Seared Mahi-Mahi over Green Pea Puree with Lemon-Garlic Orzo

I have been trying to get a nice crust on a piece of fish for years. Every restaurant in the universe seems to manage it no problem, but for some reason I could never pull it off. Finally I discovered the tricks: Teflon, plenty of oil, a very hot pan (#1 and #3 may combine to cause cancer or kill your household pets with lethal fumes - enjoy tasty seared fish at your own risk). In any case, once you get the hang of it, it turns out to be very easy. Salt and pepper the prettier side of the fish. Get your pan really hot, with a few tablespoons of olive oil to coat the surface, then set the fish down on the nice side. If it doesn't sizzle and pop and burn you a little you didn't do it right. Don't touch it for at least a couple of minutes. Once it's cooked a little more than halfway through (you can kind of gauge this by looking at the exposed edge of the piece), turn it over. Nobody wants accidentally raw fish, but it's much better to serve it on the slightly rare side than the overdone and dry side. Take it off the heat and plate. The fish actually takes very little time so you should probably do it last.

First, start the puree. This is easy. Sweat some onions and green onions in a little butter with salt and pepper until softened up a bit. Throw in some green peas. Fresh would be great, but if like me you only had half a bag of freezerburned old frozen ones, that's fine. Add enough water to cover the peas, and give the whole thing a stir. We want to cook the peas, but barely - color is the real key here, and overdone peas turn into army green mush. Once they're done, take them off the heat, cool them down a little, and blend until smooth. Adjust the seasoning and texture as needed by adding a little liquid. Water would be fine, lemon juice or a few drops of vinegar if you want some brightness, salt if it needs more flavor, etc. I actually added some buttermilk because I had some in the fridge and I love the stuff. It added some sourness and some creaminess and a certain little "Hm, what is that?" character to the mix.

Cook the orzo in salted boiling water. Sautee garlic and shallot in a little butter, with salt and pepper to taste. I always burn the garlic but I bet yours will taste better if you don't, so keep an eye on it. Throw in some chopped fresh parsley* if you have it (don't buy a whole bunch just for this though), then add a splash of white wine and a squeeze of lemon juice. Cook that for a minute, then add in the pasta and toss to combine. Put some more parsley if you like it and still have it (especially if you went out and bought parsley just for this).

[*Curly parsley tastes nasty and as far as I can tell only exists as an ugly garnish for boring food at diners and steak houses. I would love to engineer a boycott to destroy the annoying curly parsley industry. In any case: buy flat-leaf parsley!]

Pour the puree out into a shallow bowl or deep plate (or pretentious bowl/plate hybrid you bought because you are the type of weirdo who posts pictures of his dinner on the internet). Spoon a serving of the pasta across the puree, then rest a piece of fish on top of that. I garnished the fish with a little slice of lemon peel, a parsley leaf, and some pink Australian sea salt.

Skillet-Roasted Lamb Chops with Rosemary-Leek Hush Puppies, Quick-Pickled Fennel and Shallots, and Green Pea Puree

For the fennel (which you can make ahead of time): combine equal parts vinegar (cider or sherry would be best) and water, and bring to a boil along with salt (lots), a few black peppercorns, a bay leaf, and a little sugar. While that's getting hot, thinly slice your fennel bulb and a shallot, either on a mandoline or with a sharp knife. Once the pickling liquid is boiling, pour it over your vegetables in a bowl to cover, give it a quick stir, and set aside for about an hour. Once the vegetables have lost most of their crunch, drain off the liquid, rinse once or twice with cold water, and set aside.

For the lamb and hush puppies, preheat an oven to about 375. In a mixing bowl, combine buttermilk, an egg, and some chopped leek and rosemary (I wish I'd used more rosemary in mine, so be generous) along with salt and pepper to taste. Add cornmeal until the batter is thick but not yet doughy. Set aside.

Cook some green peas until done, but don't overcook them as this will ruin the color. You're shooting for a bright green, not olive. In a blender, combine peas, salt, olive oil, and lemon juice and blend until smooth.

For the lamb, get a cast iron skillet or other heavy pan as hot as you can manage, then add a bit of oil to the bottom. While the pan is heating, salt and pepper your rack of lamb to taste - I like it heavy on the pepper. This is also a good time to get your fryer oil going. I don't have an oil thermometer, but it's ready to go once a little dollop of hush puppy batter starts bubbling and hissing as soon as you drop it in. Sear the lamb for a few minutes on each side, then put the skillet in the oven (lamb fat side down) for about 15-20 minutes. We're going for medium rare.

Get out the bowl of hush puppy batter and add a dash each of baking soda and baking powder. Stir to combine, then drop spoonful-sized globs in the got oil. If you are a food geek like me you will make quenelles, but don't bother if you don't feel like it. They're done when they're medium brown on the outside. Set them on a paper towel and throw a little salt on to season the crust.

Put fennel on the plate along with some of the pea puree, and set a couple of hush puppies in the peas (dipping the former in the latter is highly recommended). Slice out your chops and rest on top of the fennel.

Pea Soup; Cheese Crisp; Toast

split yellow peas. mirepoix. ham.

parmigiano-reggiano.

flour. yeast. salt.