Tonight I made another recipe from The Olive and The Caper, and this time it featured both of those ingredients. Swordfish marinated in lemon and olive oil is skewered with onions and bay leaves, grilled, and served with an olive and caper tapenade. I followed the recipe as listed below, except that I used less oil than called for. We had asparagus and broccoli cheese couscous on the side.

Lisa says:

Everything’s salty — this is my dream dinner! I usually don’t like olives, but that tapenade is really good. The marinade on the swordfish is so flavorful!

Chris says:

Wow, this rules. I didn’t think bay leaves were used in anything but stews and sauces for flavoring. You can really taste the flavor of them on the onions. Yeah, the tapenade is pretty salty, and so is the couscous — actually that couscous is pretty vile.

Lisa says:

Yeah, I can’t tell if I like it, or if it tastes like vomit.

Chris says:

There’s a winning endorsement… I’m just glad we also had the asparagus. Let’s definitely make that swordfish again, it was delicious.

Swordfish Kebabs with Olive and Caper Tapenade
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1 cup lemon and oil marinade (Recipe Follows)
8 to 10 bay leaves, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 1/2 pound swordfish, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
1 large onion, quartered, layers separated
2 cups Olive and Caper Tapenade (Recipe Follows)

Marinade:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
Stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Olive and Caper Tapenade:
3/4 cup pitted Kalamata or other Greek black olives
4 large cloves garlic
4 anchovy fillets, preferably salt-packed
3/4 cup capers, drained
1/2 packed cup fresh basil leaves
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until chopped as fine as possible.

Place the marinade and the bay leaves in a dish that is large enough to hold all the swordfish chunks in one layer. Add the swordfish and onion and turn to coat it in the marinade. Marinate for 20 to 30 minutes at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours. Turn the fish once or twice while it is marinating. When you are ready to cook swordfish, heat a grill to medium-hot. String an onion section, a piece of bay leaf, and then a swordfish chunk in a skewer. Repeat, in that order, until the skewer is filled, ending with a piece of onion. Fill all the skewers in this fashion. If there are extra onion sections left over, thread them on a separate skewer and cook them along with the others. Place the skewers on the grill and cook, turning once, just until white curds form on top of the fish and the centers are still a bit pink, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer the skewers to a platter and let them sit for the juices to settle, 5 minutes. Arrange the skewers on a platter and serve right away, accompanied by the tapenade.

Tonight we tag-teamed dinner, with Lisa making a cilantro-tomatillo rice while I took care of the chicken and salsa. The recipes were from two different sources, but went really, really well with each other. We loved the smoky tomato salsa, it was excellent with both the chicken and the rice. The grilled chicken recipe is from Healthy Latin Cooking, and the Green Rice is from Cooking Light. We cut both of the recipes in half to serve 2.

Also, hooray! Our 50th post!

Orange-Marinated Grilled Chicken with Smoky Tomato Salsa
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CHICKEN AND MARINADE
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz each)
salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tbsp lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)

SALSA
2 large tomatoes
1 small onion, quartered
2 cloves garlic
2 canned chipotle peppers
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2-3 tbsp lime juice
salt and ground pepper

4 sprigs cilantro

Chicken and Marinade: Season each chicken breast with salt and pepper, and place in a 13″x9″ baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, and oil (if using). Whisk and pour over chicken. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 60 minutes.

Salsa: While the chicken is marinating, preheat the grill over high heat. Place the tomatoes, onions, and garlic on the grill and roast, turning occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the skins are charred and blistered. (Skewer the garlic to keep them from falling through the grate. Transfer to a plate to cool. When the vegetables are cool enough to handle, peel off most, but not all, of the burnt skin. (The few pieces of charred skin left will add a nice flavor.) In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and chipotle peppers. Puree until smooth. Stir in the chopped cilantro and 2 tbsps of the lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, add more lime juice to taste. Let cool to room temperature.

Assemble and cook: Just before serving, preheat the grill to high heat. Grill the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side or until done. Spoon one-quarter of the salsa in a pool on each of 4 plates. Place a grilled chicken breast in the center of each and garnish with a cilantro sprig.

Green Rice
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6 large tomatillos (about 3/4 lb)
2 tbsp water
1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
4 tsp minced seeded jalapeno peppers
1/2 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups uncooked long grain rice

Discard husks and stems from the tomatillos. Cook the tomatillos in boiling water in a medium saucepan for 4 minutes or until soft; drain. Combine the tomatillos and 2 teaspoons water in a blender and process until smooth. Pour the tomatillo mixture into a 4 cup glass measure, and add enough water to mixture to measure 2& 1/2 cups. Combine the tomatillo mixture, cilantro, jalapeno, salt and garlic in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Add rice; cover mixture, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and fluff with fork.

We were short on time to prepare dinner tonight, so we had Ahi Tuna Burgers from Whole Foods, and found a good onion salsa recipe to garnish it (along with some wasabi mayo!), and a grilled portobello recipe as a side. We also grilled some bell peppers, green onions, and tomato. We heart grilled veggies.

Grilled Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
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2/3 cup chopped plum tomato
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh or 1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 (5-inch) portobello mushroom caps
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
Cooking spray
2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley

Prepare grill.
Combine the tomato, cheese, 1/2 teaspoon oil, rosemary, pepper, and garlic in a small bowl.
Remove brown gills from the undersides of mushroom caps using a spoon, and discard gills. Remove stems; discard. Combine 1/2 teaspoon oil, juice, and soy sauce in a small bowl; brush over both sides of mushroom caps. Place the mushroom caps, stem sides down, on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill for 5 minutes on each side or until soft.
Spoon 1/4 cup tomato mixture into each mushroom cap. Cover and grill 3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serves 4

Onion Salsa
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2 cups chopped Maui onion (or other sweet onion)
1/2 cup minced scallions
1/4 cup pickled ginger, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp Asian sesame oil
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fresh lime juice

Mix all ingredients, place in bowl in refrigerator to allow flavors to mix.

Our main dish tonight was this grilled beef tenderloin, with chimichurri sauce and grilled sweet onions. Tender, highly flavorful, and surprisingly quick. Both the steak and chimichurri recipes are from Healthy Latin Cuisine.

Nicaraguan Grilled Beef Tenderloin
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1 lb beef tenderloin, trimmed of all visible fat
salt and ground black pepper
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp sherry
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp red-wine vinegar
4 large sweet onions, cut crosswise into 1/2″-thick slices
1/2 cup chimichurri (recipe below)

Lay the beef on a cutting board with the long side facing you. Holding a sharp knife parallel to the board, cut the beef through the side lengthwise into 4 flat, even slices. Place each slice between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound with the side of a cleaver to a thickness of 1/4″. Season each slice with salt and pepper and place in a 13″x9″ baking dish.
In a small bowl, combine the thinly sliced onions, parsley, garlic, sherry, bay leaves, and red-wine vinegar. Mix, and pour over the meat. Cover and marinate for 15 minutes, turning once.
Preheat the grill to high.
Coat the sweet onions with nonstick spray. Place on a grill tray and grill for 4 minutes per side, or until nicely browned. Turn carefully with a metal spatula. Transfer to a platter.
Drain the beef and discard the marinade. Grill the beef for 2 minutes per side for medium-rare, or slightly longer for medium. Arrange the beef on top of the onions, top with chimichurri.

4 servings

Chimichurri
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1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, minced
1 carrot, minced
1 small onion, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, minced
4-8 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3-5 tbsp white-wine vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp red-pepper flakes
salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, starting with just 3 tbsp of the vinegar. Whisk to mix. The sauce should be highly seasoned; add more salt and vinegar, if desired. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

2 cups

It’s been pretty warm here lately, so we’ve been planning recipes that rely heavily on grilling outdoors as to not heat up the kitchen. This grilled chicken and noodles dish was delicious, and the marinade smelled fantastic. I’m always pleasantly surprised at how little oil goes into a lot of the Vietnamese and Thai recipes we make at home. We’ll definitely be making this one again. The recipe below is adapted from Williams-Sonoma Asian Cooking, and the nuoc cham is from Authentic Vietnamese Cooking.

Vietnamese Grilled Chicken with Rice Noodles
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1.5 lb chicken breast
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/6 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp chinese rice wine
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp peanut oil
1/4 lb rice vermicelli, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes
Nuoc Cham (see below)
1 thai pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/8 cup very finely julienned carrots
4 or 5 cilantro sprigs

Cut the chicken breasts into large pieces and set aside in a shallow bowl. In a mortar, combine the garlic, shallot, cilantro, lime leaves, salt, and pepper and grind together with a pestle to form a paste. Transfer the paste to a bowl and stir in the coconut milk, fish sauce, rice wine, soy sauce, and peanut oil. Pour the marinade over the chicken pieces and turn to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Set a grill to high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the grill, turning until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Lower the grill heat to medium, cover, and continue to heat the chicken until cooked through.
Just before the chicken is ready, bring a saucepan full of water to a boil. Add the rice vermicelli and cook until tender, about 1 minute. Drain, place in a bowl, and toss with 1/8 cup of the Nuoc Cham.
Divide the noodles between two serving plates and arrange the chicken on top. Garnish with the chili pepper, carrots, and cilantro sprigs. Serve with the remaining Nuoc Cham for dipping.

Serves 2.

Nuoc Cham
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Makes about 2 cups
2 1/2 tbsps sugar
1 1/2 tbsps water
1/6 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Thai chili, minced

Whisk together the sugar, water, fish sauce, and lime juice in a bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the garlic and chili, then let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

Makes approx. 1 cup.