the flour
Lightly brown the lamb in some of the olive oil on a medium heat. You might only have room to do two at a time. I used the cast iron pot for this rather than another pan. Place the lamb shanks to the side to rest.
Chop the onion, celery and carrots. Gently cook the onions first in the olive oil; when they are soft add the celery and the carrots. Stir well; coat in oil; let this sit on a low heat to soften. (This is a classic mirepoix.)
Add the stock and about half of the red wine.
Add the chopped fresh herbs.
Add plenty of salt and pepper.
Bring the pot to a simmer on a low heat – then carefully add the browned lamb shanks.
Add enough of the wine to just cover the lamb.
Place the lid on the pot; place into an oven at 350°F/175°C/Gas Mark 4
Leave to slowly cook for about 2.5 hours. Stir and taste occasionally.
Drink the rest of the red wine and enjoy the Sunday newspaper.
After this time remove the lid from the pot and allow to continue cooking for another 1-1.5 hours.
The texture you are looking for is the lamb is firm – but starting to fall off the bone. The sauce/gravy should be starting to thicken when the lid is removed.
(I served this up with some nice little rolls I made)
One of Grania’s friends sent out a request for cherry pickers – she was overwhelmed with fruit.
We took off this morning – and came back with about 15lb (7kg) of cherries!
We had a mix of sweet cherries to eat – and a lot of more tart ones to cook with. The cooking cherries are bubbling on the stove now – they smell incredible.
I’m thinking about setting up a gardening yearbook blog.
What do you think? A year in the life of a Pacific Northwest garden – planting notes, to-dos, photos, recipes.
The Tiny CSA that we signed up for starts in a week or so.
Good news this summer – they are improving … and:
2. Less Summer Squash. We have discovered that we’re good at growing all kinds of Summer Squash but some members have requested that we tone it down a bit. We still plan to include a good cross-section of varieties but members may see less of it over the course of a whole season.
We don’t do squash. In Utah we had loads.
Other benefits this year:
3. More Strawberries. Last summer we planted a few acres of strawberries and should see a good supply this season starting with the very first bag. At the present time, the strawberry crop looks great and we should be able to include them in the first weeks of the program.
5. More Fruit. So far this year, frost has not been a factor in reducing the crop size. Members will remember that frost decimated our nectarines, peaches and cherries for four straight days late in April of 2008. We also have younger trees that will start production this year.
I planted more trees, shrubs and heather tonight – on the bank next to the play structure.
Hugo and Aoife both helped soak in the plants.
Good progress on earlier planting. Grandpa’s Carbon Offset Orchard is doing well – lots of blossom on the two pear trees, the apple trees are close too. With the fence in place and the small cobble rocks on the ground it’s a real sun trap.
The bees are doing their job too – lots of them out – really enjoying the new blossom and doing their pollination job.
Finally the heirloom peas that I planted when Eleanor was here are starting to sprout. About 15% have spouted so far. Wondering if the rest are lost to cold, birds or lack of rooting bacteria.
Slowfood, recipe | martin | 
January 12, 2010 5:20 pm | 
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