Tarah's Digital Voice

This was one of the easiest and most delicious meals I've cooked. It took me about 10 minutes of prep, maximum, and about 5-6 minutest to cook. Probably took me even less time to eat it! I have to thank my trusty Epicurious iPhone app for the inspiration (iTunes link). The Bok Choi was my idea - just threw it in a nonstick pan with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.

For anyone in Fort Greene, definitely check out Fresh Fanatic, the beautiful market on Washington Ave & Park Ave. Organic produce, great fresh seafood, deli meats, huge cheese selection and more. Reasonable prices too.

Recipe:
Tilapia with Prosciutto and Sage

• 4 pieces skinless tilapia fillet (2 lb total)
• 8 thin slices prosciutto (not paper-thin; 6 oz total)
• 12 fresh sage leaves, stems discarded
• 4 teaspoons olive oil [I would use less - the prosciutto adds a good amount of grease]

Cut fillets lengthwise to separate smaller and larger portions, then pat dry and season with pepper. Wrap each piece of fillet crosswise in a slice of prosciutto, leaving ends of fillet exposed if necessary and tucking 1 or 2 sage leaves between prosciutto and fillet (use 1 leaf for smaller pieces of fish).

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a 12-inch heavy nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté the 4 larger pieces of fish 4 minutes. Turn over and sauté until just cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and keep warm, loosely covered with foil. Wipe skillet clean and heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil, then sauté the 4 smaller pieces of fish, turning over once, until just cooked through, about 4 minutes total.

Gourmet
December 2004
Complete recipe

With too much to accomplish tonight, I had to bail on a new friend's concert and an old friend's birthday party tonight. So, I figured the least I could do was try out a new, quick recipe. 

I fired up the Epicurious iPhone app (one of the best, in any category, that I've found to date), which has superb search, favoriting and shopping list features. I'll write a review of it soon, but that's not what this post is about. I had a pound of jumbo shrimp just begging to be eaten, so the "Shrimp Boil with Spicy Horseradish Sauce" recipe caught my eye...especially since the prep time was about 10 minutes. 

Recipe is below, but I made a few tweaks:

• Indian red chili pepper powder instead of cayenne
• Fingerling potatoes
• Plain yogurt instead of mayo
• As always, I used more garlic than the recipe called for. Probably about 7 or 8 cloves.
• The recipe doesn't say it, so in case you don't know: you should use some small shears or a paring knife to cut open the back of the shrimp shells in order to devein them before cooking. I usually just run a bit of water over it after cutting, which makes it easy to pull them out pretty easily. Short how to video here.

Next time, I think I might include some sausage and amp up the spices a bit, but this was pretty spot on.

It's also worth noting that I used a great Louisiana Cajun Seasoning mix that I bought down in New Orleans last year, pictured below.

It tasted even better than it looks...

The sauce was delicious too.

Here's the recipe:

Shrimp Boil with Spicy Horseradish Sauce

Complete recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/243174?mbid=ipapp

Ingredients:

1 lemon, quartered

5 tablespoons Creole or Cajun seasoning

2 1/2 teaspoons cayenne, divided

2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California

4 garlic cloves

8 small boiling potatoes (about 2 inches)

4 ears of corn, shucked and halved

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp in shell

1/3 cup ketchup

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 1/2 tablespoons bottled horseradish

Directions:

Squeeze lemon juice into 4 qt water in a 6- to 8-quart pot, then stir in lemon quarters, Creole seasoning, 2 teaspoon cayenne, bay leaves, garlic, potatoes, and 2 tablespoons salt (omit salt if it is the first ingredient in seasoning).

Bring to a boil, then simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are almost tender, 10 to 12 minutes. 

Increase heat to high, then add corn and simmer, partially covered, 4 minutes. Stir in shrimp and cook until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir together ketchup, mayonnaise, horseradish, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cayenne.

Drain shrimp, potatoes, and corn and serve with sauce.

Gourmet
August 2008
by Andrea Albin