Easy easy mahi mahi

Because sometimes less really is more. . .

Ingredients

• 1 fillet mahi mahi
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 to 3 tsp garlic-infused extra virgin olive oil (I cut a clove of garlic in half, toss it in a small jar, and pour olive oil over it. I then screw the cap on a let it sit for at least 24 hours.)
• 1/4 sliced plain yellow or vidalia onion

Confession: As usual, I didn't measure anything, so these are mostly approximations.

Instructions

In a casserole dish, sprinkle herbs and salt and drizzle lemon juice and olive oil over both sides of the fillet. Add onions, covering and surrounding the fillet. You might want to toss the surrounding onions a bit to coat them in whatever liquid is in the dish. Cover the dish and let sit for 30 minutes, setting oven to broil in the last ten minutes. Uncover and broil on one side for no more than 4 minutes.* Turn fillet, putting some onions on top and stirring the remaining onions. Broil for another 4 minutes.* Remove and serve.

*4 minutes is only a suggestion. Be sure the fish is completely cooked before serving it, but don't leave it in the oven for too long, or else it will become dry and tough. Sometimes I can get it to cook in 6 minutes total, because the fish continues to cook after it's removed from the oven, but I recommend erring on the side of slightly overcooking it until you get it just right. Also, prepare only as much as you plan to serve immediately, because reheating broiled fish tends to make it tough.



This recipe also works well with tilapia, but I like to add about 4 sliced manzanilla olives to complement the very distinct flavor of that fish.

salmon stew

Here is a simple stew recipe that makes great use of sofrito. I used salmon, which is a little atypical. You can use chicken (either dark or white meat), beef, ox tails, or another kind of meat. To achieve a thicker, more starchy texture you can add yuca or potatoes.

Ingredients

3 medium salmon fillets (about ¾ to 1 lb) cut into ¾ inch cubes
3 to 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, depending on how much sofrito you use (Spanish works well with the recipe, but Italian, Greek, or Turkish is always nice)
2 to 3 tbsp sofrito
¼ c chopped onion
¼ cup green bell pepper, sliced
1 ají (small, sweet pepper), sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
10 manzanilla olives with pimentos (sliced)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (if you use the “no salt added” kind, you will probably want to add salt to taste)
1 ½ cans cold water (just use the tomato sauce can to measure the water)
1/2 tsp oregano
1 bay leaf
Additional water to boil salmon
Lemon

Instructions

Squeeze about ½ tsp lemon juice into a large saucepan of water, stir, add salmon, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and let simmer until salmon is cooked almost thoroughly. Remove salmon (preferably with tongs or a slotted spoon to avoid dragging water and excess fat along with it) and discard water.

Heat olive oil in a large pot (such as a Dutch oven). Add sofrito and stir lightly for about 30 seconds. Add ají, bell pepper, and onion. Stir. Add garlic about a minute later and stir. Cover and let cook for one minute. Add olives, tomato sauce, water, oregano, and bay leaf. Stir. Add salmon and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat. Let simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with rice, beans, and tostones, maduros, and/or yuca.

Oh, I finally made a decent batch of rice. Normally my rice comes out sticky, but this time the grains remained separated and well-defined. After washing the rice, I added a bit of olive oil to it and gave it a good stir to coat all the grains. I suspect that this helped me to achieve a better texture. I added a garlic clove for flavor.