SHRIMP WITH RICE

 

 Here is one of my favourite recipes for shrimp and rice, easy to make any time. It's my idea of comfort food. Try it, it makes a great dinner! It has a nice mixture of vegetables, and the tomatoes and broth make the rice taste wonderful.  Peas are a nice addition here, and I usually include them, but this time we did without because I forgot to buy them. I think the best part about making this dish is having leftovers. They make an excellent non-liquid nightcap!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 green pepper (or red if you like), finely chopped
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup white wine 
3 cups hot vegetable broth
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 small bay leaf
1 cup of tomato sauce
1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped.
2 pounds shrimp, peeled, deveined.

Directions:

• In a large skillet heat the olive oil and add the onions, celery, and green pepper. Cook until the onions are soft, about ten minutes.
• Add the rice and cook while stirring, until the rice turns golden in colour.
• Add the garlic and stir for about a minute
• Add the wine and the mushrooms, stir, and then simmer for five minutes.
• Add the broth, tomato sauce, tomato, parsley, thyme and bay leaf. Cover and cook for about twenty minutes or until the rice is soft, stirring occasionally.
• Add the shrimp and the peas. Simmer about 6 to 7 more minutes, until the shrimp are done.
• Remove the bay leaf and serve.

BREADED PAN-FRIED HALIBUT

I'm almost embarrassed to post this recipe because it was so simple to make. I had purchased some halibut fillets wanting to cook them in a completely different manner, but my mother convinced me to pan fry them since that's her favourite way to eat fish. I didn't know how breaded pan-fried halibut would taste, and I was a bit nervous about the outcome.  I shouldn't have worried.  The fish came out delicious. 

• The most important thing was to make sure the fillets were completely dry before being prepared for cooking.  So I washed them well and then patted them dry with paper towels.  
• Next, I seasoned them with salt and pepper. 
• I got the frying pan ready: a nice heavy one, large enough to accommodate the fillets and have room to spare. They should not be overcrowded while being cooked. I poured some good vegetable oil into the pan, enough so that it would reach about 1/4 up the sides of the halibut fillets. 
• I prepared three bowls.  In one bowl I poured some flour.  In the another I beat an egg along with the juice of half a lemon. Then I chopped a large basil leaf and added it to the egg mixture. In a third bowl, I poured some panko breadcrumbs.  Panko is good to use here, because it doesn't absorb too much oil and because it stays crunchy after cooking.  
• I waited for the oil to heat up in the pan and then I dipped each fillet first in the flour, then in the egg mixture and then in the breadcrumbs.  
• As soon as each fillet was well coated on both sides, I placed it in the frying pan.  I cooked each side until it was browned, then I placed the halibut on a serving platter.
• The last step was to sprinkle just a little lemon juice on each fillet. Yup, never forget the lemon juice. It's a Greek thing. Greeks are obsessed with lemons and lemon juice: good in savory foods good in desserts, makes one's hands really soft, deodorizes the kitchen, and I think sprinkling a little lemon juice on laundry will make it come out of the washing machine a lot cleaner... well, I haven't actually tried lemon juice on laundry, but who knows, there might be something to it.  
• To keep things tidy while frying, I used the same hand to do the dipping in the flour, egg and breadcrumbs. I kept my other hand clean so I could use it to touch surfaces and utensils without leaving spots of batter all over them. That's a really neat trick!
• The halibut came out moist, not greasy at all, and it made a great dinner.