Off the Table: Water, Water Everywhere (2 of 2)

The cure for anything is salt water;

sweat, tears, or the sea.
- Isak Dinesen

This is part 2 of a two-part, cliff-hanger of a post about cooking with water. We’ve got one more cooking method to discuss and then I’ll give you two recipes that can be made cooking only with water.

Water: Earth Wind & Fire’s Shemp

Cooking Style: Steaming

Works best for: Veggies

Upgrade: Wilt herbs or greens quickly to keep them crisp

You don’t need any special equipment to steam. I have done it with a bamboo rack, a double boiler, a single pot and a colander… basically anything porous or with holes or cut-outs that will let steam through on top of anything that can hold boiling water to create that steam. in the recipe below, I hung a large soup strainer across the top of the pot I boiled the potatoes in and let the zucchini slices hang out in there for a few minutes. Veggies don’t need much cooking – usually just a few minutes, tops. Most people really, really over-cook them. This not only depletes the nutritional value, it also dampens the flavor and makes the whole situation a soggy mess. 99% of plants can be eaten raw, so you don’t have to get them hot enough to kill anything, just warm and soft enough to be palatable. This also works great for greens like spinach or kale and for fresh herbs. Steam them for about 90 seconds and they’re done.

Now, the recipes…

Mean Green 1^st Week of School Dinner

You will need:

Bag of frozen tilapia (or other white fish) fillets

Potatoes

Green Onions

Zucchini

Limes

Cilantro

Dry Greek Seasoning

Non-stick sauté pan – 2 inches of water. Pot – half-full (or half empty if you’re a pessimist or an Isaac Hoskins fan) of water. Put the frozen fish in the sauté pan and leave it alone for about 4 minutes. During those 4 minutes, dice the potatoes and slice the green onion and zucchini. Mince a bit of cilantro. Put the potatoes in the pot and boil them. Turn the fish over with your widest spatula. Squeeze the lime juice over the fish and top with dry seasoning to taste. Test a potato. They should need another few minutes. Add the green onion slices to the potatoes. Put a metal colander or steaming basket on top of the potato pot and add the zucchini to it. Chill for a minute. Take everything off the heat and drain. At the last moment before serving, coarsely mash the potato and onion mixture. Garnish the fish with cilantro and serve as shown:

Poached fish on top of Creamy Polenta and Stewed TomatoesPoach the fish – you should be an expert at this by now. Boil water in a small pot and then add a heavy pour of almond milk. Scoop spoonfuls of polenta into the water/ milk mixture and boil. After a few minutes, add whole cherry tomatoes and stir. Slice red onion and toss it in with the fish. Slice avocado and reserve. Finish the fish with Lime juice and dry Greek seasoning. Garnish with avocado slices and serve as shown.

You will need:

Bag of frozen tilapia (or other white fish) fillets

Tube of plain polenta

Red Onion

Cherry Tomatoes

Limes

Avocado

Almond Milk

Dry Greek Seasoning