Casablanca

A few weeks ago I went over to a friend’s apartment for dinner and a movie—the first of (hopefully many) themed dinner and movie nights.  Same idea as a book club, picking out a movie and making a dinner that somehow ties into the location.  Somehow I had never seen Casablanca before, so we ordered it from Netflix and made a Moroccan dish to have while watching the movie.  The end result was a riff on a chicken tagine which was both healthy and delicious.  We decided not to follow a recipe and just used a general cooking method with whatever vegetables looked good at the grocery store.  That’s the beauty of this recipe; it’s so adaptable to your tastes and would be good with any combination of spices and vegetables.  Start by chopping your vegetables—here, we chose zucchini, carrots, tomatoes, leeks, new potatoes, and chickpeas.  Then, take chicken legs, thighs, and breasts, heavily coated them with a spice mixture of salt, pepper, cumin, curry, turmeric, and cayenne, and browned them in olive oil.  Remove the chicken, add one chopped onion and a couple garlic cloves, sautee vegetables, add the chicken back in with some broth, cover and simmer until done.  Once the initial chopping is done, it’s a very hands-off dinner, allowing for a glass of wine as everything cooks.  It is perfect when served over a bed of couscous or warm pita.

Casablanca was one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time.  Granted I haven’t seen a movie in a while, but I loved it nonetheless.  The WWII-era expats living in Morocco, the corrupt Nazis, the drinking, the music, the clothes, the iconic quotes (“Here’s looking at you, kid”), the striking beauty of Ingrid Bergman… I guess there is a reason it’s always on those “best moves of all time” lists.  It made me realize that there are so many classic old films I haven’t seen and need to add to my list; Roman Holiday, Citizen Kane, The African Queen, La Dolce Vita… looks like I have a lot of move-watching to do.  And I’m sure I can come up with some food to go along with them.

Salmon with Fennel-Orange Salad

Though I love cooking, there are times that I feel uninspired and at a loss of what I want to cook-- or even what I want to eat.  This mostly happens mid-week, when I'm so exhausted and pre-occupied that I can't think of anything fun, new, or exciting to make.  

There are others times, however, when I do have inspiration...whether by a recipe I've seen in a cookbook or blog, or a restaurant dish I want to re-create, or by a craving so specific that I know exactly what I want to make and how to make it. 

Today I had a fennel bulb in my fridge, which is an ingredient I absolutely love but haven't had in a while-- which meant I couldn't wait to create a meal around it.  The resulting dish is very reminiscent of something my mom used to make a lot during the summer.  The gorgeous stretch of weather we've had in New York called for something crisp, light, and with minimal cooking.  This recipe is easily adaptable and would be great with some substitutions here are there-- grapefruit or even mango for the orange, scallions for the red onion, or swordfish or tuna for the salmon.

Salmon with Fennel-Orange Salad

serves 1

for the salmon

1 6-oz filet of salmon

1 tbls. white wine

1 tbls lemon juice

lemon zest

salt and pepper, to taste

for the salad

1/4 fennel bulb, very thinly sliced

1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced

1 navel orange, zested and segmented

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 handful arugula

1/4 avocado, diced

4 basil leaves, sliced into chiffonade

for the dressing

1 tsp. dijon mustard

1 tbls. lemon juice

1 tbls. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tbls. olive oil 

salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375.  Combine the fennel, red onion, orange segments, orange zest, tomatoes, and arugula in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Slowly add in olive oil while whisking constantly, until dressing is fully combined.  Pour over salad, toss to combine.  Gently fold in avocado and basil so they do not bruise; set aside to let flavors come together.

2. Line a baking sheet with foil.  Place salmon in center of the foil square and season with salt and pepper.  Fold up sides of foil to create a packet around salmon.  Top with lemon juice and wine, and seal foil packet tightly.  Cook for 20-23 minutes, until salmon is just opaque in the center.

3. Assemble by putting a little a heaping mound of salad in the center of your plate.  Top with the salmon still hot from the oven, so arugula and fennel begin to slightly wilt.  Pour over any dressing remaining in the mixing bowl.