I am not much of a dieter. Whenever I try to limit myself it seems to work just the opposite for me. And I LOVE Food. And I love fresh-tasting food. So when the New York Times recently came out with a food article on “How do I eat?”, the Mediterranean diet resurfaced once again. And I agree. You eat like you’re in Nice, or Portofino or Santorini, or some other sun-drenched city on the beautiful Mediterranean Sea and you get the most flavorful, healthy, absolutely delicious, non-prohibiting food around.
So here we are in Provence, with my new favorite app—crostini with a yogurt feta spread topped with little cherry tomatoes soaked in red-wine vinegar. Yum. And to finish, a pan roasted Halibut with all the Mediterranean goodness of lemon, capers, white wine and prosciutto. I served this with a side of rice pilaf and peas & prosciutto. This was not difficult to make! and you will feel like you just went on vacation.
Hey, I’ll take some fish, fresh veggies and a beautiful glass of wine any day.
Tomato Crostini with Whipped Feta
Ingredients
- (Adapted from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa)
- 6 ounces feta, crumbled
- 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup good olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons minced shallots (2 shallots)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
- 2 tablespoons good red wine vinegar
- 2 pounds cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 3 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves, plus extra for serving
- 20 to 25 (1/2-inch-thick) diagonal baguette slices, toasted
Instructions
- For the whipped feta, place the feta and cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse until the cheeses are mixed. Add 1/3 cup of the olive oil, the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and process until smooth.
- For the tomatoes, up to an hour before you’re serving, combine the shallots, garlic, and vinegar in a medium bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes. Whisk in the remaining 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add the tomatoes, stir gently, and set aside for 10 minutes. Stir in the basil and taste for seasonings.
- To assemble the crostini, spread each slice of bread with a generous amount of whipped feta. With a slotted spoon, place the tomatoes on top. Put the crostini on plates, sprinkle with extra basil and serve.
Pan-Roasted Halibut with Prosciutto, Lemon, White Wine, and Capers
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 slices prosciutto, cut into strips
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 2 Tbls. capers
- 2 Tbls. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley plus whole sprigs, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Put the flour on a deep plate or in a shallow bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Dredge the fish in the flour. Put a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and the butter and get the skillet hot. Add the fillets and cook until browned on 1 side, 2 to 3 minutes. At the same time, add the prosciutto and cook, stirring, to brown. Then flip the fish, put the skillet in the oven, and roast until the fish is just cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- Remove the fish to 2 serving plates. Dump the prosciutto out onto paper towels to drain. Put the skillet back over medium heat. Add another tablespoon olive oil, the white wine, lemon juice, capers, the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the parsley and bring to a boil; boil until reduced and thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the fish, top with the prosciutto, and serve immediately.
Leave a Reply