I came across this baked tilapia dish on the kitchn, and thought it would work well as a salad. Man, was I right! Not only that, but the asian-flavors marinade, made with white wine, soy, and sesame oil, makes a great warm salad dressing. This is a super-quick, super-simple meal that we’ll definitely be adding to the rotation.

Chris says:

This might be one of my favorite ways we’ve prepared tilapia.

Lisa says:

I agree — it’s so delicious. That sauce is awesome.

Chris says:

I didn’t even think about using it as the salad dressing until I pulled the pan out of the oven. It just smelled incredible — the wine, the ginger… so aromatic.

Lisa says:

I love the green onions and extra cilantro on top.

Chris says:

Me too. I don’t think I’d change a thing!

Lisa says:

It worked out perfectly. I definitely won’t complain if we have this again…

Ginger and Cilantro Baked Tilapia
2-3 tilapia fillets - about 3/4 pound
1 jalapeno pepper
3 garlic cloves
1 inch grated ginger (1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon spicy sesame oil
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Scallions, chopped for garnish
Extra cilantro, to garnish
1 package/bag Mixed Baby Salad Greens

Heat the oven to 475F. Pat the fish dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place in a glass baking dish.
Chop the pepper and garlic, and grate the ginger. Put in a small food processor with the soy sauce, white wine, sesame oil, and cilantro. Mix until blended. Pour the sauce over the fish, pressing the solid ingredients down into the fish a bit. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through.
Divide the salad greens between two plates. Remove the tilapia with a spatula and place half on top of the greens on each plate. Drizzle the fish with the marinade left in the pan. Serve with warm, crusty bread.

2 Servings

We’re continuing detox week here at We Heart Food, so tonight we made this light salmon dish as prepared in How To Eat Supper. Salmon is pan-roasted with garlic and basil and then placed over a bed of fresh greens. A simple and very quick preparation; the salmon is the star of the show here!

Chris says:

This salmon is slammin’. What the — what’re you doing with that bread?

Lisa says:

Making a Slammin’ Salmon Sandwich, obviously.

Chris says:

Obviously. What’s your favorite part of the dish?

Lisa says:

One guess.

Chris says:

Gotta be the garlic. Those paper-thin slices just melt on your tongue!

Lisa says:

Ding ding ding! My only problem is that there aren’t more of them.

Chris says:

I really like that you have both the cooked and the fresh basil. I also think this would also be good with some asparagus.

Lisa says:

Ooooh, good idea!

Pan Roasted Salmon over Fresh Greens with Garlic and Basil
1/2 bag fresh spring greens or mesclun mix
1/4 lb sugar snap peas, roughly chopped
12 fresh basil leaves, torn into large pieces
2 salmon fillets, skinned
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large garlic cloves, sliced paper thin
1/3 cup dry white wine
lemon wedges

Divide the greens between two dinner plates, then scatter the snap peas and 1/2 the basil leaves over them. Rinse the salmon, pat it dry, then salt and pepper both sides of the fish. Set aside.
Add enough olive oil to a 12-inch skillet to leave a light film, and heat to medium-high. Add the salmon to the pan and sear for one minute, flip, and sear for another minute on the other side.
Sprinkle the garlic and remaining basil around the fish in the pan, lower the heat to medium-low, and cover. Cook for 5-6 minutes, flipping the salmon once, until just done. The fish should be barely opaque in the center.
Remove the salmon from the skillet and set aside, keeping warm. Add the wine to the skillet, set the heat to high, and scrape the garlic and basil from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the juices thicken and sizzle.
Drizzle the hot sauce over the greens and top with the salmon. Serve with lemon wedges.

2 Servings

Lisa and I just got back from Atlanta, where we stuffed ourselves with cheese dip, Waffle House, BBQ, and various other gut-busting fare, so we’re looking to keep things light this week as we ease back into our routine. This chicken and noodle salad definitely fit the bill. The chicken has a wonderful citrusy glaze, and the mint and veggies add texture and crunch to the bean thread noodles. This recipe comes from Asian Flavors.

Chris says:

Hooray; our first recipe using our mint from the planter out front!

Lisa says:

Hooray; our first plant we haven’t managed to kill! Yet.

Chris says:

I think you’ll really like that chicken. The sugar in the marinade caramelizes a bit and makes a nice thick glaze.

Lisa says:

I do like the chicken — but the noodles need more sauce.

Chris says:

There isn’t any sauce.

Lisa says:

That would be why then.

Chris says:

Actually, if you mix it all up, the noodles soak up the glaze from the chicken and get a little saucy.

Lisa says:

Ooh, you’re right; good tip. Well, this definitely passes our “light” test.

Chris says:

I know — what’s for dessert?

Vietnamese Lime & Mint Chicken
1 lime
2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 large or two small chicken boneless chicken breasts
1 tbsp peanut oil
3.5 oz bean thread noodles
1/4 cucumber, cut into sticks
1/2 carrot, cut into sticks
small handful of mint sprigs
1/2 red jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

Peel 1/2 the zest from the lime and cut into fine shreds. Set aside, then squeeze all the juice from the lime and add to a bowl. Mix with the fish sauce, garlic, sugar, and ground pepper. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then add the chicken to the bowl, making sure it’s coated well, and marinate for 30 minutes.
Heat the peanut oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken skin-side down and cook for five minutes until the skin is browned. Set the heat at medium-low, turn the chicken over, and pour the rest of the marinade in. Cover the skillet and cook for 10 minutes, then uncover and cook until chicken is cooked through, another 5 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, soak the noodles in hot water for 3-5 minutes or until softened. Drain, and mix with the carrot, cucumber, and mint leaves. Slice the chicken and arrange over the noodles. Garnish with the chopped jalapeño and lime zest.

2 Servings

Andrea from Andrea’s Recipes has a regular blogging event called Grow Your Own, and since we grew that mint, I’m going to go ahead and submit it for the round ending on the 15th!

Last weekend Lisa and I were on the way to one of our usual dinner spots, when we decided mid-drive to try something new.  We ended up at Cafe Gaudi, a little Spanish restaurant featuring tapas and a few different varieties of paella.  One of the specials that night was a crab salad with apples, hearts of palm, and a light miso vinaigrette dressing.  We were really enamoured of the dish, and attempted to recreate a version at home.

Lisa says:

Yum, it’s good!

Chris says:

I really like the apples in it.

Lisa says:

How close do you think it is?

Chris says:

Hmm… if anything, I think we have a lot more crab than how it was served at the restaurant.

Lisa says:

That’s the first thing I thought when I saw it — not that I’m complaining; I love crab!

Chris says:

We’ll have to refine this further, but you’re right: nothing to complain about here!

Crab, Apple, and Hearts of Palm Salad
1/2 lb lump crab meat, finely chopped
1 gala apple, peeled, cored, and diced
hearts of palm, diced (equivalent amount to the apple — we used about 1/3 can)
1 tbsp parsley, minced
8 paper-thin slices of red bell pepper
1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp miso vinaigrette (I just whisked together some miso paste and rice wine vinegar)

Combine all ingredients, enjoy!

2 Servings

This recipe comes from Thai Cooking Made Easy — with this recipe, it lived up to its name. Cooked chicken is shredded and tossed with a bunch of veggies and a slightly spicy lime and fish sauce dressing. This would make a good starter to a larger meal.

Chris says:

Yum, guy! I like this salad.

Lisa says:

I thought the dressing was going to taste way too fishy when I mixed it up…

Chris says:

It’s totally fine — once you toss it in and mix everything together it’s not nearly as intense.

Lisa says:

This salad makes me hungry.

Chris says:

Not surprising… ain’t no carbs here!

Lisa says:

Promise me we’ll never do a low-carb diet.

Chris says:

How about we just don’t do any kind of diet?

Yum Gai - Thai Chicken Salad

• 2 cups water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb.)
• 1 medium tomato, cut into wedges
• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
• 2 green onions, cut into lengths
• minced cilantro
• 4 large lettuce leaves

For the Dressing:

• 1 tbsp sliced red chili
• 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar

Bring the water and salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat and poach the chicken for about 15 minutes or until cooked. Remove and set aside to cool. Shred the chicken into thin strips.
Combine the Dressing ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
In a large bowl, combine the chicken strips with the tomato, onion, cucumber, green onions, and cilantro. Pour the dressing over and toss thoroughly.
Line a serving platter with the lettuce leaves and top with the salad. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a starter or part of a larger meal.