Crispy Skin on Fish Filet

You can crisp up the skin of almost any fish filet. When I feel ambitious, I filet the fish at home. You need a sharp knife and a bit of technique. Chop off the head and clean the belly. Slice along the backbone and remove the first filet by sliding the knife under it, starting from the tail. Then flip the fish and remove the second filet.

Ingredients:
(for 4 servings)

• 4 fish filets around 250 gm each
• 8 tbsp peanut oil (or any other oil with a high smoking point)
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

There are some rules to obey to achieve really crispy fish skin:
 

• You have to dry it as much as possible.
• You need a pan with a heavy bottom so you can get a hot, even temperature.
• You have to press down the fish filets when they hit the pan because they contract and curve upwards. The full skin needs to make contact with the bottom of the pan in order to fry properly.

Put oil in a pan with a heavy bottom. Don’t use non-stick pans. If filets are big, use two pans or fry batches. Set fire to medium-high on a big ring. Season both sides of filet with salt and pepper just before you start frying.

Have a spatula ready. As soon as filets hit pan, they curl upwards. Keep pressing down so the full skin makes contact evenly. Don’t flip the filets. The Fish is done when you see brown skin around the outer edges. Most of the flesh should have turned white.




Now turn the filets and give them one minute on the flesh side. Serve with the crispy skin up; otherwise juices will turn skin soggy.






 

Seafood: The best Source for Omega-3

Scientists keep exploring the enormous impact of omega-3 on our brain. It not only prevents heart disease, it also makes our neurons fire faster und alleviates depression. This substance originates at the bottom of the food chain in the leaves of plants and a variety of green algae. Omega-3 found in plants like flax seeds and walnuts is called ALA (alpha-linolenic acid). Animals convert ALA into EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), vital for our heart and brains. Humans also convert ALA, but they do a rather poor job.
In times past, eating farm-fed animals gave us a lot of omega-3. If you can, buy meat from grass fed animals because. If you want to ensure you get enough of the good omega-3, fish is your best source – it accumulates in the fatty tissues.

Hummus, A Healthy Classic

Dear all,

The other day I received an email with a link to 32 different chickpea recipes ‘to dug me out of my hummus hole’. So far, I had been unaware of the existence of such a hole.

I love hummus and serve it regularly at dinner parties. Often I eat it as a healthy lunch with a little salad and some whole wheat crackers – very refreshing, especially during the current heat wave in India.

Although hummus has lost its exotic factor in the country where we live, many people still ask me for the recipe. Although it is as simple as can be, some manage to get it wrong. I think, the biggest mistake commonly made is to add too much tahini, the sesame paste from Middle East. Although tahini is wonderfully healthy, it has a strange texture. When you eat it by itself, it feels very sticky and tastes slightly bitter. Too much tahini can ruin your hummus.

Of course, you can also add to much lemon and too much garlic, although this is largely a matter of personal taste. One time, I dropped too much pepper powder in my blender. There was no way I could get rid of it, so this one time we had a very peppery hummus – my guests liked it though.

In general, I think we should eat as many legumes as possible. They provide cheap protein in combination with fibre, complex carbohydrates (the good ones) and many minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients.

Legumes are great to keep slim and fit and hummus is the perfect recipe. You can keep it up to one week in the fridge and you can even freeze it. When you open the door of my freezer, you will always find a container with hummus, next to some pasta sauces and homemade pâtés.

Wishing you happy cooking, always!

Kornelia Santoro with family

Hummus - a classic dip

Ingredients:
(for 8 servings)

• 1 cup dried chickpeas
•  2 tablespoons tahini
•  4 tablespoons lemon juice
•  3 tablespoons olive oil
•  2 cloves garlic
•  salt
•  pepper
• ½ cup cooking liquid

Method:

Spread out the beans and check them for small stones, debris and damaged beans. Wash the chickpeas and soak them in plenty of water overnight. The next day, drain the soaked chickpeas, put them into a pot, cover with two litres salt water and boil them until soft.

If you use a pressure cooker, add only one litre of water with the chickpeas and cook for 30 minutes after the first whistle. The chickpeas need to become really soft. Drain the chickpeas, but save half a cup of the liquid.

You can prepare humus either with a blender stick or in a blender. With a blender stick, mash the chickpeas first, and then add the tahini, the lemon juice, the olive oil and the crushed garlic. Combine with some cooking liquid to obtain a smooth paste.

If you use a blender, throw in all the ingredients and blend away. It is better to crush the garlic before adding it.

Asparagus

A Natural Diuretic

Asparagus is a very good source of potassium (288 mg per cup) and quite low in sodium (19.8 mg per cup). Its mineral profile, combined with an active amino acid in asparagus, asparagine, gives asparagus a diuretic effect. Although some popular articles on asparagine link this amino acid to the distinct urinary odor that can follow along after consumption of asparagus, research studies suggest that this odor stems from a variety of sulfur-containing compounds. Historically, asparagus has been used to treat problems involving swelling, such as arthritis and rheumatism, and may also be useful for PMS-related water retention.

Food for Healthy Gut Flora

Asparagus contains a special kind of carbohydrate called inulin that we don't digest, but the health-promoting friendly bacteria in our large intestine, such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli, do. When our diet contains good amounts of inulin, the growth and activity of these friendly bacteria increase. And when populations of health-promoting bacteria are large, it is much more difficult for unfriendly bacteria to gain a foothold in our intestinal tract.

Especially if you're thinking about becoming pregnant or are in the early stages of pregnancy, make asparagus a frequent addition to your meals. A cup of asparagus supplies approximately 263 mcg of folate, a B-vitamin essential for proper cellular division because it is necessary in DNA synthesis. Without folate, the fetus' nervous system cells do not divide properly. Inadequate folate during pregnancy has been linked to several birth defects, including neural tube defects like spina bifida. Despite folate's wide availability in food (it's name comes from the Latin word folium, meaning "foliage," because it's found in green leafy vegetables), folate deficiency is the most common vitamin deficiency in the world.

Lentil Cream

Heavenly healthy is my title for this vegetarian recipe that I have created more or less myself. I write more or less because it is inspired by the vegetarian sandwich spreads which you find in health food stores all over the world.

I have taken the flavours of the Greek lentil soup which I adore. This soup is dominated by tomatoes and oregano. Instead of preparing a soup however, I add just enough liquid to make a cream. 

You can serve this cream as a snack with crackers or bread. I like to stir in some red wine vinegar which adds a bit of tang. You can use the cream also to make healthy sandwiches, for example for your kids’ tiffin boxes. It is great topped with any kind of cheese.

Wishing you  happy cooking, always!

Kornelia Santoro with family

Lentil cream, heavenly healthy 

 

Ingredients

(for 4 big servings):

• 2 cups lentils (masoor dal)
• 2 packets tomato puree (200 ml each)
• 3 big carrots
• 1 medium size beetroot
• 4 big onions
• 4 big cloves garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

Unlike other legumes lentils don’t need to be soaked overnight. You can use any type of lentils you like. I prefer brown masoor dal for this recipe because it has a round, earthy flavour. 

Wash the lentils and place them into a pressure cooker. You can prepare the lentil cream in a normal pot as well; it just takes a lot longer to cook. Peel the carrots, the beetroot the onions and the garlic and grate them. Add the vegetables to the lentils in the pot. Pour in the tomato puree, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 750 ml water into the pot and mix everything well. Add salt and pepper, the bay leaves and the oregano.

Close the pressure cooker, switch on the flame and boil the lentil cream for half an hour after the first whistle. In a normal pot you have to cook the lentils for at least one hour, stirring occasionally. The lentils should melt in your mouth. You might have to add some extra water also, but not much. At the end of the cooking time you should have a thick cream, not a soup.

When the lentils are cooked, open the pressure cooker. If there is any water left, you have to boil it some more minutes. Stir in 3 tablespoons of olive oil and taste the cream. You might have to add some more salt and pepper. Take out the bay leaves and store the cream in airtight containers. You can keep it in the fridge for at least one week.