Fish and Seafood - Inspired Edibles

Flourless Salmon Dill Brunch Bites

April 5, 2012 By kelly / inspired edibles 50 Comments

If you’re anything like me, the Easter long weekend has snuck up on you from out of nowhere and you’re completely disorganized and utterly unprepared (oops, didn’t mean to be quite that confessional…).

But things have been a little busy. Contrary to popular belief, Spring – and not January – is the busiest time of year in the nutrition world so I’ve been spending lots of time with some great clients and we’ve also been preparing for year-end piano exams, a big school play, winding down the hockey season and ramping up for soccer season. Excitement abounds.

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Seared Pepper Shrimp with a Spicy Mango-Lime Dipping Sauce

March 29, 2012 By kelly / inspired edibles 66 Comments

I recently bought a set of spice jars that came with a package of desiccated ginger chips. I’ve never come across dried ginger chips before… what a revelation! They’re so pretty – in a natural, woodsy kind of way – and enormously fragrant – like a ginger potpourri. I’ve got some sitting in a bowl on my desk. Anyway, I was so enchanted, I had to work a few pieces into the picture just for fun. So if you’re wondering what the stray driftwood is on the plate, there you have it.

I’ve never needed an excuse to eat pan seared shrimp but if there was one it would be this dipping sauce. Made with fresh mango, ginger, cilantro and lime (a few of my favourite things), I can’t seem to stop eating it with virtually everything (except for maybe my morning coffee but even there, I feel myself weakening).

You can serve up this refreshing spring dip to guests on an appetizer plate surrounded by toothpick skewered shrimp or prepare the shrimp as a starter on a salad plate, as desired. Either way, I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy.

Seared Pepper Shrimp with a Spicy Mango-Lime Dipping Sauce

1 large bag of frozen unpeeled, uncooked shrimp (about 40 pieces)
1 tsp coarse black pepper
1 ripe mango, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup orange juice, dilute
1 large nub of fresh ginger, grated to about 2 Tbsp
Zest of one lime
Juice of one lime
1 or 2 tsp hot sauce, such as sriracha (Thai hot sauce)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

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Thaw whatever portion of shrimp you plan on using, leaving the remaining shrimps in the freezer. The way I thaw shrimp is to place it in a bowl submerged in cold water in the sink. This accelerates the process and generally leads to good results. Peel and set aside thawed shrimp.

Meanwhile gather all ingredients for mango-lime dipping sauce: mango, orange juice, ginger, lime juice, lime zest, chili sauce and cilantro and place in a blender.

Blend ingredients until desired consistency is achieved. Transfer mango-lime dipping sauce into a container and place in fridge while preparing shrimp.

Warm a large skillet over medium-high heat on stove with some grape seed or coconut oil (a stable heat resistant oil). Once the skillet is good and hot, toss in shrimp. Sprinkle shrimp with black pepper and sea salt and then flip and do the same on the other side until shrimp is cooked through (it will not take long).

Transfer mango-lime dipping sauce into a decorative bowl and surround with warm shrimp.

Roasted Salmon in a Strawberry-Balsamic Reduction

February 9, 2012 By kelly / inspired edibles 89 Comments

Here we are coming up to Valentine’s Day and I’m still putting away my Christmas decorations…is it just me? It seems every time I think I have them all captured and stored, another one pops up; it’s like an endless sea of Santa things – they weeble and wobble but they won’t go down.

Onward.

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Seared Scallops with Lime infused Tahini

January 12, 2012 By kelly / inspired edibles 58 Comments

Ever since I came across this post on Mis Pensamientos blog, I’ve been craving tahini in a big way.

I started out by making her delicious salad, twice, but couldn’t stop there. Before I knew it, I was hijacked by visions of pan seared scallops with lime infused tahini, rendering me completely helpless against the forces of the kitchen.

Not such a bad thing after all.

Since everyone in this family has a thing for coleslaw (crémeuse ou traditionnelle?), I served the scallops on a bed of raw cabbage drizzled with the tahini sauce. De.lish.

You could also do the reverse and enjoy the scallops over the tahini sauce ~ as desired. (I had to make them again just to be sure it was a suitable alternate. Pure torture).

Seared Scallops with Lime infused Tahini

For the Scallops

6 scallops
Olive oil

For Lime Infused Tahini

1 Tbsp olive oil
3 tsp tahini (sesame paste)
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
Pinch of sea salt and cracked pepper
A few pieces of stray cilantro, chopped

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Directions:

Serves 2

Combine tahini ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk until combined. Allow ingredients to sit together for at least 1 hour before serving. Be sure to stir again before drizzling over scallops.

For the scallops, I like to use a cast iron skillet to get a good sear. I use a nice stable fat that can tolerate heat, such as butter or coconut oil, and get the skillet good and hot (but not smoking). Once the fat has melted and the skillet is hot, add scallops to skillet with a sprinkle of sea salt and cracked pepper. Allow scallops to sizzle for approximately two minutes before flipping to sear the other side for another two minutes or until done. (Frying time will depend on the size/width of the scallops you are working with).

When ready to serve, drizzle scallops with tahini (or set tahini in a small bowl beside scallops as pictured) or rest scallops over tahini sauce.

moi je préfère la traditionnelle ~

Simple and Delicious Smoked Salmon Canapés

November 27, 2011 By kelly / inspired edibles 66 Comments

As recently confessed, I have a mild tendency (cough) to become elevated around the holidays.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I happened to make these little festive appetizers on the day that we had our very first snowfall…

Yes indeed. It was a thing of beauty.

We woke to white – ground covered and branches hanging heavy. Our golden bouncing in the soft morning light, tail in motion and squeals of delight. (Our cat, managing to remain somewhat less moved). Two boys off to school in boots and broad smiles – waiting to turn the corner before throwing their first snowball.

These are the days.

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Since there does not appear to be any shortage of appetizers served on (or with) bread, I wanted to provide some alternatives.

This is a low glycemic load appetizer that is extremely easy to pull together and full of nutrients. If my doggie could talk, she would also tell you that they are delicious. How do I know this? Because it took her about 4 seconds to demolition the entire tray while I turned my back to upload these photos (arghh….).

These bites would also make a nice option for anyone on a wheat or gluten restricted diet.