Tagged With: Seafood
Pacific Seafood Halibut Escabeche
The first of the season Alaskan halibut has arrived, and we are thrilled! Considered the world’s premium whitefish, first of the season halibut are the best quality because the fat content of the fish is at its absolute peak. To celebrate the arrival of this delicacy from the icy north, we created an escabeche using our Pacific Seafood. This simple preparation is a luscious showcase of some of spring’s first fresh flavors.
Pacific Seafood Halibut Escabeche
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a 12-inch nonstick saute pan over medium heat
- When hot, add the halibut steaks and saute until golden, about 2-1/2 minutes per side
- Remove from pan and transfer to a dish large enough to hold all of the halibut in a single layer
- Set aside
- Using same oil and saute pan, saute onions, jalapenos, bay leaves and peppercorns until they are almost soft, about 4 minutes
- Add Pacific Seafood and saute for another minute until the onions and jalapenos are completely softened
- Stir in vinegar and cook at a simmer for about 5 minutes
- Pour mixture over the cooked halibut, being sure to spread over and around the halibut
- Top with remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil
- Serve at room temperature
Classic Crab Cakes
The first time I ever had a crab cake, I was thirteen and accompanying my dad on a business trip to San Francisco. We dined in the fanciest restaurant I’d ever been to, and I ordered the crab cake appetizer. It was tender, moist, perfectly seasoned, and it blew me away. I’ve attempted many times since to recreate it, with varying degrees of success. These beauties, however, elegantly spiced with our Classic Crab seasoning and a generous handful of tarragon, put that first memorable cake to shame! Do be sure to use Panko, the Japanese bread crumbs, for this recipe to get that lighter-than-air crust.
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
- Blend all ingredients together in a large bowl, taking care to leave some large pieces of crab claw meat intact.
- Form cakes in to handful-sized portions, about 5-6 oz., and dredge in remaining Panko. Sear in a hot, oiled skillet until golden brown on both sides, flipping only once, as the crab cakes are delicate and will fall apart with too much handling.
- Place seared crab cakes on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, and place in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes.
- Serve with a dollop of your favorite aioli. You can even just add some fresh lemon juice and zest to mayonnaise for a quick topping.
Piment d’Espelette Fish Stew
This hearty stew hits it on all notes — the high acid of the tomatoes and wine play against the sweetness of the deeply caramelized onion and fennel, the brine-y olives render the seafood right at home, and the Piment d’ Espelette… oh, the Espelette! The perfect balance of heat and complexity that clarifies this bounty of flavor, and unites it all in delicious harmony. If my fish-monger has them, I’ll often throw in a few oily little fish, like fresh anchovies or sardines, too… Just sear them whole, skins and all, in a bit of olive oil and add to the serving dishes.
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Peel and de-vein the shrimp, placing the shells in a medium pot and reserving the de-veined shrimp in a bowl, tossing with half the ground fennel to coat. Use the remaining ground fennel to season the fish fillets, and set aside.
- Add the stock, water, clam juice, wine, bay leaf, lemon rind and allspice berries to the pot with the shrimp shells; bring to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the broth through a wire strainer, discarding the shrimp shells and whole spices. Add potatoes to the broth, and simmer until fork-tender.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 4-quart soup pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of the Piment d’ Espelette. Cook for 12 to 14 minutes, stirring a few times, until the vegetables are tender and golden. Deglaze with the tomatoes, add the garlic, and simmer until reduced by half.
- Add broth to tomato and vegetable mixture, adding in the olives and sun dried tomatoes, and season to taste with salt and fresh pepper. Keep hot over medium low heat.
- Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of the oil and the butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat. Sear the fish until lightly browned, turning and cooking until just firm- do not overcook, as they will continue to cook in the hot broth when served. Transfer to a plate.
- Add the shrimp to the hot pan along with clams and/or mussels, along with a few generous ladles of broth, and cover tightly with a lid to steam open the bivalves.
- Place an equal portion of fish into serving bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the fish, garnishing each serving with shrimp, clams and mussels, chopped fennel fronds and a generous pinch of Piment d’ Espelette.
Piment d’Espelette
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Spice merchant Christmas is coming a little late this year, but it is well worth the wait! The current crop of Piment d’Espelette has arrived at our doorstep, ready to transform our soups, stews, rice pilafs, and most especially egg and fish dishes with its mild heat, and fruity, almost tomato-like flavor. A single sampling of this precious spice leaves no question as to why we are so excited by its arrival!
Piment d’Espelette (pepper of Espelette) originates in the area that joins the southwestern-most corner of France with northeastern Spain, a region historically known as Basque country. Piment d’ Espelette bears the distinction of being the only spice recognized by the AOC, or Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée. The AOC guarantees that products which bear its seal will be produced in traditional manners, and originate only from their traditional region (Champagne is a classic example). Therefore, only the superior pepper grown in the ten, tiny approved Basque villages may be labeled “Piment d’Espelette.”
Visits to this picturesque region in late summer and early fall yield visions of festoons of peppers, drying against white stucco houses as they have for centuries. Each October, the end of the Piment d’Espelette harvest is marked by a vibrant festival, complete with parade, that draws upwards of 20,000 tourists. There, the peppers are sold fresh, pickled, or dried and ground, as we carry it. At only 4,000 on the Scoville scale (as compared to 40,000 for Indian Cayenne), Piment d’Espelette’s mild flavor is the cornerstone of the traditional Basque stew piperade, a piquant concoction of peppers, tomatoes, onions, and on occasion, ham and eggs.
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In keeping with Basque tradition, we consume our Piment d’Espelette seasonally; making way for the new crop when it comes. The Basque have another tradition worth imitating- that of the txoko, or gastronomical society. Generations of Basques have gotten together to cook, sing, and experiment with food in thousands of private clubs. Pick up some of the freshest and most flavorful flakes of Piment d’Espelette available in the United States by the ounce, or sweetly packaged in a 1/2 ounce jar for your next txoko, or meeting of your foodie friends. On egin!
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Pacific Seafood Seared Scallops
We’re excited to announce we have a new blend! We’ve reformulated our Pacific Seafood blend, using bright notes of citrus and lemongrass; this Pacific Seafood blend incorporates flavors from the Pacific Northwest all the way to Thailand. Using a delicious process of trial-and-error, while taking into account staff and customer feedback, our fearless leader and accomplished blend artist Amanda created this blend for a wide variety of seafood. We all agree that using it as a rub for seared scallops is where it really shines. The versatility of the Pacific Seafood blend lets these scallops be the shinning star of a huge number of varying meals. Start with the recipe below and see where your culinary creativity takes you!
Pacific Seafood Seared Scallops with Thai Basil Smashed Potatoes, Lemongrass Beurre Blanc, and Avocado Salsa.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Generously season the flat side of each scallop with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Don't worry about over-salting with this blend, it's salt free!
- Press each scallop in to the Pacific Seafood Blend.
- Heat the oil and butter in a heavy bottom skillet until it is almost smoking.
- Carefully place each scallop in the pan, spice side down.
- Let the scallops get a nice dark crust on them. This will take 2-3 minutes. It is important not to move the scallops around while the crust is forming. Resist the urge to flip, nudge, or even touch them.
- Once you have a nice golden brown crust, flip the scallops and continue to cook for another minute or so.
- A perfectly done scallop will still have lots of "give" in it when gently pressed with a finger. If the scallop is hard or springy, it's overcooked.
Spicy Smoked Paprika Romesco Over Grilled Trout
Grilled trout topped with spicy romesco and slivered, toasted almonds.
My first taste of romesco was not, sadly, in Catalonia. I first encountered this crimson sauce in Walla Walla, Washington at a going away party for a dear foodie friend. I prepped ribs, halibut, and vegetables while my compatriot raced around the kitchen preparing “the sauce”. He toasted almonds, blistered heirloom tomatoes, roasted peppers and garlic, and (after several stops in the Cuisinart) it came out like ruby velvet. We served it with the halibut, where the rich sauce found its perfect match in the clean taste of the firm white fish.
That meal was my inspiration for this recipe. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but Seattle is my first city. I grew up in northeast Wisconsin, deep in the Northwoods, on the banks of the Wolf River. My home lies on Rocky Rips Road, a dead end named for the Class II whitewater that flows not 50 feet from my back porch. The rushing water was my lullaby as an infant, my playground as a child, and when I found my love for food the river continued to provide. Smallmouth bass hid out in the deep holes at the bottoms of rapids. I pulled gallons of crayfish out of the water with a pair of diving goggles and my bare hands (they’re amazing boiled like lobster and served over linguine with a spicy sauce of diced tomatoes, lemon, chiles, and heaps of garlic). My favorite, though, was the trout. It’s delicious, simple to prepare, and environmentally sustainable. You can pick up Idaho-farmed rainbow trout at many grocery stores for $5-$6/lb and they only take a few minutes to prepare. We grilled ours and served it with our very own romesco. We bumped up the sauce’s heat by adding some Pimenton Picante, spicy Spanish smoked paprika, while reducing the prep time by using jarred peppers and canned tomatoes. You wind up with a dish that’s impressive enough for date night and simple enough for any week night. It even gets Delilah’s paw of approval!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Put almonds in a food processor and process for about 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes and roasted peppers and process for another 2 minutes.
- Then add vinegar, salt, Pimenton, olive oil, and lemon, processing until smooth.
- Taste and adjust salt and vinegar if needed.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate in a covered container.
Real Fun With Real Wasabi®
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The best part of being a spice merchant is the taste-testing process… We’re pretty serious about only putting our name on things we love, so every now and again we’ll make a really over-the-top staff meal, mostly test out new blends and spices, but also not-so-secretly because we’re all gluttons. Our one spice merchant with a seafood allergy is off today, so of course, it was the day for homemade SUSHI with Real Wasabi®!
Real Wasabi® is a new offering for us. Wasabi is notoriously difficult to cultivate. This special product is grown in the traditional Japanese “Sawa” method, using constantly circulating spring water. This manner makes the rhizomes take longer until they’re mature enough to harvest- up to two or three years- but produces the cleanest, purest taste. When fresh, wasabi can be grated with ceramic or shark-skin graters to produce a paste, or sold dried as we carry it, and rehydrated in equal parts with water.
The flavor is grassy and vegetal; milder in heat than “faux” wasabi (the mix of horseradish, mustard, and food coloring that you know so well), and without the tear-inducing burn, either. The dried form is closer to army green than the neon-hued stuff you’re used to, and creamier in texture as well. Letting the paste stand covered for at least ten minutes allows the flavors to develop, so be sure to give it some time.
We enjoyed it as a condiment on these spicy tuna and scallop rolls, veggie rolls, black cod hand rolls, seared ahi and ahi sushi, Japanese barbequed black cod, flash-salt-cured and seared diver scallops, and yes, even some on this mango we salt cured on a Himalayan Salt Plate! We mixed a little in with some Japanese mayonnaise, too, and used it as a dipping sauce for those sugar peas. We might have to roll home from the shop today…
Aji Mirasol Salsa
Aji Mirasol Chiles, the dried form of the Aji Amarillo, are a unique chile pepper absent from the arsenal of many chefs. A staple of Peruvian cuisine, their uniquely fruity flavor make Aji Mirasols a versatile pepper; great in a wide variety of dishes, but especially salsa. You can use this salsa as a dip with tortilla or cassava chips, but it’s even better served with grilled meat or seafood. Aji Mirasol Salsa is the perfect accompaniment for anticuchos, the grilled meat kebabs that are classic Peruvian street food. The combination of fresh citrus, cilantro and the slightly spicy Aji Mirasol chiles just begs to be eaten with grilled halibut, shrimp, chicken, pork or goat. Try some at your next barbecue and wow your guests with one-of-a-kind South American flair!
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Snip stems from chiles, then cut lengthwise, and remove ribs and seeds. Cut chiles into 1" pieces, and place in heat-proof bowl. Pour boiling water over chiles until just covered, and allow to sit 30 minutes.
- Strain chiles, reserving liquid, and place in blender with 3/4 cup of the liquid. Add 1 tsp. salt, and blend until smooth. Strain the paste through a sieve, pushing through patiently. (The flavor and texture will be worth the effort!) Discard pulp remaining in sieve.
- Whisk in the onion and lime, and salt to taste. Add the chopped fresh cilantro, mint and parsely, and stir. Allow to sit at least 15 minutes for flavors to meld.
Yucatan Rojo Fish Tacos
I don’t know about you, but this sunshine activates my wanderlust something fierce! Long days, hot sun… I crave a remote beach and what I like to call “barefoot cuisine.” Near the top of my travel list is a combination yoga and surfing retreat on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula… As a mum, a student, and a spice merchant, my travel budget is limited, so I have to rely on the transportive quality of food, for the time being. These tacos do just the trick! Far from the oily, breaded fish tacos you’ve had before, these are perfect summer fare, getting their flavor from beautiful swordfish, the smoke of the grill, and the tangy, complex flavor of World Spices’ Yucatan Rojo BBQ Rub. The creamy and crunchy slaw and the crisp, spicy pickled vegetables are refreshing in their acidity, and a perfect complement to the dense corn tortillas. Garnish with plenty of fresh cilantro, and if you’ve got them, slices of buttery avocado. With my eyes closed and taco in hand, the Yucatan Peninsula comes to me!
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Cut fish into 1 inch strips. Toss the fish and the rub into a Ziploc bag, making sure that the fish is covered with the spice. Refrigerate overnight.
- Combine all of the ingredients for the pickled veggies together in a covered container, and let them marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
- Combine all of the ingredients for the slaw together in a large bowl. Taste for seasoning (you might want to add more salt). Transfer into a covered container and refrigerate.
- Season the fish with salt and a squeeze of lime, and grill quickly over high heat, lightly brushing with a little oil once the pieces have been flipped.
- Heat the tortillas on both sides on the grill. Put a spoonful of slaw on the tortilla, then some grilled fish, then top with the pickled veggies, sliced avocado and tomatoes.
- Enjoy!
Caribbean Spice Grilled Salsa
Fresh pineapple tastes of a wild summer, its tropical sweetness tempered by raucous acidity. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find a ripe one and some folks can be overwhelmed by the tartness. My favorite way to tame pineapple is to cook it slowly until the pale yellow becomes a rich gold and the sugars take center stage, as in this grilled salsa. Make sure to place your pineapple slices away from the hottest parts of the grill; caramelized pineapple requires time (20-30 minutes) and indirect heat. Our Caribbean Spice, with the richness of allspice berries, is the perfect blend for this salsa. A bit of extra cumin adds an intense savory note that’s perfect for grilling. While I broke everything down in a food processor for the smoother texture and ease of preparation, fans of chunky salsa can chop everything together by hand. The smoky flavor from the grill counterpoints the sweetness of the pineapple and tomato perfectly, leaving you with a well balanced and delicious side for tortilla or plantain chips, chicken, and fish.
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Lightly oil the pineapple, tomato and onion, so that they won't stick to the hot grill (or grill pan). Place on the grill and cook on both sides, until almost done. (You mostly want to get good grill marks on them - that's flavor! You can also grill your citrus, too. It will make them easier to juice, and give you a little more flavor, but you might want to let them cool before you juice them.) After you take them off the grill, cut them into smaller pieces for the food processor.
- In a food processor, add the garlic and ginger and process. (This will just break them down a little bit.) Now put in the rest of the ingredients the food processor and puree. Taste for seasoning - you might want to add more salt, lime juice or Caribbean Spice, depending on your taste. Depending on how sweet your fruit is, you might want to add more honey, too.
- This is a great topping for grilled meats or fish, but is also just as good with chips.
