Fish With Broccolini, Forbidden Rice, and a Salad With Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette

A delicious and fairly healthy meal (save for the blue cheese in the salad and a little bit of butter to make the dishes).  The kids called the broccolini "trees" which made it fun for them to eat, even the very picky six-year old.  The forbidden rice (sometimes called black rice) may be difficult to find as it is a specialty rice.  You can substitute another rice such as brown basmati, or other.  Be sure to follow the instructions that come with the rice in terms of cooking time.  But definitely try the forbidden rice if you can find it (Whole Foods has it, Giant Eagle occasionally carries it).

Forbidden rice is a treat. Black "forbidden rice" is so named because originally it was considered the Emperor's (of China) rice and was literally forbidden for anyone else to eat it. This heirloom rice is high in nutritional value including iron. It is a deep black color and turns deep purple when cooked. According to a study presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), "one spoonful of black rice bran contains more anthocyanin antioxidants than a spoonful of blueberries and better yet, black rice offers more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants, but less sugar." Perhaps more importantly, it has a delicious, nutty flavor. Truly a superfood.

I must thank Chef Hartmut Handke for the inspiration for the Salad with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette. Dining at his fine restaurant (before sadly closing in 2009) also turned me on to the deliciousness of using fresh chives and more use of onions (of all types) in dishes.  I also "borrowed" (reverse engineered) his delicious chive potato mousselini (a delicious variation that elevates mashed potatoes to a celestial level; but that is for a future blog posting).

Forbidden Rice side
Ingredients

• 1 cup Forbidden ("Black") Rice (see above for more info)
• 1 3/4 cups chicken stock (I generally prefer buying stock over broth; broth is reconstituted with water whereas stock is in the same form it was made to)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 large clove of garlic (peeled and minced)
• 1 bay leaf

Method
Place butter in small cooking pot (that has a tight fitting lid available) and place on medium heat.  Once the butter has mostly melted, add garlic and saute for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add rice, stock, the bay leaf, and a healthy pinch of gray sea salt.  Stir pot contents and turn heat up to medium high.  Once a small boil starts, stir once more, cover with lid, and turn heat down to low.  Simmer for 30 minutes and then remove from heat.  Let it sit, covered, for another 10 minutes before discarding bay leaf, fluffing with fork and serving.

Fish With Broccolini
Ingredients

• 1-2 bunch(es) of broccolini (amount depending on how many are being served. Wash broccolini under cold water, trim off very ends of stocks, and remove any leaves)
• 1/4 cup of pine nuts (place nuts in a dry non-stick skillet on medium heat; allow to toast, shaking skillet occasionally to turn pine nuts.  Once the pine nuts have slightly browned and have a toasted smell, immediately remove from heat and set aside.  Be careful as pine nuts can burn easily.  This extra toasting step is well worth it for the flavor boost it provides)
• 1 shallot (peeling and sliced into thin slices)
• 1 large clove of garlic (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 1 small lemon (cut in half and remove any loose seeds visible on the cut halves)
• fillets of Tilapia or other fish of choice (I often use Tilapia because it is inexpensive, easy to prepare--no bones or skin, mild in flavor for the less adventurous seafood eaters among us, and sustainable if from America or Central America -- avoid Tilapia from China or Taiwan.  Get as many fillets as people being served--the recipe is assuming no more than 8 fillets.  Rinse fillets under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle each side of fillets with gray sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper)
• unsalted butter (amount depends on amount of fish to cook)

Method
Blanch Broccolini: This blanching step makes a big difference in the tenderness, color, and flavor of the vegetable (you will be amazed at how vibrant green, green vegetables become when properly blanched).  Bring a large pot (like a pot for cooking pasta) of water to full boil (much more water than broccolini as it is important that the addition of the broccolini to the water does not lower the temperature too much), add a large handful of kosher salt and bring back to a full boil. Add broccolini to boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While the broccolini is cooking in the boiling water, separately in a large bowl add 1 - 2 cups worth of ice and fill most of the way with cold water (the "ice bath").  After the 2 minutes, turn off the heat and pull the broccolini out of the water with tongs or a slotted spoon, shaking off excess hot water; place broccolini in the prepared ice bath (this will arrest the cooking process and "set" the vibrant green color).  After a few minutes when the broccolini feel completely cold to the touch, remove broccolini from the ice bath and set aside on top of paper towels to drain.

Cook and Assemble Broccolini Side: Heat medium to large skillet (depending on amount of broccolini) over medium heat.  Once the skillet is warm, add a few tablespoons of olive oil, the shallots, and place the two lemon halves cut side down in the skillet (sauteing lemon changes the flavor).  Saute the shallots for a few minutes until they become slightly translucent.  Add the broccolini, garlic, a pinch of gray sea salt and some freshly cracked black pepper to the skillet.  Continue to saute.  Carefully lift up the lemons to check if the cut side is slightly caramelized (colored from cooking); once slightly caramelized, remove from skillet and side aside to cool.  Saute broccolini for about 4 minutes total.  Turn off heat and add toasted pine nuts to the mix.  Carefully squeeze one lemon half over hand or strainer over skillet to catch any seeds while the juice goes into the skillet on the broccolini mix.  Mix broccolini side and set aside.


Prepare fish:  This is a standard method for preparing delicious white fish (such as tilapia).  In a non-stick skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of butter until it begins to turn brown (a "brown butter" sauce).  Add fish and cook until the flesh is opaque half way up the side of the flesh; flip the fish and cook the other side until completely opaque (roughly 3 minutes per side depending on thickness of fish).

Final Assembly: Place a fish fillet on a plate, top with broccolini side and squeeze a little lemon juice on top from the other lemon half.

Salad With Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 2 heads of butter or boston lettuce (I prefer the red over the all green but either will work great.  Hand tear lettuce into bite sized pieces discarding thick center ribs.  Wash under cold water and spin dry -- it is important for lettuce to dry as much as possible for the dressing to properly coat it)
• 1 large or 2 medium shallots (peeled and sliced; slices pulled apart into rings)
• 1 heaping tablespoon of dijon mustard (the secret weapon for tasty salad dressings)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh chives
• 1/2 cup plus of shelled walnuts
• a small amount of broken up blue cheese (amount depending on personal preference; gorgonzola or other blues can be used)

Method
In small skillet, add olive oil and shallots and saute ("roast") over medium heat.  Once shallots are starting to brown, turn off heat.  Stir in mustard, vinegar, and chives.  Stir vigorously until dressing is consistent ("emulsified").  In salad bowl, add lettuce, walnuts, and blue cheese chunks.  Once the dressing is completely cool, dress salad well and crack fresh black pepper over before serving.