Steamed Haddock and Pasta

Here's a picture of me posing in my chef's hat(ridiculous!) and in my new blue scarf (thank you Dee and Lorein!)

Enough about fashion...on to the fish:

Steamed Haddock, Soy Pasta with White Bean/Carrot/Ginger Sauce and Steamed Swiss Chard
At the Market:
Saturday has become synonymous with seafood here at the well fed chemist’s house. Saturday means the European Market is open which, in turn, means my favorite fish guy is ready with fresh delights from the Maine coast. This weekend I tried the haddock for the first time and picked up a pound of scallops because I just can't resist them. While at the market I also picked up radishes, swiss chard, bok choy, purple kale, brussel sprouts and carrots from the vegetable stand. The months of January-March will be tough when the folks from Fisher Farm stop bringing in their lush veggies to Bangor.
Inspirations:
I’ve cooked fillets of red snapper by steaming them in a Thai-style marinade before. You place a metal steam basket in a large pot with about an inch or so of water in the pot. Then you place the fish in a pie plate with the marinade and place the whole thing on top of the steam basket. Cover, set on high heat and you wind up with a delicious, moist, flaky and flavorful fish. For the pasta, I wanted to take advantage of two things. First of all I am totally psyched that soy bean pasta exists, and that its texture is chewy and that it doesn’t fall apart like some wheat-free pastas. And soy bean pasta is made from whole soy beans, and no other ingredients. Not bad! For the sauce, since I don’t frequently eat tomatoes, I’m always looking for other options. I know that white beans, when blended, are rich and creamy. The idea was to use the white beans in conjunction with cooked carrots and ginger to make a creamy, flavorful sauce.
How it Went:
Steamed Haddock in a Thai Marinade:
Into a pyrex pie dish
I added about ½ a tablespoon of Fish Sauce to
the juice from two limes,
a heaping tablespoon of rice syrup,
a copped jalepeno pepper,
2 Tbs thinly sliced red pepper
and 2-3 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro.
In went the fish and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.
I marinated the fish for about ½ an hour and then placed the pie dish on top of a steam basket in a large stock pot. The pot contained about 1-2” of water. I covered and steamed.
Analysis of Fish: Depending on the thickness of the fish, the cooking time will vary. I am always nervous about overcooking fish and this evening was no exception. I took the fish out a little early so it was still fairly translucent in the middle. I recommend steaming the fish until it completely flakes. The fish will stay tender because of all the marinade. Serve the fish with the marinade drizzled over the top. You may want to add salt and pepper to taste.
Steamed Bok Choy:
It was great! Do not overcook and drizzle with a little rice vinegar. LOVELY!
Soy Pasta with White Bean/Carrot/Ginger sauce (puree)
I used a lot of white beans cooked with wakame sea vegetable and 1 small onion.
When the beans were just shy of done I added chunks of carrot and minced fresh ginger. When everything was soft but not mushy, I pureed the mixture in the blender, in batches, until smooth.
Analysis of Pasta:
The sauce is a good idea, but in the future I will use about ½ cup cooked white beans to 1 cup of carrots. I will also use garlic (which I was out of at the time). I think this recipe will be good once the proportions are worked on a little bit. This time I garnished with some chopped pine nuts. The sauce is already fairly rich, so including the pine nuts is a matter of taste. Some flat leaf Italian parsley would also be nice to lighten up this fairly rich meal.
We also had a lovely salad: Some chopped Dulse sea vegetable makes a big difference to the taste of a salad!