January 21, 2023 Brunch - Eggs with Roasted Root Vegetables, Spinach, and Sautéed Red Cabbage and apples Dinner - Fried Rockfish with Tomato and Spinach Couscous

January 21, 2023 Brunch - Eggs with Roasted Root Vegetables, Spinach,  and Sautéed Red Cabbage and apples  Dinner - Fried Rockfish with Tomato and Spinach Couscous

Willy came by around 10:30 to watch Newcastle v Crystal Palace and cook breakfast.  I found a container of PPI Roasted Root Vegetables and the PPI braised red cabbage with apples and Asian Pear that Willy wanted to cook with some fresh spinach.

We made tea and then Willy started sautéing the vegetables. I destemmed a handful of spinach leaves that he threw in with three whisked eggs.

Suzette arrived as Willy finished the eggs and I toasted and buttered two slices of baguette and made herself a Bloody Mary after having spent most of the night at the Center with an employee issue.

After we ate Willy left and I worked on several cases until 2:45 when the Jacksonville v. Kansas City AFC Playoff started.

Suzette napped until 3:30 when we shared bowls of popcorn and watched the game.

At 5:00 I received a call from Henry, whose case I had worked on earlier to thank me and compliment me on the excellence of the effort.  I was pleased and committed to finishing the discovery request.

The game ended around 5:30 and the NFC match up between The Giants and Philadelphia began at 6:15.  

I bought a 5 lb. bag of dried fava beans at El Super on Thursday so we researched how to cook dried Fava beans and picked a recipe that recommended bringing them to a boil and then letting them cool and then  putting them in fresh water and cooking them at a simmer for 3 or 4 hours.  Suzette found our ceramic bean pot and we started the adventure of cooking our first pot of fava beans.

I diced a small brown onion and seven or eight cloves of garlic that Suzette combined with the water and some cumin seeds when the cooking began after the soaking. 

We then started 

Dinner.

Suzette suggested skillet frying four of the Rockfish filets she had thawed.

I suggested cooking tomato and spinach couscous to accompany the fried fish because it would be quicker.

The fried fish - Suzette patted cumin and z’ atar onto the filets.

  

Even though it varies greatly depending on where you are in the Middle East (specific recipes are sometimes closely-guarded secrets!), za'atar is generally a combination of dried oregano, thyme, and/or marjoram (woodsy and floral), with sumac (tangy and acidic) and toasted sesame seeds (nutty and rich).

She then fried the za’atar coated fish filets in 1/4. Inch of oil.

The Couscous- 

Suzette fetched a tomato from the garage.  I then diced the tomato and destemmed a cup of baby spinach leaves Suzette had bought from the container Suzette bought at Costco last week.

While the fish were frying we put 3 - 4 T. of butter in a two quart sauce pan and melted it. Suzette put the tomato. And spinach into the boiling butter. I poured in 1 cup of couscous and stirred while Suzette heated water in the kettle.

In a minute or two when the couscous and vegetables were coated with butter and cooked a bit Suzette added 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cup of boiling water to the pot and I covered the pot and cooked the couscous mixture for a couple of minutes to cook it and build up steam.  I then turned down the heat to its lowest level and cooked several more minutes.  Then I turned up the heat for a minute and then opened the lid and stirred the mixture. Then I covered the pan and cooked the couscous ay a low temperature to build up the steam again.  Then I turned off the heat and let the couscous steam and fluff up.  This entire process takes six or seven minutes.

                                                        The Couscous
                

I like my couscous moist, so I use 1 3/4 cups of water to 1 cup of couscous.  The couscous is also easier to reheat if it is moist.

When the couscous was ready the fish filets had been fried to light brown on both sides.

Suzette suggested tartare sauce, which I wanted also, so she fetched the mayonnaise and pickle relish and I squeezed juice of 1/4 lemon into a bowl and added 1/2 cup of Mayo and 1 T. of pickle relish that made a loose, creamy tartare sauce when mixed together.

Suzette poured the last of the bottle of Vara sparkling Carinena with the oysters last night.

Carignan (Carinena) Wine. The oft-unsung workhorse of the Mediterranean, Carignan is a red wine grape that likes warm weather and (given its high tannin, acidity and color) mixing with others. Carignan (Cariñena in Spain, Carignane in the USA) is a black-skinned wine grape variety, most likely native to Aragon.

Suzette then laid two fried fish fillets on a pile of couscous and added a spoonful of the tartare sauce to each of two plates.

We enjoyed dinner and Suzette said she wanted to make fish tacos with the rest of the Rockfish. 

I said, “Sounds good to me.”

After dinner watch watched the football game, but I soon lost interest because Philadelphia dominated the Giants.  We watched a rerun of SNL from 2010 hosted by Sigourney Weaver, Suzette had not slept last night because she had gone to the Center for a staffing problem at 2:30, so she went to bed at 8:30.

I went to bed when the game ended around 9:30 and slept until 12:00 when I awakened and watched SNL and finished this blog and added water to the bean pot.

Bon Appetit