Here are a few of Loaves and Fishes’ most-requested recipes that can be made either on a grill, in the oven, or on your stovetop.
Escabeche is a perfect dish for a hot summer day. The marinade is intended to preserve the cooked fish; it originated in Spain, then spread throughout the Mediterranean regions. We serve this as a light lunch or as part of a dinner buffet, and it is a very popular take-out item. The fish should marinate for at least 6 hours, and up to 24 hours.
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds flounder fillet
3 tablespoons olive oil
11/4 cups red wine vinegar
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped fine, plus a few sprigs for garnish
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup currants or raisins
Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a flat large platter. Dip the flounder into the mixture, coating both sides. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the flounder about 5 to 7 minutes, turning once, until brown and just done. Transfer the fish to a large deep platter.
With paper towels, wipe the skillet clean. Combine the vinegar, water, oil, garlic, rosemary, sugar, pepper flakes, and currants in the skillet and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the hot marinade over the flounder. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until serving time. Garnish with rosemary sprigs.
When covered and refrigerated, the escabeche will keep for up to a week. Other fish in the flounder family such as gray or lemon sole will do just as well. Tilapia and fluke are also delicious when prepared with this tasty marinade.
Translated, frickadellen means “large meatballs, lightly flattened.” We make them in large quantities at Loaves and Fishes. They’re so much in demand because they are juicy and tender, and reheat well. We serve them on a toasted bun with a side of green salad, or as a dinner entrée with a side of couscous.
2 pounds boneless chicken thighs, skinned, trimmed of fat, and cut into large chunks
1 cup minced onion
1 cup soft fresh bread crumbs
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup capers, drained
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup minced fresh curly parsley
Place the chicken in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse a few times until coarsely chopped. Transfer into a large bowl. Add the onion, bread crumbs, eggs, lemon juice, salt, paprika, cumin, and cayenne and, using your hands, knead until well combined. Shape into 8 patties.
To grill: Brush the grill lightly with oil. Cook the patties over medium-high heat for 12 minutes, turning them once.
To sauté: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté the patties over medium heat for 12 to 14 minutes, turning them once, until cooked.
To make the topping, in the olive oil sauté the onion in a skillet over low heat for about 8 minutes until onions are light brown and glossy. Add the capers and cook 3 minutes, stirring a few times. Add the lemon juice, turn the heat to high and cook 30 seconds. Spoon the topping over the patties and sprinkle with parsley.
Yields 4 servings
This recipe can be doubled.
A James Beard–inspired recipe that we have been making for years at Loaves and Fishes. It is really great!
Two 3-pound chickens, backs removed, each cut into 8 pieces
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups panko or plain dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
11/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 2 teaspoons fresh
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Place the chicken in a large bowl. Combine the eggs, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and whisk. Pour the mixture over the chicken and toss to coat. Combine the panko, flour, paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper on a sheet pan. Dip the chicken pieces, one at a time, into the crumb mixture, coating well on all sides.
Place the chicken on one or two baking sheets, making sure to allow ample space between each piece. Pour the melted butter evenly over the chicken. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until crispy brown.
To check for doneness, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken without touching the bone. It should read 165°F.
Serve hot or at room temperature.
Yields 16 pieces of chicken
Spices are at the heart of Indian cuisine and this chicken and rice dish is a culinary fusion of what I know and like about spices and curries. A truly tasty make-ahead one-dish meal that my family informs me is even better when it’s been reheated.
1/2 teaspoon saffron
1 cinnamon stick
11/4 cups rice
3/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup peanut oil
3 cups chopped onions
11/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size strips
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup Crème Fraîche (page 30)
1 cup coarsely chopped salted cashews
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Pour 21/2 cups water into a large heavy saucepan, add the saffron and cinnamon stick, and bring to a boil. Add the rice and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add the raisins. Stir once and set aside.
In another heavy saucepan, over medium-high heat, in 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil sauté the onions. Stir often until the onions are browned. Add the onions to the rice. In the same pan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut oil until very hot. Add the chicken pieces and sauté for 5 minutes or until chicken is just cooked and browned.
Turn heat to very low, add salt, pepper, ginger, curry powder, cardamom, hot sauce, yogurt, and crème fraîche. Stir to blend. Add chicken mixture to the rice and stir gently to combine. Remove and discard cinnamon stick. Transfer the biriyani to a serving platter. Sprinkle with cashews, garnish with cilantro, and serve.
Yields 4 servings
Bone-in chicken legs are a fabulously moist part of the chicken, which makes them ideal for reheating without drying out. We bake this ahead of time, refrigerate it, and send our customers off to the beach or picnic with a tub of chicken legs and a container of tasty apricot mayonnaise.
8 whole chicken legs, separated into thighs and drumsticks
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup apricot preserves
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 box peppery daikon sprouts, trimmed
11/2 cups mayonnaise
1/3 cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Arrange the chicken legs in a single layer, skin down, in a large roasting pan. Place the garlic, lime juice, apricot preserves, soy sauce, sugar, and hot sauce in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, and purée until smooth. Pour the mixture over the chicken and bake 11/4 hours, turning the chicken once after 40 minutes.
Sprinkle daikon sprouts over a serving platter and pile the cooked chicken on top.
To make the apricot mayonnaise, place the mayonnaise, apricot preserves, curry powder, lemon juice, and salt in a bowl. Stir to blend well. Transfer to a serving bowl to offer alongside the chicken.
Yields 8 servings
If you cannot find peppery daikon sprouts, substitute radish sprouts, which have a similar peppery taste.
A lovely platter piled with these golden brown, crispy delights always evokes smiles. Everyone automatically gravitates to the spot where the platter is placed and lingers there, chatting, until every last shrimp is gone.
1 pound (24 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
21/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 teaspoon curry powder
3 cups peanut oil, for frying
Combine the shrimp, lime zest, and juice, and set aside. Mix the flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl and set aside. Beat the eggs and coconut milk in a shallow bowl until smooth. Mix the coconut flakes and curry powder together and spread the mixture on a flat plate.
Coat one shrimp at a time, first with flour, then egg, then coconut. Place each coated shrimp on a sheet pan. Repeat until all shrimp are coated.
Pour the peanut oil into a heavy skillet and heat to 375°F over high heat. Drop the shrimp into the hot oil, 6 at a time. Fry about 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Repeat until all shrimp are fried. Serve hot.
The shrimp can be prepared 2 hours ahead of time and reheated in a 375°F oven for 10 minutes.
Needless to say, this can be served as one of the best, most popular starters ever. The coconut shrimp go so quickly that you might have to double the recipe to satisfy your guests!
These should be called seafood cakes, since you could substitute lobster meat, crabmeat, or scallops and turn out delicious variations of these crispy, oh-so-good, shrimp cakes. This is another recipe that can be prepared on the grill or stovetop.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup finely chopped shallots (3 large)
3/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 pounds small shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup finely chopped curly parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
11/2 cups dry bread crumbs
1 cup sliced almonds
6 tablespoons clarified butter, for frying
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped curly parsley
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
11/4 cups mayonnaise
In a skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Sauté the shallots and celery until the vegetables appear glossy. Set aside to cool.
Place the shrimp in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse three times to chop shrimp a bit. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the parsley, dill, salt, cayenne, mayonnaise, and 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs.
In a separate deep, wide bowl, combine the remaining cup of bread crumbs with the almonds. Set it aside.
Knead the shrimp mixture to thoroughly blend all the ingredients. With your hands, shape into 12 balls. Roll each ball in the bread crumb–almond mixture. Coat completely. With your palms, flatten the balls into disks.
Using a grill or stovetop at high heat, sauté the shrimp cakes with clarified butter in a large skillet for 10 to 12 minutes total, until the cakes are crispy and just cooked.
To make the herb mayonnaise: purée the chives, dill, parsley, milk, and lime juice until smooth. Fold in the salt, sugar, hot sauce, and mayonnaise. Stir well and serve with the shrimp cakes.
Yields 6 to 8 servings
In our local fish markets on the tip of Long Island we have striped bass available to us from July 1 to December 1. At Loaves and Fishes, we have used cod and halibut as alternatives to the bass and found it equally wonderful. Pan-frying the fish with a panko crumb coating creates a really nice, crunchy crust.
1/2 cup Crème Fraîche (page 30)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup panko or other dry bread crumbs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Four 6-ounce striped bass fillets, of equal thickness
2 tablespoons safflower oil
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) unsalted butter
12 tablespoons (6 ounces) cold unsalted butter, in 1-tablespoon slices
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1 cup peeled, seeded, finely chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Combine the Crème Fraîche and mustard in a small bowl and stir to blend. Combine the panko, salt, and pepper on a large flat plate. Coat the fish on both sides with the Crème Fraîche. Dip it next into the panko, pressing down on the fish to make the crumbs adhere.
Heat the safflower oil and butter in a large skillet until hot. Place fish in the skillet, cover and cook over a medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Using 2 spatulas, carefully turn the fish over and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Do not overcook. Transfer the fish onto four warm dinner plates. Wipe the skillet clean with paper towels.
To make the sauce, heat 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet. Add the shallots and sauté for 2 minutes over medium heat. Stir in the tomatoes, vinegar, and wine. Cook 2 more minutes. Add the salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low. Using a wire whisk, swirl and blend in the remaining butter, adding 1 tablespoon at a time. Whisk until the sauce thickens slightly. Do not allow the sauce to come to a boil after the butter has been added. Distribute the sauce evenly around the fish. Sprinkle with chives and serve.
Yields 4 servings
In the late summer of 1986, I spent seven weeks at the American Embassy in Vienna cooking all sorts of Austrian dishes. This recipe stands out as one of the all-time favorites and is surprisingly easy to prepare.
Kosher salt
4 slices top-quality veal cut from center rump, 4 ounces each, 1/8-inch thick
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 large eggs beaten
2 tablespoons water
2 cups dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter
1/4 cup capers, drained
8 lemon wedges
Lightly salt the slices of veal. Place the flour in a shallow bowl. Beat the eggs and water in another. Mix the bread crumbs, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper in a third bowl. Dip each veal slice first into the flour and shake off any excess, then coat each with the egg mixture, and finally dip the slices into the bread crumbs. With your hands, press the bread crumbs into each veal slice so each is completely covered. Shake off excess.
Heat olive oil with 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet. When the butter is very hot, sauté the veal slices 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the veal onto warmed dinner plates.
Add the remaining butter and the capers to the skillet and fry 2 minutes over high heat, stirring a few times. Sprinkle capers over the crispy veal and serve with wedges of lemon.
Yields 4 servings
This was my mother’s answer to a speedy dinner. Flounder, sole, and fluke, plentiful in the Baltic Sea, were available to us fresh every day. I make this often when pressed for time.
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
1 small tomato, chopped fine
8 flounder fillets
12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter an ovenproof stainless-steel skillet. Sprinkle the shallots and tomato evenly over bottom of pan. Season flounder with salt and pepper. Fold each fillet in half and place in one layer around the inside perimeter of pan. Arrange shrimp in the center. Season with salt and pepper. Pour wine and cream over fish and bring to a boil on stovetop. Cover the pan with parchment paper or foil and bake 12 minutes. Sprinkle with dill and serve.
Yields 4 servings
We always had small boiled potatoes and cucumber or green salad served with this fish dish. I like it served simply with French bread and any kind of leafy green salad, too.
I relish all kinds of warm weather foods, but this one, I think, is exceptional for its taste, texture, and the ease in which it can be prepared. Mind you, any lean white fish will do. I serve this with cooked rice since it blends in so beautifully with the sauce and absorbs its taste.
1/2 cup olive oil
2 pounds halibut fillet, 11/2-inches thick, cut into 4 pieces
1 small red onion, cut into paper-thin slices
3 cloves garlic, sliced as thin as possible
1 large ripe tomato, sliced thin
1 lemon, sliced very thin and pitted
1/3 cup pitted Niçoise olives
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Brush 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over the bottom of a 13 × 9-inch glass baking dish. Place the fish in the dish, spacing the pieces evenly. Scatter the onion, garlic, tomato, lemon slices, and olives uniformly over the fish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, 1/4 cup of the basil, and the thyme. Pour the remaining olive oil over all, so that fish and vegetables are thinly coated. Place the dish in the oven and bake 25 minutes without opening the oven door.
Garnish with the remaining basil and serve.
Yields 4 servings
This recipe can be expanded to serve 6 by simply using 11/2 times these ingredients.
f you have a pretty casserole of the same dimensions that is ovenproof, use it. In that way, it can easily go from oven to table.
My dear friend Ina Garten makes the best version of this simple seafood stew that I have ever tasted. I was thrilled when she offered me this recipe from Barefoot in Paris, her wonderfully inspiring book. Use whatever seafood is best and freshest at your seafood shop.
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 cups peeled and chopped potatoes
2 cups finely chopped fennel (1 large bulb)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups dry white wine
1 quart fish stock or bottled clam juice
One 28-ounce can chopped plum tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon saffron
1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (24 count)
2 pounds firm lean white fish such as halibut, cod, or monkfish, cut into large chunks
3 pounds littleneck clams, scrubbed
Two 5-inch strips orange zest
1 tablespoon minced curly parsley, for garnish
Place the olive oil, onion, potatoes, fennel, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes in a large heavy soup pot. Sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes or until onions look glossy.
Add the wine, fish stock, tomatoes with their juice, garlic, and saffron. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
Add the shrimp, fish chunks, clams, and orange zest. Bring to a boil and cook, covered, for 5 minutes or until fish is cooked through and clams have opened. Remove from the heat. Discard the orange zest.
Serve hot, garnished with minced parsley.