A simple salad warm or chilled…

This time of year at home I clean out my spice cabinet and no, I don’t through everything out. I understand that spices and dry herbs have a six month shelf life. So I come up with ideas to use them before I lose them or there potency.  Various ingredients can be used in a variety of ways, a few examples:

• Spices can be made into dry rubs or marinades; label them…
• Dry herbs with the right balance, can be made into a pesto
• Blending again, of certain ingredients as specific to Southwestern, Mediterranean,  Middle Eastern etc, helps in planning a menu for a party at home  

Some ingredients stimulate me to use them other than what I had originally purchased them for. Take for instance Lentils, which I love to prepare because of their ease of cooking, health factor, low-cost and versatility of use. The benefit of making marinated salads is that they typically last for 2-3 days refrigerated. (If in there that long) So I consider it one part of a meal that’s ready to serve. The following warm lentil salad I made was to go with grilled Salmon. This week I made the recipe & served it with pan seared sea bass. It was for a segment called Educating Jenny which airs this Saturday on the TV Diner program or you can click on the link to view the segment we did http://www.necn.com/pages/landing?blockID=223315 . The color, presentation and steps to make the dish are brilliant. The segment was filmed for my upcoming class at the BCAE in Boston which offers numerous sessions in all categories. The cooking classes I perform their keep me creative and it’s a great way to meet other food enthusiast or those just starting to cook. So if you haven’t cooked with French lentils before you may want to give this recipe a try. If you need step by step directions tune into the segment of Educating Jenny this weekend as we review the procedure. If you have a favorite lentil recipe post it or let us know how you serve them: are they braised, pureed, slow cooked or….

PANSEARED SEABASS WITH WARM LENTIL SALAD AND CURRY OIL

SERVES 4

¼ cup brunoise-cut carrots

¼ cup brunoise-cut celery

¼ cup finely diced onion

¼ cup brunoise- red pepper

¼ cup brunoise -yellow pepper

2 teaspoons peeled, minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon canola oil

¾ cup fresh green lentils-(soak over night)

1 ½ cups water, or more, as needed

Salt and pepper

4 5-ounce Sea Bass fillets

Chopped fresh chives, garnish

METHOD- To prepare the lentils: Cook the carrots, celery, onion, and ginger in the canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until lightly caramelized. Add the peppers and lentils, cook for 1 minute. Then add the water & continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1/2 hour, or until all the liquid has been absorbed and the lentils are tender. If the water has been absorbed and the lentils are not tender, add additional water, several tablespoons at a time, until the lentils are not completely cooked. Season to taste with salt & pepper, and then add 2 Tablespoon of olive oil to the salad just before serving, toss to combine ingredients

To prepare the Sea bass: Season the bass with salt and pepper and brush with a light coating of the Curry Oil. Heat a sauté pan to a med-high temp, & place the bass flesh side down for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, or until the bass is flaky and cooked through.

ASSEMNLY- Spoon the lentil salad on the plate and place the prepared bass on top. Garnish with chopped fresh chives.

Curry Oil:

YEILD: ½ cup

½ cup chopped onion

1 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons curry powder

METHOD- Sauté the onion in 2 tablespoons of the canola oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the curry powder and cook for 3 minutes. Puree the mixture with the remaining canola oil for 3 minutes, or until completely combined. Refrigerate for 1 day then strain through a fine-mesh sieve.

Thanks and ciao

Bernard