Mint-cilantro pesto

Cheese ravioli with steamed white rose
potatoes and mint-cilantro pesto.

I am a big fan of the cilantro. And mint ain't half bad either.
So the idea of a pesto that uses both of those, a nice Parmesan cheese and some pine nuts? Yeah, I like that idea. A lot!
This is an easy, versatile sauce.It is great on ravioli (get the pre-made ones from the store for a very quick dinner) and a nice condiment for kebabs (lamb, beef or chicken - I have not tried it with shrimp, that could be good, too).
I like a traditional pesto, made with basil, just fine. But the brightness of the mint and the cilantro just make this shine as a "summer" pesto. Though I will be making this all through the fall and winter.

Grilled lamb and veggie kebabs with mint-cilantro pesto.

Mint-cilantro pesto

1 cup packed, fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
3 tablespoons pine nuts
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (plus more to taste if you like it lemony)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil (I use a fairly good one here since the oil is key to pesto)

Blend mint, cilantro, pine nuts, cheese, garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper to a coarse puree in a food processor. Keeping the food processor running, slowly pour in olive oil and puree until almost smooth.
Taste and add lemon, salt and pepper to taste, if needed.

Enjoy on your favorite pasta for a really quick dinner (seriously, there are some really good pre-made raviolis and tortellini out there!) as a dip for a good crusty bread, as a dipping sauce for grilled meat or veggies.

Really, just enjoy!

By the way, if you are looking for more ways to zip up that store-bought ravioli, check out these ideas from Real Simple.

Tilapia wth tarragon butter and Swiss chard

I have this little addiction to cooking magazines.

It's been a problem for years.

What I do is I look through them, tearing out recipes that look interesting to me.

I have accumulated quite a collection of torn out magazine pages over the years.

To organize these, I have several three-ring binders for various categories: appetizers, side dishes, entrees, pastas, desserts... just to name a few.

Then I put the magazine page into a clear page protector and put it in the binder.

Basically, my own customized cookbooks.

The problem is sometimes I forget about these binders for months at a time.

Then I go back to them and pull out a few things I want to finally give a try.

I did this recently, and this is one of the recipes that sounded good to try.

I served this with a simple rice pilaf on the side.

I am not sure when or where I found this recipe originally. But it has tilapia, which is an easy fish to cook, and chard. I like chard. It's a little bolder than sauteed spinach. It's got a little more flavor and bulk to it. If you don't like chard, spinach would work, too.

Plus with a sauce that includes tarragon and shallots and lemon juice...? Yeah. Sold!

Seems like lately I have been very into things with sauces. The little pan sauces that are not difficult to make, but can make a dish taste so complete.

So...

Tilapia with tarragon butter and Swiss chard

Serves 2

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound Swiss chard

(cleaned, fibrous stems removed and ribs discarded, leaves coarsely torn or chopped, washed and dried. **See note below about cleaning greens like this**)

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

5 tablespoons butter

2 tilapia fillets, about 6 ounces each

1 shallot, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped

Before you do anything else, make sure the chard is cleaned and dried and ready to go.

Also, once you start this, it all goes very fast. So you will want to have all the ingredients prepped and ready to go in the pan before you start cooking.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.

Add garlic and cook about 30-45 seconds, until fragrant, but not browned.

Add a large handful of chard and cook, tossing often.

Once this settles, add more chard and continue cooking and adding until it is all in the pan and cooked until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide chard onto two dinner plates and cover with foil to keep warm. Set aside.

Wipe out the skillet to remove any excess liquid.

Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and let it melt over medium-high heat.

Season fish with salt and pepper, and place it in the skillet to cook.

Cook fish until golden brown and cooked through, turning once.

It will take about 4-6 minutes of total cooking time.

Remove fish from the pan, placing it on top of the chard. Cover to keep warm.

In the same skillet, add the shallot and cook about 30-60 seconds, stirring occasionally.

When shallots are just starting to brown and soften, add lemon juice.

It should evaporate pretty fast, if not cook until nearly evaporated, maybe 30 seconds.

Remove pan from heat and add the remaining butter and the tarragon.

Stir constantly until the butter melts and makes a sauce.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour sauce over the fish and chard and serve.

**I wash chard like I do spinach or pretty much any other greens... Oh yeah, works great for leeks, too.

Once you have it torn or cut into the pieces you want to cook, put the greens in a large bowl or basin, cover with cold water and let sit for at least 15 minutes.

Any sand or grit will settle to the bottom of the bowl and the greens will float to the top.

Use a slotted spoon or your hands to gently scoop the greens off the top of the water.

Place in a colander and rinse one more time.

To dry these, a salad spinner works great, or just let them air dry.**

romaine salad with blue cheese vinaigrette

Yeah, yeah, yeah... It's just salad.

Really almost just lettuce.

Except for the dressing.

I love blue cheese dressing.

And I make a great one using tons of cream
and cheese and sour cream.

This olive oil-based version is lighter and,
even with the oil and cheese, probably at least a little healthier.

And it's easy and looks great.
Oh, and the anchovy paste in here does not make it taste fishy.
It just gives it a little different saltiness than adding salt.
If the idea of anchovy paste skeevs you out, just omit it.
If you think it needs to be saltier, just add a little sea salt to taste.

romaine salad with blue cheese vinaigrette


4-6 servings


1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
4 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup (about 4 ounces) crumbled blue cheese
(Maytag is nice. I used Salem. Whatever you like would work.)
3 hearts of romaine lettuce
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced


Whisk together olive oil, chives, vinegar,
anchovy paste and garlic in medium bowl.
Whisk in blue cheese crumbles.
Use a fork to smash some of the cheese,
but leave some pieces whole.

Season with pepper to taste.


To compose salad there are many options.

Chop the lettuce, halve the hearts into wedges or pull the leaves off
and layer them on the plate (which is what I did).


Rewhisk dressing just before adding to lettuce.
Drizzle over lettuce and sprinkle with sliced onion.



I think this would also be great with some bacon on it.
I mean, bacon. Duh!

Also some halved grape tomatoes would be tasty.
Maybe some avocado.
Radish.
Whatever you like would work.


I kept this one simple and it was perfect.

I also think you could use feta cheese if you don't like blue.


Me? I love blue.

fish in garlic-herb sauce

I wanted to make this with halibut, but the market was out of halibut. So I tried cod. And while it tasted good, I did not like the texture of the cod.
So I will try it again another time using halibut. It probably would be good on salmon, too.
The key here is the sauce (sooooo easy to make).
The manfriend liked the sauce so much, he said he could pour it over just about anything and eat it.

So, here you go, easy baked fish in a simple garlic and herb sauce.

1/2 cup mayo
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried dill
1 tablespoon dried tarragon
1 tablespoon salt-free seasoning mix of your choice
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 pieces pieces of fish such as halibut or salmon. I like the boneless, skinless filet pieces.

heat oven to 450
whisk together all ingredients except fish
place fish in a baking dish and pour the sauce over the top
bake 15-20 minutes or until fish is flaky in the middle (timing will vary based on thickness of fish, so keep an eye on it)

I served this some of the sauce poured over the fish and garnished it with lemon slices.
For sides, I made simple steamed broccolini and sauteed potatoes.
The sauce was great on the veggies, too.

It seems like pretty much any dried herbs or seasoning mixes will do. I tried to keep the salt down though. Fresh herbs probably would work, but obviously the dried are a bit easier and that is what I had on hand.

I may try making just that sauce to use as a simple alternative to hollandaise sauce over veggies.

Hmm... I just had another thought... maybe a sort of gratin of shredded carrots, zucchini and other squashes, a little red onion... pour the sauce over it and bake...
Great. I have barely finished my tea and I am already thinking about next week's dinner.