Category Archives: Dining In

Tandoori Cod

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We love getting fresh cod from Shore Catch at the Rittenhouse Farmers’ Market, but sometimes I need a new recipe in order to mix things up. This time I turned to the New Scandinavian Cooking website and found a nice recipe for Tandoori Cod. If you haven’t seen New Scandinavian Cooking, it’s well worth a watch; the recipes are usually interesting, the show features beautiful Scandinavian landscapes, and the hosts are often unintentionally quite funny.

I made my own Tandoori spice mix, based on researching a variety of different versions and combining what they all had in common (and what I had in my pantry): 1 teaspoon each of turmeric, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, coriander, garam masala, ginger, and garlic, with a few grinds each of salt and pepper. This made more than enough, so I ended up using about half and saving the other half for another time. This particular version is quite spicy, but you could cut down on or eliminate the cayenne if you want a milder version.

I coated the fish with olive oil, rubbed it with the spice mix, and baked at 400 F for 20 minutes. Very simple, and it gave us a different way to enjoy our lovely, flaky Shore Catch cod.

Cioppino

Cioppino

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Neither of us were familiar with Rockfish, but we were curious about it one Saturday when Otolith Sustainable Seafood was selling it at the Rittenhouse Farmers’ Market. We asked about what it is like and the purveyor explained that it was a firm white fish that holds up well to a lot of flavor and suggested it was good for fish stews. I happen to be a big fan of Cioppino and Brodetto, so we decided to try to make a fish stew and I am glad we did because it turned out fantastic.

At the time we bought the Rockfish, we also picked up some shrimp from Otolith and then bought some clams from Di Bruno Bros.

I loosely based our stew on this cioppino recipe from the Food Network. I made some slight variations, but the amounts were pretty much the same as in the recipe. The process is somewhat time consuming but pretty easy.

I began by frying some onions and after they cooked for a while, added garlic and crushed red pepper. After that cooked a bit, I added tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and wine. We didn’t have any fish stock, so I used a combination of chicken broth and clam juice and it worked just fine. I also did not have a bay leaf and had no substitute. I did add some dried basil and oregano. I let all that simmer for about 1/2 an hour.

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At the end of the half hour, I added the clams until they opened and removed them.

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I then added the shrimp and Rockfish and cooked them for about 5 minutes until done. I added the clams back in and then served it in bowls with a nice hunk of bread.

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I look forward to trying a fish stew again in the near future. I would like to try it with proper fish stock and a bay leaf. I feel lucky that we have access to such great fresh seafood which will make this dish a success even in light of some minor compromises.

Eggs with Asparagus and Duck Proscuitto

Spring Brunch with Eggs, Asparagus and Duck Prosciutto

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Our long weekend began with a very easy and super tasty brunch.

I roasted some asparagus that we got from A.T. Buzby Farm at the Headhouse Farmers’ Market last weekend with duck prosciutto from PorcSalt.

Asparagus and Duck Prosciutto

I put that over toast. I used Three Seed bread from Big Sky Bread Company that we got at the Fitler Square Farmers’ Market.

Asparagus and Duck Prosciutto

I cooked some eggs, from Hillacres Pride, sunnyside up and placed them over the asparagus, prosciutto and toast. Finally, just added some salt, pepper and domestic parmesan from Di Bruno Bros. I dressed the plate with a couple of fresh strawberries that we got from Highland Orchards.

Eggs with Asparagus and Duck Proscuitto

Very simple and incredibly delicious. It all begins with fresh, local ingredients. We’re thrilled that our farmers’ markets are getting their spring stride and having more choices.

Purveyor Highlight: Shore Catch

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Since we’ve been enjoying so much fresh seafood lately, we thought we’d take a post to highlight one of our favorite purveyors. Shore Catch, from Barnegat, NJ, is a regular at the Rittenhouse Farmers’ Market, and brings us a variety of fresh seafood from the Jersey Shore.

One of our favorite things to get from Shore Catch is their clams. Tom has a basic recipe for clams, which we vary a little bit each time depending on what we have available.

We also enjoy their scallops, which Tom has been known to sear up either for brunch or for dinner.

Shore Catch often has really nice cod, which we’ve used to make prosciutto-wrapped cod, or just simply baked with lemon and garlic.

When available, the mahi mahi we’ve gotten from Shore Catch has been incredible. Lately we’ve been making this with a piccata preparation and serving it over pasta.

We’ve also tried their flounder, which has been lovely, also prepared piccata-style and topped with fresh tomatoes and basil.

Shore Catch has plenty of other seafood choices, depending on the season, including oysters, squid, tuna, swordfish, and monkfish, but these have been our favorites so far. We’re thankful to have fresh, local fish so readily available!

Za’atar-Spiced Beet Dip with Goat Cheese and Hazelnuts

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Tom found this recipe for za’atar-spiced beet dip with goat cheese and hazelnuts on Pinterest about 3 months ago, but we only recently acquired za’atar (from The Head Nut in Reading Terminal Market). We like it so much we’ve made it several times now, and we can see making it anytime beets are in season. It’s especially nice made in advance and chilled for an afternoon snack.

The recipe calls for 6 beets, which is a bit much for the two of us, so we’ve just used 2 beets and cut the rest of ingredients by one third. Except for the garlic, of course, which we left the same. We used beets from Rineer Farm (via Rittenhouse Farmers’ Market), Pequea Valley Farms local yogurt, Green Aisle local maple syrup, and Shellbark Sharp goat cheese from Di Bruno Bros. I mixed all the ingredients together using a stick immersion blender. The result is a delicious beet-y, garlic-y dip, topped with goat cheese, hazelnuts, and scallions, not unlike a good pesto or hummus, that goes wonderfully with a nice hunk of bread (we used a seeded Sarcone’s roll) or crackers. I had initially thought about substituting some other herbs for the za’atar, but now that we have the za’atar, I’m really glad that we didn’t, as it has a pretty unique flavor. In fact, we’ve found other good uses for the za’atar, such as using it to coat baked chicken legs.

 

I love the combination of beets and goat cheese anytime (especially paired with a crisp sauvignon blanc), but I have to say this is a nice change from the usual routine I have of simply roasting the beets and serving them sliced with goat cheese. The garlic and za’atar give it a little something extra, plus it’s a lovely presentation, and it makes for great leftovers as well. Enjoy!