Watercress Pesto.

I had seen a recipe in a cooking magazine where they sprinkled watercress leaves over the top of the dish.  It made such a pretty presentation that I was certain I too would do this.  I bought a bag of watercress with good intention.  Forgot all about it until my weekly Saturday morning fridge cleanout.

Well there YOU are.  Couldn’t for the life of me recall which magazine I had seen the recipe in, nor exactly what it was a recipe for.  I’m sure this is part of the aging process.  I understand now why mom had a pen and paper nearby at all times.

I let go of that and instead let the other ingredients in my fridge/pantry dictate how I used the watercress, beginning with roast chicken breast from a few nights before.  I was really leaning toward chicken salad or maybe pasta salad with chicken and fresh corn, cherry tomatoes, and scallions.  Toss all that in a little dressing or better yet….pesto.  Bingo!  Watercress pesto.

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Watercress Pesto

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 bag watercress about 100 mg, thick stems removed
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated
• salt & pepper to taste
• Eureka lemon olive oil for final drizzle

Instructions

• Place the watercress in the bowl of a food processor, pulse a few times if necessary to make room for all the leaves. Add the garlic and pine nuts to the bowl, with processor running drizzle in olive oil until desired consistency. Add the parmesan cheese and pulse to combine, add a bit more olive oil if necessary. Season with salt & pepper tot taste.
• Makes about 1 cup of pesto.

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Cod is a wonderfully mild white flaky fish.  It’s happy seasoned with anything from fresh herbs to punchy marinades.  It’s beautiful baked or grilled and when leftover it begs to be the star in a batch of fish chowder.  After recently learning about freezing fresh herbs in butter or olive oil, I began to do a little compound butter research and decided Montpellier Butter would be the perfect pairing with our baked cod.

Compound butters, like a sauce, are a great way to enhance the flavors in a dish.  They can be as simple as a one ingredient add, like parsley or red pepper.  Or they can combine a number of ingredients creating more complex flavors.  Since cod is so mild, it welcomed this flavor packed Montpellier Butter.

The recipe includes several different herbs and leafy greens, which are all blanched for 1 minute before being incorporated with the remaining ingredients in a small food processor (or by using a mortar and pestle).  Once all ingredients are well chopped and combined, they are rolled into a log using plastic wrap and then chilled.

One pat of this beautiful Montpellier Butter made this Cod by God!!  Wow.  And we returned the unused compound butter to the freezer for a quick go-to flavor add at our finger tips.  Just one more way we’re hanging on to our fresh herb flavors!!

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Baked Cod with Montpellier Butter

Baked Cod is a wonderfully mild white flaky fish begging for added flavor. This beautiful Montpellier Butter was the perfect add.

Course Sauce, Seafood

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Montpellier Butter…

• 1/2 lb. unsalted butter softened
• 2 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup watercress leaves
• 1/4 cup spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup parsley leaves
• 2-3 Tbl. tarragon leaves
• 1 shallot fine diced
• 1 garlic clove fine diced
• 2 cornichons
• 1 tsp. capers
• 2 anchovy fillets or 1 tsp. of anchovy paste
• 2 yolks of hard boiled eggs
• pinch cayenne pepper
• sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

For the cod…

• 1 lb. cod fillet washed and dried

Instructions

For the butter…

• Blanch herbs and leafy greens in boiling water for 1 minute, then plunge in cold water bath before drying completely.
• Combine all other ingredients except butter and olive oil in small food processor or mortar and pestle and grind until smooth.
• Empty processor bowl into small bowl and add butter and olive oil mixing with wooden spoon until well combined.
• Spoon butter mixture onto plastic wrap and roll into a log.
• Chill until well set.

For the cod…

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Wash and dry cod and place in baking dish coated with cooking spray.
• Season with salt & pepper.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
• Top with a Montpellier butter slice just before serving.

The post Baked Cod with Montpellier Butter appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

What started one day as a “What’s for Dinner?” conversation at the office turned into a mission to make homemade Miso Soup and ultimately an ingredient split.  And so that evening I did my usual research: scan the Internet for the most striking Miso Soup images first, read multiple recipes second.

The picture of 101 Cookbooks Miso Soup Recipe grabbed my attention and her post was super encouraging to a first attempter like me.  However I couldn’t resist The Kitchn’s version which was topped with a poached egg, which is near and dear to my heart.  Regardless of which recipe I followed I knew I was going to have to buy several ingredients not already in my kitchen…and this is how the ingredient split came about.

The sound of homemade Miso Soup not only got my taste buds jumping, but one of my cooking buddies from the office wanted in on the plan.  So Mel and I agreed to split the ingredients we were not likely to use up in a day or two. Tofu, Bean Sprouts, Soba Noodles, Miso Paste….I volunteered to shop during my lunch hour, hitting the grocery store with confidence (there really is a point to all this…hang with me).

My list started with Miso Paste, the star ingredient.  Over the years I’ve certainly read it on various recipe ingredient lists and even thought I had a visual of what the jar would look like when I got to the Asian isle of the grocery store…..hahaha….NOT!  Aparently it’s not as common as I had thought.  So now what?  If they don’t have Miso, they certainly don’t have Bonito Flakes or Dashi Broth.  So I did what I do best….improvised.  While we didn’t end up with authentic Miso Soup, both my cooking buddy and I lost no sleep over taking the easy way out.  Some finishing touches turned this into a delicious hearty meal.

I have not given up on authentic.  I am genuinely intrigued by the thought of being able to appreciate the nuances of white miso vs. red miso, sweet vs. salty.  :) All that of course right after I learn what it looks like and where to buy it (I’ve never claimed to be an expert at anything…..just adventurous enough to set out on missions from time to time). 

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Miso Soup {with Poached Egg}

This not quite from scratch version of Miso Soup holds it’s own.

Course Soup

Cuisine Asian

Servings 2

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme adapted from 101 Cookbooks & The Kitchn

Ingredients

• 2 packets of Miso Cup Instant Soup Mix
• 1 packet Swanson Flavor Boost Seafood Stock
• 4 cups water
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1/2 package firm tofu small cubed
• 4-5 button mushrooms sliced
• 2 scallions sliced
• handful bean sprouts
• handful of rice noodles soaked in water for 10 minutes
• handful watercress or spinach leaves
• handful of cilantro leaves
• 2 poached eggs cooked separately
• red pepper flakes

Instructions

• Eggs can be poached in miso broth, but I preferred to boil them separately then add them to the top of the finished soup.
• Bring 4 cups water to boil.
• Add miso soup mix, seafood stock packet, sesame oil, and soy sauce.
• Reduce heat to low, cook for 2-3 minutes and remove from heat.
• Add tofu, mushrooms, scallions, beansprouts, and rice noodles to 2 bowls and cover with broth.
• Sprinkle with watercress and cilantro leaves.
• Top each bowl with poached egg, cooked separately.
• Finish with red pepper flakes.

The post Miso Soup with Poached Egg {Share the Love} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I am loving my new star ingredients from Oli+Ve, Blackberry Ginger Balsamic Vinegar.  In fact I’ll be back for refills this weekend.  Whenever I have the opportunity to cook for a group, small or large, I love to try something new.  It’s risky (if it flops) but measuring the mmmm mmm good tells you best whether it’s a keeper or history.

Today, I created Orzo Salad with Peppercorn & Balsamic Poached Pears.  I tossed cooled orzo in lemon oil with a little salt & pepper.  Added fresh spinach, watercress, scallions, blackberries, sliced almonds, fresh lemony thyme leaves and peppercorn & balsamic poached pears.  Drizzled all ingredients with Lemon Blackberry Vinaigrette.  I think they liked it.  That makes me happy.

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