Weeknight
Abe says
Ann had bought some green garlic and a few nights ago made Orangette’s spinach and green garlic soup, to somewhat ridiculous success. The next day she had bought more garlic and spinach and was intent on making more soup; it was success like that. I was also due to cook something.
The avocado cream from the soft shell crab from work was the perfect starting point; a soup like that means serious business and demanded a serious green companion. Tilapia would be simple and fit well; a white fish was really the only protein I was willing to consider in the context of the soup and the cream, not to mention dinner on the roof in the recently introduced blue skies and nice weather. Broiled red onions would then round out the flavors playing sister to the soup’s garlic and adding much needed color and contrast, not to mention delicious char. Despite the separate components, they were all fast and had easy cleanup with a dishwasher. It would be sweet-sour-bitter-salty green-golden-purple fast-simple-delicious, oh yes.
It turned out well. The plating ended up a little awkward, but, you know, it’s not like anyone else was going to see it.
Tilapia with Avocado Cream and Red Onions
serves 2
For the tilapia
2 4-6 oz tilapia fillets
1 tbsp vegetable oil, such as safflower
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour for dredging
1/2 tsp salt
White pepper
For the avocado cream, adapted from Chef Jaime Mullins
1/2 a small/medium avocado, diced
about 1/3 cup heavy cream
Half a lemon
Salt and pepper
For the red onion
1 small red onion
Olive oil, salt, and pepper
Preheat the broiler.
Slice the onion into 12 wedges and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Broil on the top rack for about 12 minutes until lightly charred.
Puree the avocado and cream in a food processor with a generous squeeze of juice from the lemon until it forms a chunky paste, adjusting with additional cream as needed. Season with salt and pepper.
Combine the salt, pepper, and flour, and lightly dredge the fish. Shake off the excess flour and lightly fry in butter and oil over medium-high heat until golden, about 2 minutes on a side.
Plate the cream by putting down a large dollop and pulling out a smear with the tip of the spoon. Plate the fish and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice, and top with a cluster of onion.
Ann says
It’s about a thousand degrees in Seattle. How did we go from being colder than Siberia to one of the hottest places in the country in two weeks? How? WHY? You could ask Abe and he would tell you that I would live in a refrigerator year around if I could. I hate to be warm, but the fresh foods of summer pull me through. The lure of farmers markets cause me to venture into the heat of the day, and find things like green garlic.
The soup. Oh the soup. I have never been soup’s greatest fan, but I like to pretend I know a good recipe when I see one, and this time pretending became reality. I regularly flip to Orangette in hopes of finding a new recipe accompanied by her wonderful poloroid photos, often in vain, as the woman cannot possibly post five time a day like I want her to. But when I read her recipe for green garlic and spinach soup I knew. Something in me was calling out to make it. It is so my kind of recipe. Extremely simple, only about five ingredients, and quick to make, maybe a total of 1/2 hour. Packaged ramen takes as long. It’s extremely healthy, and totally beautiful. It tastes like heaven. Green heaven. I had to make it again.
One tip about it that is not included in Orangette’s instructions is that an immersion blender can work if you have one. It does not, however, puree as well as a regular blender in this instance. The spinach gets caught in it and prevents a really good puree. So if you don’t mind a few pieces the immersion blender is easier, but if you want a really smooth soup use a regular blender.
Abe’s addition to this soup was perfect. While it seems like he said “would” about a thousand times there, it really was tasty. I love cream as rule. Cream is my very very good friend. So the avocado cream, which was salty and tangy, was great with the char and sweet of the onions. It was his yuppie contrast to my hippie soup. We really are what we eat.
I guess that makes me a big bowl of creme fraiche.
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