Dominican Republic- Banana leaf baked Tilapia with Spicy stuffing

Baked Tilapia (or Snapper or Halibut) : serves 4

I doubled the recipe for the stuffing to serve 8. Take that into consideration, but be sure to have atleast 8 tilapia fillets (1 per person), thawed (if previously frozen), with lime juice squeezed over them (juice of 1 lime or about 1 T)

Stuffing:

• 5 T butter
• 2 strips bacon, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 green pepper, seeded, finely chopped
• 1 Scotch bonnet (or ANY hot pepper-- I used a mix of hot banana, jalapeno, and habanero) pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tomato, cubed
• ½ t dried thyme
• ½ t dried marjoram
• 1 t salt
• 1 t freshly ground black pepper
• ½ C bread crumbs
• ¼ C pineapple juice with 1 teaspoon rum extract in it
• 1 large banana leaf (add to appearance and flavor-- can be purchased REALLY cheaply at your local Latin Mercado) or aluminum foil

Garnish:

• Tomato slices,
• Orange slices
• Sprigs of parsley

1. Rinse fish and pat dry inside and out. Squeeze lime juice all over and cover. Refrigerate til ready for use.

2. Saute bacon in ¼ C butter about 4 minutes. Add ingredients through hot peppers, sauté til tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Add tomato, herbs, wine, bread crumbs and stir to combine thoroughly. Simmer, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Add pineapple juice/rum extract, stir, simmer another few minutes. Remove stuffing from stove and let cool.

4. preheat oven to 375 F

5. Place fish on top of banana leaf or foil. Stuff with filling and dot top with remaingin T of butter (alternatively, can just spray with butter flavored cooking spray). Fold over leaf or foil to seal the fish and bake 1 hour.

6. Transfer to serving platter along with leaf (discard foil) and garnish platter with whole sprigs surrounding fish and slices on top.

Green Curry Paste- makes about 1 C

adapted from the best, most complete and delicious Asian cookbook I've ever seen or used: The Complete Asian Cooking Companion: the Indispensible Reference Guide to Asian Ingredients, Equipment, Recipes, Tips, and Techniques by Vicky Liley

• 2 t coriander seeds
• 1 t cumin seeds
• 1 t black peppercorn
• 1 t salt
• 6 thin slices fresh ginger, chopped
• 2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, peeled and chopped (or substitute 2 T lemon peel)
• 2 t chopped kaffir lime zest (or regular lime zest)
• 15 cilantro stems, pull off and keep the leaves--or about 1/4 C cilantro leaves
• 1/4 C shallots, preferably pink
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 2 t dried shrimp paste
• 1 t ground turmeric
• 40 fresh, small green chilies, stems removed, seeds NOT removed for proper spice (if you insist upon a mild curry, then remove the seeds. But you're missing out, really.)
• 2 C loosely packed fresh sweet Thai basil leaves (or other basil leaves)

1. In a small dry frying pan over med heat, separately toast each spice, stirring constantly, until fragrant (no more than 90 seconds). Dry spices are easily burned, so be careful. If you burn, throw away. It will make the entire paste bitter.
2. All ingredients go into a food processor. Pulverize til a nice paste. Keeps in the fridge for fresh for 3-4 days. Fry the paste in oil til color slightly changes (3-5 min), store the paste in cooking oil, and cover tightly; keep for up to 2 months in fridge or freeze indefinitely.

Oh, ps. Most recipes only call for a few T or 1/4 C of curry paste. This obviously makes much more than that. Either half the recipe or prepare to store it properly for later use.

Vegetarian Green Curry

This recipe came from Elisa's cookbook, so when she posts her recipe, I'll repost with the credits of creation! And thanks again to Elisa for supplying the green curry paste. You're incredible, girl. Oh, but just for the record - I saw green curry paste at the Asian market, so you don't have to make it from scratch :)

Vegetarian Green Curry

5 oz. (150g) firm tofu, drained then cut into ¾ inch cubes

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups coconut milk

1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil (optional)

¼ cup green curry paste

½ cup chopped eggplant

½ cup pea eggplants (optional)

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh or canned bamboo shoots, rinsed and drained

6 ears fresh or canned baby corn, rinsed and drained, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tablespoons palm sugar

2 kaffir lime leaves, stemmed

1 cup loosely packed fresh sweet Thai basil leaves

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 fresh long green chili, cut into large pieces

1 fresh long red chili, cut into large pieces

Pat tofu dry with a paper towel. Heat oil in a large frying pan and working in batches, fry tofu cubes until golden. Remove using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels; set aside. Let coconut milk stand, allowing the thick coconut milk to rise to the top. Spoon thick coconut milk into a small bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons for garnish.

In a wok or large, heavy frying pan, heat thick coconut milk over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it separates. If it does not separate, add optional oil. Add green curry paste and fry, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add vegetables and fried tofu and stir until well coated. Add remaining thin coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are slightly soft, about 4 minutes.

Add palm sugar – if using a wok, add it along the edge of the wok so that it melts before stirring into curry; if using a standard frying pan, add directly to the curry. Tear kaffir lime leaves and basil into pieces. Stir in soy sauce, kaffir lime leaves, and half the basil.

Remove from heat and transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle over reserved 2 tablespoons thick coconut milk. Garnish with green and red chilies, and remaining basil leaves and serve.

Morocco: Side Dish: 7 Veggie Couscous with Harissa paste

For the couscous:

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), minced
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 1/4 cups chicken stock or canned broth
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup 1/2-inch cubes peeled butternut squash
• 1 large yellow crookneck squash, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3/4 cup frozen baby lima beans, thawed
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch (generous) of cayenne pepper
• 1 cup diced seeded plum tomatoes
• 3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) couscous
• optional lemon wedges for garnish
  

For the harissa paste:

• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced

Preparation

To make the couscous:
Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over low heat. Add leeks and garlic. Cover and cook until leeks are very tender but not brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add stock and next 8 ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Increase heat and bring mixture to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Mix in tomatoes, peas, cilantro, then couscous. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand 10 minutes.

Fluff couscous with fork. Transfer to large platter. Garnish with lemon wedges. Serve, passing Chunky Onion Harissa separately.

To make the harissa
Combine tomato paste, crushed red pepper and cayenne pepper in bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Whisk in vinegar. Mix in onions and garlic. Season generously with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Stir harissa well before using.)