Calamari a la Plancha

Typical Plancha- Very similar to the one I use at home.

Ever since my girlfriend presented me a plancha as a Christmas present, been experimenting a bit with cooking everything a la plancha.  Actually one of the healthiest ways to cook, fast too, that I have come across recently. If you don't have a 'Plancha', try doing it in a heavy non-stick flat pan. Results are fabulous.

 

While doing my weekend shopping I came across these fresh, heavenly cuttlefish at the local supermarket. So here I am at home with a lovely cleaned cuttlefish about 1 kg. Since tonight I am cooking for myself I guess about a 300 gm portion should be sufficient. Remaining is going to get frozen for the rest of the week. Maybe, if I can I will make a sea food soup from Egypt that my friend Gamal makes to perfection.

Ingredients (Serves 1):

• Fresh Calamari- 300 gm, cut into strips
• Garlic- 2 cloves, shredded
• Olive oil- 1 tbsp
• Salt- To taste
• Lime- 1/2 juiced

Preparation ( Marination- 15 mins + Cooking time-10 mins):

Clean calamari strips and lightly dress with salt and a quarter of the lime juice. Set aside for 15 mins. 











Heat 'plancha' till any water put on it starts to sizzle. Spread oil on the plate. Add the shredded garlic. 


Once garlic starts becoming translucent, add calamari strips. 










Keep turning over till strips start becoming golden brown. So that the calamari remains tender and cooks evenly, keep basting with lime juice and the oil as you turn over. Don't overcook else you end up with a rubbery unappetizing mess. Lightly sprinkle a little salt and drizzle with remaining lime juice. You will know that the calamari is done when it starts turning golden brown and the garlic has turned a deep-fried  brown.


Serve hot with a fresh salad as accompaniment.

Tips:

• Serve with a chilled white to  bring out the flavour.
• If you want, you could add a sprinkling of dried parsley to tone down the strong flavour near the end of the grilling.
  

Baked Herb Salmon

Quick one for those days when you come back from work, too tired to whip up something elaborate yet feeling hungry and guilty enough for a proper home cooked healthy meal. This one takes less than half an hour (if you have the stuff ready). Just pop in the oven and by the time you are back from a jog/ swim/ long shower, it's ready-Herby and healthy. Mmmmm


Ingredients (Serves 4):

Salmon fillet: 4 - 150 gms each (I prefer the tail, as they are thinner and one of the leaner cuts, which cook fast)
Olive oil: 2 tbsp
Vinegar: 1 tbsp
Honey: 1 tbsp
Oregano: 1 tsp
Rosemary: 1 tsp
Pepper: 3 tsp, coarsely ground
Dill: 4 sprigs for garnish
Salt to taste




Preparation (Time: 5+ 25 mins):



Set oven to pre-heat at 200 C. Clean fish, set aside to dry.

Mix vinegar, honey, olive oil in a small shot glass. Throw in a pinch of salt. Keep aside for glazing.

Now baste the fillets with a small portion of the glaze, sprinkle with salt, rosemary, oregano and of course, crushed pepper. Wrap in foil and pop into oven (at 180 C) for 15 mins. Turn over, and bake for another 10 mins at 150 C. You will know the fish is done when it becomes opaque and flakes off on a fork.

Garnish with a few sprigs of dill. Serve hot with mustardsauce.

Tips:

Guessing that you would not want wine on a week night. Accompany with a chilled glass of water with a quarter of a lemon and a couple of sprigs of mint. No sugar, no salt. The ice-cold water will open up your palate to the herby flavor of the baked fish.

 

Shish Kebab

First, sorry guys for having gone missing for quite some time. Was having one of those phases of staying away from the Net, spending some time out in the outdoors, with friends, family. 

In fact this recipe was cooked up with my BIL (Brother-In-Law) on a lazy Thursday afternoon. What do two guys on holiday do? They plan for an afternoon of beer, and then decide beer is great with barbecue, and head to Walmart to splurge $100 on a barbecue set and beer, only to realize that they have nothing to cook. So necessity became the mother of the "Sheesh Kebab".

So here's the recipe that we turned out after another frantic trip to the local store.

Ingredients (Serves 3 adults and one very hungry dog):

• Lean beef/ beefalo mince - 400 gm
• Onions- 2 large
• Garlic- 4 large cloves
• Green chilli- 3 large
• Paprika powder- 1 tbsp
• Pepper- 1 tsp freshly coarse ground peppercorns
• Cumin- 1/2 tsp (roasted and ground fine)
• Salt- To taste
• Bamboo skewers- As required
• Butter/ Oil- To baste 

 

Preparation (Marination/ Precooking time-1/2 hr, Cooking Time- 1/2 hr):

 First, take bamboo skewers and put them in a jar of clean water so that they soak through. Not necessary, but sure does help to prevent the skewers from burning out and breaking up on the grill. Next chop onions, garlic and green chilli into small pieces, blend to smooth paste. Add paprika, ground pepper, salt, cumin. Fold into the ground thawed mince. Leave to marinate.

Start grill and wait till coals are formed (for novices trying out for the first time like we did, it's the stage that the fire burns without smoke but with enough heat). Spread out the coals. Meanwhile, mold the mince around the skewers. If the meat keeps falling off, try to squeeze as much water as you can out of the mince when you are putting it on the skewer. The idea is to spread it as evenly and as thinly as possible for even cooking. The thumb rule I would say is to have a thickness between skewer and surface of a third or half a centimeter.

Baste the surface of the seekh's with a dash of oil. Place on grill. Keep turning at intervals. You will know that the meat is done from the smell. Visually speaking, the meat turns a light brown and then a dark caramel colour.

Enjoy with beer (if you did not run out during the hot and thirsty work of cooking- We did, ran through two six packs :P).

Tips:

 

• Don't run out of beer. Kidding apart, try pairing this with a salad. On a hot summer day you could throw in a quick 'mojito' - Crushed mint, lemon, white rum, little salt, ginger ale, ice. Heaven
  

Grilled Tuna and Vegetables

Well, you can eat Maggi in only so many ways day after day. But what do you cook up that’s healthy but can be done in 40 minutes flat with little intervention. So despite being bone tired after a day’s slugging it out with clients and the production team, here I was at Carrefour buying Tuna fillet.

And man, it turned out great. So here’s the recipe for the day- Grilled Tuna with veggies. Takes only about 40 mins. You could customize it and drop the baked potato’s to make it into a leaner meal.


Ingredients (Serves 1):

• Tuna fillet- about 200 gm
• Broccoli- 1 small floret • Baby carrots- 1 handful
• Potatoes- 2 medium sized one
• Button Mushrooms- 4 or 5 medium sized ones
• Butter- 20 gm
• Lemon- ½ a small lemon
• Rosemary
• Pepper corns- ¼ tsp whole
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Pop the potatoes into the oven. Bake for 20 mins @ 200 C.

2. Clean fish, make small incisions, dress with lemon and salt.

3. Clean the veggies and separate the broccoli into bite sized morsels.

4. Once potatoes are pre-cooked, braise fish & mushrooms with butter. Put in dish with potatoes, veggies, mushrooms. Place the broccoli, carrot near the bottom where they can be stewed in the juices release by the fish. Sprinkle a few sprigs of rosemary and the pepper on top and pop into the oven.

5. Cook for 15 mins @ 200 C. And your dinner is ready.


Tips:

• A glass or two or three of white wine wouldn’t spoil the dinner. ;)

Baked Hammour With Sage

One of the commonest eaten fishes in the Persian Gulf, the "Hammour" is a member of the Grouper family. Available in any and every supermarket, it's great for fries, for a light weekend dinner.

Ingredients (Serves 2):

• Hammour Fillet- 400 gms, cut into medium sized pieces
• Button Mushrooms=100 gms
• Unsalted Butter- 3 tbsp
• Sage- 2 tsp
• Basil- 1 tsp
• Garlic- 1/2 large clove (shredded)
• Lemon juice- 1/2 lemon squeezed
• Lemon Rind- 1/2 sq.cm
• Pepper- 1/2 tsp coarsely crushed
• Salt

Preparation:

Mix the butter with salt, finely shredded lemon rind, shredded garlic, chopped sage, basil, lemon juice. Mix into an even mixture. Make shallow cuts into the fish to increase area over which the sauce can be spread and speed up cooking. Use half of this butter- sauce to coat the fish. Keep aside. Preheat oven to 160 C for ten minutes. Place fish in an open baking plate and place in oven for ten minutes. Turn the fish over. Checking to see how well it's done. Now arrange the sliced mushrooms in between the fish making sure that they are dipped in the sauce. Cover fish and mushrooms with the remainder of the baste, add a sprinkle of salt, a dash of lime juice so that it doesn't dry out. Place in oven, bake for 15 mins. To check if fish is done, pierce with fork, fork shuld come out cleanly. The mushrooms are done if they start to brown over. Take care that the neither the fish or the mushrooms dry out.

Tips:

• In absence of Hammour, you could use any mild white fish.
• If you want something as a side dish to much on, would suggest a brown loaf, that you could break off and mop the sauce with