5 easy steps to a healthy fish dinner, cooking with Middle Eastern spices

A pan of Icelandic haddock with fresh spinach, eggplant slices, cherry tomatoes, pitted olives and other ingredients takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and cook. Complete the meal with a glass of wine and a big salad, below.

 

A 1-pound package of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix was $4.89 at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro. Small cucumbers were $2.50 a pound at ShopRite in Paramus.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I love the ease of preparing a fish medley -- a fresh, wild-caught fillet cut into serving pieces and combined with fresh spinach, pitted olives, tomato, shredded cheese and other ingredients.

You pop the pan into a preheated 400-degree oven and in 15 minutes or less, dinner is served.

The Fish Dock, owned and operated by Icelanders, is where I first encountered and purchased a medley, but because the seafood market is about 10 miles away, I usually make my own version at home.

See the photos below for how to assemble a medley: 

I lined a large pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil and added about a half-pound or more of fresh organic spinach ($3.99 for a 1-pound package at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro), drizzled the spinach with extra-virgin olive oil and added a little sea salt.

I added thin slices of a small eggplant from my garden and brushed them with extra-virgin olive oil.

 

Then, I added pieces from two skinless and boneless fillets of fresh wild-caught Icelandic Haddock ($8.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale), topping the fish with fresh lime juice, Aleppo red pepper, cut up cheery tomatoes from my garden, pitted black olives and a reduced-fat shredded cheese.

Torn basil and mint leaves from my garden were the last touch before I put the pan into a preheated 400-degree oven for up to 15 minutes. This time, I pulled the pan out after 12 minutes and the fish was cooked through. The 2.36-pounds of fish is more than enough for four people, at a cost of about $5.25 each.

The finished dish. The high heat toasted the herbs, but the haddock remained moist and flaked beautifully.

The next day, I enjoyed some of the leftovers over organic brown rice I had prepared in a rice cooker with organic chicken stock, organic diced tomatoes and organic beans.

A breakfast or dinner side dish of fresh spinach is a snap to prepare in a non-stick pan over medium or medium-high heat with a little olive and sesame oils, plus cheap sake or just a little water. Here, I added two Middle Eastern spices -- ground Aleppo red pepper and za'atar, a dried thyme mixture with salt, both of which I buy at Fattal's, a bakery, grocery store and butcher shop at 975-77 Main St. in Paterson.

Aleppo red pepper is a mildly spicy accent for omelets, fish, soups and whole organic eggs. Here, I served the eggs over boiled skin-on sweet potatoes and peeled garlic cloves mashed with extra-virgin olive oil and seasoned with a little salt and just about every spice I have, including ground cinnamon, curry powder, red-pepper flakes and black pepper.

This week, we go shopping for tires, tofu and turkey necks

Whole Foods Market at Bergen Town Center in Paramus.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

It's no secret Costco Wholesale has great prices on food, especially for a growing number of organic items.

But the Hackensack warehouse store is just as appealing for its inexpensive clothing -- including 100% cotton dress and casual shirts for men, and slacks imported from Italy -- and even tires, among many other non-food products.

This week, I sent my wife to Costco's tire store for Michelin Energy Saver tires for her 2010 Toyota Prius, a gas-electric hybrid.

Instead, she came home with another fuel-efficient tire, the Michelin Defender, which has an astounding 90,000 mile tread-wear warranty, compared to 65,000 miles for the Energy Saver.

The tires were $115.99 each, but Michelin offered a coupon for another $70 off on the purchase of four. 

And we'll eventually get $14.89 back in credit card and Costco rebates on the total price of $496.64, including mounting and balancing.

The only disadvantage to buying tires at the Hackensack Costco is that you have to go elsewhere to have your wheels aligned.

Fresh wild-caught Ocean Perch from H Mart in  Little Ferry prepared with sweet peppers, above, and seasoned and pan fried, below. They were $2.99 a pound on Sunday, when the Korean supermarket offered free seafood tastings, including boiled octopus and broiled eel.

Tofu, mangoes and fish

At H Mart in Little Ferry on Sunday, I picked up fresh whole Ocean Perch for $2.99 a pound, and a 1-pound tray of Stewed Tofu for $5.99.

A tray of kimbap -- a seaweed, rice and vegetable roll with Korean pickles -- was $4.79.

Stewed tofu from H Mart, right front, can be eaten cold right out of the refrigerator or warmed up with other side dishes.

With a store card, a 15-pound bag of Hukukome Medium-Grain White Rice, product of the U.S.A., was on sale for $11.99, and a box of 16 mangoes was $10.99, a discount of $4.

A 16-portion box of Shin Ramyun, a spicy noodle soup, also was on sale, for $9.99.

Two packages of fresh Oyster Mushrooms were $2.49 or half price.

A seedless watermelon was on sale for $4.99, compared to a little larger watermelon I bought at ShopRite for $6.99.

Organic quinoa prepared in an electric cooker with organic black beans and organic diced tomatoes.

Turkey necks, salsa

I stopped at Whole Foods Market in Paramus on Tuesday for 16-ounce jars of Roasted Chipotle Salsa and Roasted Salsa Verde ($2.69 each).

For dinner, I used the chipotle salsa to poach the Icelandic haddock fillets my wife bought at Costco Wholesale for $8.99 a pound on Tuesday, the day she had the new tires installed.

At Whole Foods, I also picked up packages of frozen turkey necks and backs for soup ($1.99 a pound), and a 3-pound-plus package of fresh chicken drumsticks, also on sale for $1.99 a pound.

All Whole Foods poultry is antibiotic free.

I also found small, juicy Sonya Apples from New Zealand on sale for $1.99 a pound.

A can of Organic Black Beans was $1.29.

At home, the black beans went into a rice cooker along with two cups of organic quinoa, a can of organic diced tomatoes, four cups of organic chicken broth or water, and extra-virgin olive oil.

I served the quinoa dish with the haddock, using the salsa the fish was cooked in as a sauce.

Organic whole-wheat pasta

At ShopRite in Paramus, I stocked up on Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Pasta from Italy, including spaghetti, linguine and capellini.

At $1.25 for a 1-pound package, this is lowest price I've found for organic whole wheat pasta, beating Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's.

Also at ShopRite, Golden Pineapples were reduced to $1.97 each.

Bones in my seafood frittata, fresh spinach and salsa in my omelet

A homemade seafood frittata uses leftover pan-fried red snapper and smoked wild salmon, plus whole eggs and whites, reduced-fat cheese, tomatoes and prepared pesto. The baked sweet potato with it is flavored with Mateo's Gourmet Salsa from Costco Wholesale.

Editor's note: With great ingredients available at Costco Wholesale, H Mart and Whole Foods Market, preparing meals at home is a snap, and a big money saver over takeout or dinner out at a restaurant.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We had leftovers from three large red snappers my wife seasoned and pan fried, a few slices of smoked wild salmon, egg whites and three whole eggs.

I could make a seafood frittata, I thought, adding plum tomato slices, sun-dried tomatoes, reduced-fat Swiss cheese and prepared pesto.

But I wasn't careful when stripping the red snapper head and part of the body, and ended up with bones in my frittata.

The tail end of a seasoned and pan-fried whole red snapper ($6.99 a pound at H Mart in Englewood), served for dinner with steamed carrots and baby bok choy.

I spooned on Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale after removing the 10-inch seafood frittata from the oven, where it browned under the broiler. The thick egg mixture I started with contained red snapper, grated cheese and a little reduced-fat lactose-free milk, all poured into a hot, oiled non-stick pan on the stove. When the bottom set, I moved the frittata to the oven.

I used two whole organic eggs and a little reduced-fat lactose-free milk, both from Costco Wholesale, for an omelet stuffed with reduced-fat Swiss cheese, fresh spinach and Mateo's mild salsa. I served it with leftover organic quinoa prepared in an electric rice cooker with organic diced tomatoes, organic chicken broth and whole peeled garlic cloves, and a baked sweet potato.

Organic quinoa also was the foundation for a dinner of fresh wild Icelandic Haddock Fillets from Costco Wholesale ($8.99 a pound), poached in thick Roasted Poblano Salsa from Whole Foods Market, diluted with a little red wine and fresh lime juice. 

I never get tired of a classic pasta sauce without a hint of red

Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale dressing Garofalo Whole Wheat Pappardelle from Jerry's Gourmet in Englewood. I served the pasta on Wednesday night with stove top-grilled Chinese eggplant that was on sale for 49 cents a pound at H Mart, also in Englewood.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss my 40-year love affair with a classic pasta sauce, the best buy in pomegranates and side dishes from H Mart. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I first tasted pesto, the pasta sauce packed with fragrant fresh basil leaves, in the early 1970s at a seaside Italian restaurant on the French Riviera.

By the late 1980s, I was buying a case of fresh basil leaves every summer, making two-cup, freezable portions from a blender recipe I found in a Marcella Hazan cookbook and enjoying pesto through the winter.

I never fell out of love with pesto, but found the versions served in restaurants often lacked enough basil to deliver the magical taste I remember from that restaurant in Nice, not far from Genoa, Italy, where it originated. 

Not only does pesto give you a break from red pasta sauces, the dressing gets its richness from grated cow's and sheep's milk cheeses, extra-virgin olive oil and pine nuts -- not the artery clogging cream and butter you'd find in Alfredo Sauce. 

Besto pesto from Costco

In recent years, I've relied on Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale ($7.99 for a 22-ounce jar) to dress pasta, spread on sandwich bread, and add to soup, frittatas and omelets.

On Wednesday, I took out the jar of Costco pesto I had in the refrigerator, boiled water, added a pound of whole-wheat pappardelle and cooked it for 10 minutes.

I returned the drained pasta to the same pot, with the fire off; added about two-thirds of the pesto, mixed them well and served the wide, mouth-filling noodles with grilled eggplant and a salad for a delicious dinner.

I put the remaining pesto in the freezer.

The pesto's use-by date isn't written in stone, as I've found with some other products from Costco, such as Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix.

Two of the large pomegranates my wife bought at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, above, yielded 4 to 5 cups of seeds, below. Six large pomegranates were $14.99.

Pomegranate season

You can find pomegranates at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, H Mart in Little Ferry and ShopRite in Paramus, among other stores.

But their size, weight and price differ, making them difficult to compare in terms of which one is the best buy.

I've sprinkled pomegranate seeds over hot cereal and salad, and eaten them with a spoon. I'm wondering whether I can cook with them.

For example, the crunchy, sweet-and-sour seeds might taste great as a garnish for steamed organic brown rice or quinoa.

But can I put them in an electric cooker with the other ingredients or should I add them just before I serve the rice or quinoa? Stay tuned.

I found a Persian recipe for Jeweled Rice with pomegranate seeds sprinkled over the dish. Here is a link:

Persian Jeweled Rice (with Nuts and Dried Fruit) 

My wife simply cuts the pomegranate in half and removes the seeds with her fingers over the container we use to store them in the refrigerator.

This morning, a display of pomegranates at the ShopRite in Paramus was missing a price sign. The store circular said they are on sale for 99 cents each through Saturday. 

A ShopRite pomegranate weighed less than 1 pound.

A Costco pomegranate, which cost about $2.50, weighed 1.4 pounds, above. H Mart in Little Ferry has large pomegranates on sale for $1.99 each through Friday. The ShopRite pomegranate looks like the best buy.

Leftover Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain 10 Grain Hot Cereal made a great breakfast today when reheated and served with pomegranate seeds, non-fat Greek yogurt and Organic Blue Agave nectar.

Baby mustard greens were on sale for 99 cents a pound this week at H Mart in Little Ferry, and I bought some to serve with fresh Icelandic haddock from Costco Wholesale ($8.99 a pound), and leftover organic quinoa made with organic diced tomatoes and whole garlic cloves in an electric cooker. On Wednesday, H Mart in Englewood had long, slender Chinese eggplants on sale for 49 cents a pound. Unfortunately, you can't rely on every H Mart to have the same item on sale at the same time.

Yams, farmed salmon, Costco Wholesale and more

A wedge of a frittata, made with store-bought pesto and boiled yam slices, feels at home plated with leftover organic whole-wheat pasta shells with pesto and salted cod fish.

The frittata puffing up under the broiler. I spooned on Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale after removing the pan from the oven.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

I've been yamming it up in the kitchen.

I couldn't resist that play on words after preparing a frittata with sliced yams, pesto and cheese.

Yams are said to be starchier and drier than sweet potatoes, and may not be the best choice on my no-bread, no-pizza diet, but they taste as sweet.

For the egg mixture, I used three whole organic brown eggs, a 16-ounce carton of 100% egg whites, grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese and a little low-fat organic milk, all from Costco Wholesale.

The mixture was poured into a hot, non-stick pan with oil and allowed to set over a medium-high flame before I placed the yam slices -- boiled for about 15 minutes -- and reduced-fat Jarlsberg Lite Swiss Cheese (also from Costco) into the mixture.

A frittata allows you to layer yam slices, sweet potatoes, cheese or other fillings.

I finished the frittata under the broiler, set on low, for about 10 minutes or until it browned and puffed up. The pesto was added after I removed it from the oven.

I prefer to make frittatas instead of omelets that are folded, because the former allows you to use more yams, cheese or whatever you are stuffing it with.

A couple of years ago, I put a note in the suggestion box at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, asking for lactose-free milk. On Monday, I saw 96-ounce containers of 2% lactose-free milk for the first time, but I use 1% lactose-free milk from ShopRite, and would really like to see Costco give members a price break on organic lactose-free milk. Organic milk contains about 60 percent more heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids than non-organic varieties, according to Consumer Reports on Health.

Salmon warning

Consumer Reports on Health says that "in general," farmed salmon isn't as good for you as wild-caught salmon.

"Some research suggests farmed salmon may harbor higher mercury and pesticide residues and higher levels of possible carcinogens called PCBs," according to the March 2014 edition of the newsletter.

"The risks depend on how the salmon was raised and what it was fed. So it makes sense to spring for wild salmon," the newsletter says, adding both contain high levels of omega-3, the fatty acids that may support heart health.

Whole Foods Market pledges that all of the farmed seafood it sells is free of pesticides and antibiotics, but Costco Wholesale and other retailers rarely tell consumers anything more than that their farmed salmon is artificially colored.

The March 2014 edition also lists four seasonings that may improve your health: chili pepper, cinnamon, sage and turmeric.

'Poultry litter'

The April 2014 Consumer Reports on Health reiterates the consumer organization's recommendation to buy antibiotic-free poultry, and notes organic poultry "is raised almost always without the routine use of antibiotics."

"The widespread use of those drugs in food animals is triggering a rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria," the newsletter says.

Then, the newsletter notes, "Organic birds can't be fed poultry litter (a mixture of droppings, spilled feed, and feathers) or arsenic drugs."

Isn't that an appetizing notion, that poultry raised on harmful antibiotics also may dine on feathers and droppings?

The newsletter also notes there are "no government-approved organic standards for seafood."

Grass-fed cattle

"As with chicken, organic cattle aren't raised with routine antibiotics, but for optimal nutritional benefits, look for organic meat that's also labeled "American Grassfed Approved" or "USDA Process Verified grass-fed," according to the newsletter.

"Studies suggest that meat from such animals might provide more health benefits than meat from animals fattened on a conventional diet of grain."

Both organic and non-organic beef and lamb from Australia and New Zealand are often labeled "grass fed," and they are available at ShopRite, Costco and Trader Joe's.

Even with more than 25 staffed checkout lanes, shoppers waited in long lines on Sunday at the Trader Joe's Chelsea in Manhattan, above.

A sign outside a deli on Seventh Avenue in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.

Lazy afternoons

My afternoon visits to Costco Wholesale in Hackensack keep on paying off in a less-crowded, less-frenetic shopping experience than the mad morning rush.

Just inside the door on Monday, I couldn't resist picking up another no-iron, 100% cotton dress shirt with a spread collar for only $17.99, and it isn't made in China.

Two 96-0unce bottles of Kirkland Signature Organic Lemonade (18% juice) were $5.99, two dozen KS Organic [Brown] Eggs were $6.99, and six 16-ounce cartons of KS Egg Whites were $8.79.

Three half-gallons of KS Organic Milk (1%) were $9.99, and four half-gallons of Tropicana Orange Juice were $11.59.

Wild-caught haddock fillets from Iceland were $8.99, a 1-pound tub of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix was $4.79; and 5 pounds of seedless Red Globe Grapes from Peru were $7.99, but the label says they are "treated with sulfer dioxide for fungicide use, [and] please rinse well."

A 2-pound package of reduced-fat Jarlsberg Lite Swiss Cheese has a new package, but is still $8.59; and a new item, a 2-pound package of sliced Adams Reserve New York Extra Sharp Cheddar, aged more than 12 months, was only $6.99.

Three pounds of bananas were $1.39, the lowest price in North Jersey.

All organic products, whether you buy them at Costco or elsewhere, are free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Timing is everything

At H Mart is Fort Lee, a 1-pound, 3-ounce package of stir-fried vermicelli noodles with vegetables from Pinocchio Catering is usually $5.49, but after 7 p.m. on Saturday, they were half price. 

I picked up two for $5.49.

The Korean supermarket also was having a sale on scallions -- five bunches for 99 cents.

At the H Mart in Englewood, some prepared Korean food from Jinga goes on sale after 4 p.m.