A different post for me.

One of my favorite recipes (flavors that I enjoy), and a book I just read.

Recipe first: Swordfish with yams and pea pods.

First, scrub the yams and put in the oven to cook for an hour and a half. Cook at 400 degrees.

Then, rinse the swordfish under cold water, pat dry. About a pound feeds two people.

Put the swordfish on a plate and marinate.

Ingredients for marinade: a good olive oil, hot sauce, Kobe Steak Grill Sauce, kosher salt, black pepper, fresh lemon grass, lemon zest, smoked paprika, tarragon flakes, szechwan seasoning and Mrs. Dash.

On one side of the fish, drizzle the olive oil and two dashes of hot sauce on the fish and gently rub it around to cover fish. Then sprinkle with the szechwan seasoning, paprika, tarragon, pepper and Mrs. Dash. Lightly zest some lemon peel over the fish.

Turn over, and drizzle with olive oil and a little of the Kobe Steak Sauce, and spread gently over the surface. Then sprinkle some kosher salt, grind some pepper, and top with some fresh chopped lemon grass. Cover, and let marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour. Take out and let sit on the counter for about 20 minutes to come up to room temperature.

Meanwhile, rinse and clean the peapods. Just pick off the ends and pull the string from the seam.

When the potatoes are done, turn off oven. Start cooking your fish on the grill, or in a hot pan. If in a pan, put a little canola oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Cook covered for 4-5 minutes, on the Kobe Sauce side first. Flip, and cook another 3 minutes or so, covered for 2 minutes, uncovered for one minute or until fish feels just tender in the middle. Pea pods go in another frying pan with sesame oil and canola oil. Get oil fairly hot, toss in pea pods. Press a clove of garlic and press a small piece of fresh ginger over the pea pods. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Stir often, and only cook for a few minutes. You want them crunchy.

It is a visually beautiful plate, with the seared fish, the bright green pea pods, and the split open orange potato (with a little dab of butter). Pair with a nice red wine, a bright blend or even better, a petite syrah.

 

The book I just finished, is “The Jailing of Cecelia Capture”, by Janet Campbell Hale. The book before that was “Son of a Gun”, a memoir by Justin St. Germain.