This post comes to you from the beach, where I'm sipping lemon water and watching seagulls pick apart crabs and clams that have washed up in the surf. It's a damn shame birds aren't sophisticated enough to figure out how to melt butter.
Knowing that this could potentially be my last beach day until next year makes me a little sad, but it helps to know that once summer fades away there's plenty of fall food for me to cook. Grilled steaks, steamed clams, cucumber salads, and frozen drinks will soon give way to pork chops braised in Magners, baked cod, butternut squash, and Sam Adams Oktoberfest. When you love food, there is something to look forward to every season, every day of the year.
Today would be the perfect day to throw together a great end-of-summer meal, but since I'd rather soak up the last of the summer's rays, I offer you yesterday's recipes.
Last night's dinner consisted of broiled grouper with grapefruit & mint salsa, risotto with fennel and pecorino romano, and a glass of my heavenly new white wine. Really, who serves a citrus-y, warm-water fish with a dish like creamy risotto? Answer: Someone who doesn't have the patience to conduct only one culinary experiment at a time. Friday, I yearned to try a mild risotto with my new wine. That same day, I got my Daily Catch e-mail from Mercato del Mare alerting me that grouper would be available Saturday. I've never tried grouper...the wine was open, and it needed to be finished...the grouper would not be available forever... This culinary conundrum led to my mismatched multitasking. Sure, the two dishes don't go together, but neither do army pants and a satin halter top, and that never stopped me from combining them! Here are yesterday's recipes:
Grouper with grapefruit & mint salsa
1 grapefruit
handful chopped mint
1 habanero pepper, sliced into 1/4" rings
splash olive oil
salt & pepper
1/2lb. grouper fillets
To make the salsa: Peel the skin from the grapefruit like you would from an orange. Divide the segments, scoop the grapefruit pulp from the white pith, and place in a shallow baking dish (left). Add the chopped mint and habanero slices to the grapefruit (right).
Add a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir until blended, then add the fish fillets to the dish, covering them with the grapefruit salsa. Marinate for 30 minutes to one hour.
Preheat the broiler. After the fish has marinated, remove the habanero slices and discard. Place pan in broiler with salsa still covering fish, and broil until the fish is flaky, about 7-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish fillets. Serve hot.
Risotto with fennel and pecorino romano
splash olive oil
2 shallots, finely minced
1.5 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken broth, simmering (more if necessary)
1 fennel bulb, sliced into 1/8" thick strips
3/4c. grated pecorino romano cheese
3T. butter
salt & pepper
fennel fronds, for garnish
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until they begin to soften. Do not let them brown. Add the rice and stir until each grain is coated with oil, then add the wine. Cook, stirring constantly so that rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan, until the rice has absorbed the wine, as shown.
The chicken broth should be kept in a small saucepan next to the risotto pot. As soon as the rice has absorbed the wine, add 1 cup of the chicken broth. Stir constantly until the rice has absorbed the broth. Repeat this step several times, adding 1/2 cup at a time.
Once 3 out of the 4 cups of broth have been added and absorbed, add the sliced fennel with the remaining broth. Stir constantly, letting the rice absorb all the broth.
Once all the broth has been absorbed, the rice should be cooked through and have a slightly creamy texture. The rice should not stick to the bottom of the pan, but it should stay firm and not "run" when you scrape to the side, as shown in the photo to the left. If this texture has not been achieved yet, you can add more broth. Once the rice is fully cooked, add the grated pecorino, butter, salt, and pepper. Stir until the butter and cheese are melted and fully incorporated with the rice.
If you care about presentation, grease the inside of a measuring cup with olive oil, pack the risotto into the greased cup, and turn out onto a plate. The risotto will keep the basic shape of the mold, budging ever so slightly. Garnish with several small fennel fronds.
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Now, prepare the grouper. Heat a large cast-iron frying pan over the highest heat. It is hot enough when a drop of water dances across the surface rather than sizzling. Brush each grouper portion with olive oil, then coat in Cajun seasoning. Add the grouper to the hot frying pan and cook for about 1-2 minutes per side, or until the coating starts to turn black. Note, this process will create smoke – if you don’t want to deal with your smoke alarms, make sure to have your windows open and air circulating. .JPG)
