When the cold winter weather has warmed and the spring showers have subsided, I, like many people, start to crave lighter dishes that get flavor not from heavy, complicated sauces, but from the main ingredients themselves. Lemony parsley, flavorful garlic, succulent fish, and zesty lemon are a few of my favorite standout flavors of the season.
Since it has basically be raining nonstop since 1998, I haven't been in the mood to cook much. But this weekend we had a bit of sun, so I was a cooking machine.
Ironic, isn't it? When it is raining, I don't feel like cooking, but when it is finally nice out, I lock myself in my windowless kitchen and cook all day. The heart wants what it wants, I guess.
Alice Waters's book, The Art of Simple Food is the perfect place to find inspiration for such dishes. I am cooking my way through the book and decided to take on aioli and salsa verde. The funny thing is, I did the salsa verde by accident. I read in another book, The Flavor Bible, that anchovies, parsley, garlic, and lemon go well with white fish, so I decided to make a sauce out of them. After I made the sauce, I said, "Holy crap, this is salsa verde!"
I'm a secret genius and I didn't even know it.
Aioli is very easy to whip up. I made a homemade mayonnaise and added smashed garlic and lemon. I then made some homemade breadcrumbs to coat the sliced eggplant. The use of homemade breadcrumbs made an enormous difference to the flavor and texture of the breaded eggplant. The eggplant was lighter and crunchier. It was a world of a difference from using store-bought breadcrumbs.
I cooked with Baked Orange Roughy because Harris Teeter was out of halibut and the fish monger (isn't that the coolest job title ever? I want to be a fish monger. Monger.) said it was the closest thing. The texture was a bit heavier than halibut, but it was absolutely delicious.
The funny thing is, I didn't use one recipe. That is the beauty of this book. It gets you out of your comfort zone and helps you realize the wonders of the flavors behind simple foods.
Baked Orange Roughy
Two 6 oz. filets white fish such as Orange Roughy or Halibut
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Season filets with salt and pepper. If you are making Orange Roughy, cook at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, or until the fish flakes with a fork. If you are making Halibut, cook at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the fish flakes with a fork.
Salsa Verde
1/3 cup parsley, roughly chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1 garlic clove
5 anchovy fillets
Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
Using a mortar and pestle, smash garlic clove and anchovies until smooth. Using a food processor or blender, add parsley, garlic and anchovy mixture, and lemon juice. Pulse to blend. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let the mixture sit so the flavors can marry.
Breaded Eggplant
1 medium Italian Eggplant, sliced into 1/4" rounds
1 loaf country or white bread, ends removed and cubed
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Olive oil, for frying
Preheat oven to 350 F. Pulse bread in a food processor until it is finely crumbled. Bake in oven for 10 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Add oregano and salt. Set aside.
Coat eggplant rounds lightly in egg mixture and dip in breadcrumbs so both sides are covered well.
Heat enough olive oil in a large frying pan so that it comes 1/4" up the sides on high heat. When the oil is very hot, add eggplants (do not crowd the pan) and cook 2 minutes on each side (or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown) and place on a plate lined with a paper towel. Repeat with remaining eggplants.
Garlic Aioli
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 egg yolk
1 cup olive oil
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mix garlic clove and egg yolk in a bowl. Whisking all the while, slowly drizzle in olive oil and beat until the mixture emulsifies. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Mmm... Love the breaded eggplant. This looks delicious.
Posted by: jenn | June 08, 2009 at 02:53 AM
Sounds like a wonderful combination to me and your amazing pictures are making me drool all over!
Posted by: Erica | June 08, 2009 at 09:47 AM
That breaded eggplant with garlic aioli sounds really wonderful
Posted by: peachkins | June 08, 2009 at 09:49 AM
I haven't had Orange Roughy in an age! It looks delicious, and how genius to pair breaded eggplant with aioli! Yum!
It's been awhile, your site is looking great, btw!
Posted by: Mari | June 08, 2009 at 09:57 AM
Sounds like a great book - I need to check that one out. I think the eggplant sounds especially delicious!
Posted by: Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction | June 08, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Fish is nice, but breaded eggplant steals my heart every time.
Posted by: Megan | June 08, 2009 at 10:44 AM
This look like a great meal! Great job with all of it.
Posted by: lisaiscooking | June 08, 2009 at 11:03 AM
What a gorgeous meal! I love the salsa verde and garlic aioli! Every time I see aioli I want to make it but still haven't gotten around to it.
Posted by: Tracey | June 08, 2009 at 02:07 PM
This looks so good. What a nice combo! I'll have to try it - a new fish recipe had been on my to-do list. Plus, I love crispy eggplant!
Posted by: Nicole (dishin') | June 08, 2009 at 05:47 PM
You're convincing me with your posts to check out Alice Waters' book!
Posted by: Ashley | June 08, 2009 at 08:28 PM
A very delicious meal! The Orange Roughy sounds excellent with Salsa verde and the eggplant is awesome! I always find that the best cookbooks are the ones that give you ideas for flavor profiles.
Btw, thanks so much for your comment on the mango ravioli. I got agar agar in the Asian product section in Whole Foods.
Posted by: Natasha - 5 Star Foodie | June 08, 2009 at 10:52 PM
Aioli! Yum. You can't give us enough garlic. The more, the better. Great photo too.
Posted by: The Duo Dishes | June 09, 2009 at 03:38 PM
That breaded eggplant with garlic aioli sounds really wonderful
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A very delicious meal! The Orange Roughy sounds excellent with Salsa verde and the eggplant is awesome! I always find that the best cookbooks are the ones that give you ideas for flavor profiles.
Btw, thanks so much for your comment on the mango ravioli. I got agar agar in the Asian product section in Whole Foods.
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