To Air Fry or Not to Air Fry?

The Skinny on Air Fryers

Air fryers weren't on my radar until about a year ago.  I thought they were just for cooking high fat, deep fried food.  I didn't know how wrong I was!

It all started when a colleague asked if I'd be interested in buying one second hand from his sister-in-law.  Apparently, she's a hoarder and her family was staging an intervention. They were forcing her to have a yard sale to get rid of everything but the essentials. Among her other treasures were 5 air fryers, still in their boxes.   Other friends in the office overheard and said they use theirs all the time and I should jump on this.  I figured I'd it give it a try. Unfortunately, the air fryers sold out at the yard sale before my colleague arrived.  But I was intrigued so I looked on Amazon and found one that was under $80.

Contrary to creating non-skinny foods, air fryers provide an easy way to eliminate fat from your diet. They help you cook food that mimics the taste, texture and look of fried foods with a fraction of the fat and calories.  This is mainly accomplished by eliminating most of the cooking oil.  In most cases you only have to spray the food with a cooking spray like Pam.  And yet the food tastes anything but skinny!

Maybe equally important: they cook food in a fraction of the time of your conventional oven.  A large chicken breast takes 16 minutes. You can cook all of your dinner (veggies, potatoes, etc.) in the fryer and clean up is really easy.  Mine doesn't even require pre-heating. 

Here are pictures from a few skinny dinners:

You can cook good old fashioned fried chicken using a breast or thigh, bone in or boneless dredge them in flour, egg while and panko:

             Skinny classic fried chicken.  

 Boneless, skinless chicken breast, sweet potatoes and peas

But you can also keep it simple and skip the four, egg and panko and just use spices and oil:

Crispy skin, juicy meat

 

    Skinny and simple

And your options are not limited to chicken.  I will be posting recipes for fried eggplant, artichokes, buffalo cauliflower and other delicious, skinny options.  I will also have tips on what to look for when purchasing an air fryer.  They are not all created equal.  

Stay tuned for more to come!  Perhaps you'll be an air fryer convert, too. 

 

Skinny Soft Shell Crabs - Get Them Before the Season Ends!

The simpler the better

Marinate in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Sriracha

and Teryaki Sauce with sesame seeds

 

Where does the time go?  It seems like it was just Memorial Day, and here we are on October 1st and the summer has come and gone.  One of the last summertime treats that are still available are soft shell crabs.  But you better hurry - they will disappear from your fish monger's shelves any day now.

Here today . . .

 

In the past, I always prepared my soft shell crabs by dredging them through flour, egg white and panko and frying them in hot extra virgin olive oil.  While delicious, that method can obscure the taste of these little gems.  Mark Bittman published an article in the New York Times with many variations of soft shell crab recipes.  But he said "less is more" and he's right. 

 

Step one: dry off with paper towels

 

I started by drying off the crabs in paper towels.  Next, I marinate them in teryaki sauce with sesame seeds, shriracha and extra virgin olive oil.  I just put them in the plastic bag they came in, put in the ingredients and let stand on the counter for about an hour. 

 

I served with grilled baby eggplant

 

I cook them on my George Foreman grill at 400 degrees for two - three minutes each side with the door open - I used the grill as a griddle.  If you don't have an electric grill just cook on the stovetop over medium heat in a non-stick pan with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. 

Et voila! Spicy soft shell crabs

on a bed of baby grilled eggplant

 

Soft shell crabs were really pricey this year.  They consistently cost $7.99 per crab all season long.  I can recall past seasons when they were between $3.99 - $4.99 each.  To keep costs down I just bought one and served on a big bed of grilled baby eggplant.  But it's worth the splurge - and I don't think I'll ever cook them using flour/egg white/panko again.  You really taste their delicious flavor this way.  You could even just cook them in oil if you're a purist!  Definitely with soft shell crabs, less is more.

 

Ingredients

 

1 - 2 soft shell crabs person (depending upon your budget!)

1 tbspn extra virgin olive oil

1 tbspn teryaki sauce with sesame seeds (or just plain old soy sauce)

1 tbspn sriracha

Method

Marinate crabs in evoo, sriracha and teryaki sauce for about an hour on the counter
Pre-heat electric grill at 400 degrees (or pre-heat a skillet over medium heat)
Grill the crabs for 2 - 3 minutes on each side (not closing cover of grill)
If using an electric grill, close the cover for the final 30 seconds
Serve and enjoy!

Grilled Poor Man's Lobster

Grilled monkfish with baby eggplant

 



Monkfish is a very dense, moist fish.  Up till now, I've steamed it and done a sweet and sour take on it with ingredients like apricot jam and Asian sour figs or have gone more Mediterranean by roasting it with sun dried tomatoes, lemon and basil.  Both excellent options, but I recently heard about grilling it - and the results are delicious!

 

Who'd have thunk?

 

Monkfish is called the "poor man's lobster" because it has the consistency of a lobster tail but is much less expensive.  Citarella's sells it for $14.99 a pound.  So we're talking $7.50 per serving.  I never considered grilling it because it's very thick in addition to being moist.  But if you get your fish monger to butterfly the fillet you solve the problem of it being too thick to grill.

Step 1: Dry with paper towels

You can tackle the moistness issue by drying the fish off with paper towels, then covering it with coarse sea salt, wrapping it in more paper towels, and letting it dry out for a few hours in the fridge.

Step 2: Cover with coarse sea salt

and wrap in paper towels.  Let stand for a few hours.

 

Don't worry about all that salt.  It's there to draw the moisture from the fillet.  When you are ready to start grilling shake off the salt and wipe off any residual salt with paper towels. 

 

Step 3: Marinate in garlic, lemon zest and extra virgin olive oil

Hopefully you buy your paper towels at Costco because this recipe uses a lot of them!  But it's worth the investment.  Never have I had monkfish that really tasted like lobster tail. 

After you marinate toss on a sizzling hot grill

 

Next is the marinade.  I use chopped fresh garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil.  I use the oil mainly so the monkfish won't stick to the grill.

Love that char!

 

I use my George Foreman grill for this recipe but if you don't have one, a cast iron skillet will do the trick (but put on your list of things to do: buy an electric grill).  If you have an actual outdoor charcoal or gas grill, fire the baby up. Grill for 2 - 3 minutes on each side.  Note for electric grill users: I don't put the top down and cook both sides at once.  I grill each side on its own and put the cover down at the end for about 30 seconds.  It's very easy to overcook this dish so be careful and err on the side of undercooking.  You can always toss it back on the grill if you have to - but once it's overcooked, that's it.  

Poor man's lobster

 

Et voila!

Yum!

 

I serve the grilled monkfish with grilled baby eggplant - a match made in heaven!  Grilled asparagus would go nicely, too.   So even if you aren't a poor man, check this dish out!

 

 

Ingredients

 

1/2 lb monkfish per person - have the fish monger butterfly 

2 tbspns coarse sea salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbspns extra virgin olive oil

Juice of one lemon

1 tspn lemon zest (zest the lemon before cutting and juicing) 

Salt & pepper to taste

 

Method

 

Dry monkfish with paper towels

Cover fillet with the coarse sea salt

Wrap in paper towels and transfer to fridge for 4 - 6 hours

Remove fish from paper towels and shake off the sea salt

Remove any excess salt with paper towels

Marinate for at least 30 minutes

Grill for 2 - 3  minutes per side depending on thickness

Serve and enjoy!

 



The fillet in the center actually looks like lobster tail

For Goodness Hake!

Hake is great for steaming

I have noticed hake at the fish monger over the years but was never interested in trying it.  But the other day I decided to give it a try - and now, I'm a convert!  Not only is it inexpensive, but it's ideally suited for steaming. 

Line casserole dish with fresh basil

The whole thing with steaming fish is to surround it with flavors that will be absorbed as it cooks.  I'm always on the lookout for banana leaves - but they are really hard to find.  So my go-to is fresh basil.

Place the hake on the bed of fresh basil

You can let your imagination go wild when coming up with ingredients to use with your hake.  I chose some favorites - sundried tomatoes, cilantro, sour figs and yellow peppers.

I sprinkled meyer lemon zest over the top of the chopped ginger and garlic

Feel free to omit any ingredients that don't appeal to you - for example, there are two types of people in this world:  Those who like cilantro and those who don't.  So skip the cilantro if you are in the latter category. 

Finish the nest

When you have all the ingredients in the casserole dish, cover the filet with more basil and cilantro.  You want to create a cocoon for the fish to nestle in while it's steaming.  After you've through with the dry ingredients, cover with teriyaki or soy sauce and sesame oil.

Multi-task: cook your vegetable along with the fish

I have a steamer with two levels so I can cook the vegetable along with the filet.  In this case, I used broccoli rabe and grape tomatoes. 

Et viola!  Garnish with spring onions

The half pound filet of hake I used here cost just over $5.  The broccoli rabe was $3.89 - both purchased at Citarella, not known for it's thrify prices.  But even at an expensive store, I bought dinner for under $10 (take that Melissa d'Arabian!!!).  My friend Martena purchased the sour figs in Chinatown and I had the basil, cilantro and other ingredients in my pantry.  Cooking time was 5 minutes.  No matter how you slice it, that's nothing to "hake" a fist at!

Ingredients

1/2 lb hake per person

1/2 bunch fresh basil

1/8th cup chopped ginger

3 - 4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped

1 tbspn meyer lemon zest (optional)

Few sprigs cilantro to taste (optional)

1/2 yellow pepper, julienned

3 - 4 sour figs, squished (optional)

1/8 cup soy sauce or teryaki

2 tbspns sesame oil (optional)

1 lemon sliced into rings

3 - 4 sundried tomatoes, chopped

Garnish with pring onions to taste

Method

Line casserole dish with basil

Place hake filet on top

add all the dry ingredients

Save lemon rings for last, then cover with remaining basil and cilantro

Steam for five minutes

Serve and enjoy!

Note: for intensified flavor, put a liberal amount of salt in the water, along with chunks of ginger (no need to peel), garlic clovers (again, no need to peel) and lemon rinds.  No need to use salt on the hake filet - the soy or teyaki sauce has plenty of salt.

Skinny Lasagna

Veggie Lasagna - layers of deliciousness!

One of the hardest things about staying or getting skinny is to avoid favorite foods - like pasta and really yummy dishes like lasagna.  Think about it: many Italian dishes feature supporting players like pasta to showcase the real star, the marinara sauce.  I love pastas such as rigatoni because it has ridges that marinara clings to.  And who doesn't love ricotta cheese?  How can you experience the joys of these dishes without ingesting tons of calories and fat?

All about the layers - be sure to dry the eggplant before cooking by covering in sea salt and wrapping in paper towels (see Method below)

Lasagna is all about the layers.  So, instead of layering sheets of pasta with tiers of fatty ricotta I had an idea: Why not substitute some of my favorite veggies for the pasta and a smidge of goat cheese instead of a mountain of ricotta?  And meaty portobello mushrooms instead of beef?

I decided on asparagus, portobello mushrooms and eggplant but you can use any vegetable you would like.  There is a method to my madness: Instead of using a meat such as ground sirloin, I grilled portobello mushrooms.  They are really meaty and taste delicious.  I just love eggplant anyway, but it helps with the lasagna because they are good for layering.  And the asparagus fit in nicely and added some color and crunch. 

First the sliced eggplant

I grilled each vegetable briefly on my cast iron skillet - just long enough to get the grill marks. I used cooking spray instead of olive oil. Eggplant in particular can really soak up oil and your end result would be really heavy and greasy veggies. Cooking spray also has zero calories or fat. 

Next the portobellows

Finally the asparagus

Dot goat cheese among the layers

One of the great things about lasagna is the cheese.  My mother's lasagna was delicious and she didn't hold back on the ricotta.  I really like goat cheese - it has a bit of a sour taste (good sour) and spreads very easily.  Just leave the package on your kitchen counter for several hours before use.

The key here is to use the goat cheese strategically.  We're not talking about a great deal of difference in calories and fat between goat and ricotta cheese.  I used 2 ounces of goat cheese for my lasagna.  That's 140 calories, 100 of which are from fat.  The same amount of ricotta would be 214 calories, 107 of which come from fat.  I think you get more bang for the buck with goat cheese - it spreads and melts better so you cover more territory with a smaller amount.  I consider the calories in veggies and a marinara with no meat to be negligible.  I haven't done Weight Watchers, but I think they assign zero points to veggies. 

Top with Parmigianno-Reggiano

As a special treat, I grate Parmigiano-reggiano across the top.  It comes out to about a 1/4 cup which is about 120 calories.  Again, you're not putting Parmigianno-Reggiano throughout each layer - just the top.  I recommend holding off on this layer until about 20 minutes before the lasagna is cooked.  It melts very quickly and can burn.

Et viola!  A teeny slice of foccacia to dip in the marinara

So I don't feel completely deprived I have a small piece of foccacia bread on the side to dip in the marinara.  I buy a garlic parmesan foccacia from Epicerie Boulud.  It's sinfully delicious.  I get about 4 square pieces out of each one - and the leftovers freeze very nicely.  The little touches like the goat cheese, parmigianno and foccacia give you the indulgences so you don't feel deprived and still enjoy the lasagna experience. 

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant - partially peeled and sliced (I peel into stripes - so you keep some of the skin)

1 small bunch asparagus

1 portobello mushroom (I bought in package already sliced and cleaned)

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced

2 ounces goat cheese - at room temperature

1 countainer prepared marinara (or make your own - my recipe to follow soon!)

1/8 - 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano shredded

Method

Several hours before cooking, partially peel the eggplant, slice, cover in sea salt, wrap in paper towels, weigh down and let stand - this will draw excess water from the eggplant.  You want the dish as dry as possible. 

Peel eggplant leaving strands of skin - cover in sea salt and wrap in paper towels

Put a heavy object on the eggplant and paper towels to help squeeze out water

You'll be astounded at how much moisture is drawn out!

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Grill the eggplant, asparagus and mushroom separtely in cast iron skillet with lines (if you have otherwise regular skillet) until grill mark appear - about 2 minutes per side for the eggplant, less for asparagus and mushroom

Set aside veggies; pour marinara across bottom of an oven-proof casserole dish

Layer eggplant, asparagus, portobello and marinara - I had eggplant and portobellow on the top and bottom and one layer of asparagus in the middle. 

I layered goat cheese on top of the eggplant and again on the top

Cover top with cherry tomatoes, goat cheese and marinara

Bake in oven for 30 minutes

Add grated Parmigianno-Reggiano over the top and bake for an additional 15 minutes

PLEASE NOTE: This dish is best if you cook and let cool for a few hours.  If you have time, cook for 45 minutes, let stand on counter, then add the Parmigianno-Reggiano and cook for 15 minutes until cheese melts.

ALSO NOTE:  Drain some of the excess moisture from the casserole dish as you go - the vegetables have lots of moisture in them - you want your lasagna as dry as possible.

Roasted Sea Bass!

I want this for dinner every night!

I love roasted sea bass - where you have the fish monger clean the fish, but leave it whole so you can roast it that way.  I order this all the time at the restaurant Vai on the upper west side.  I asked the chef how he prepared it.  He grilled both sides of the fish and finishes it in the oven.  The waiter will present the whole fish at the table, then take it to the kitchen to filet.  They always come out perfectly.  My sea bass is delicious, but can end up looking like the dog's breakfast because it always falls apart when I try to filet it after cooking.  Then I saw a video on the NY Times on line site.  They say not to worry about it looking perfect.  I gave in last night and stopped trying to be such a perfectionist.   It didn't look all that bad - and it was delicious!

Be your own sous chef

You can infuse the sea bass with whatever flavors you feel like using.  I chose fresh oregano, tomatoes and lemon slices.  There's a world of difference between fresh and dry oregano.  The first time I came across fresh was at a roadside stand on the Amalfi coast.  Citarella has it and that's where I purchased it yesterday - it was only $1.99 for a package.  It's also important that you use plenty of salt and pepper inside and out the fish - the bass will stand up to it and the seasoning really brings out the flavor. 

I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: always act as your own sous chef and get all of the ingredients ready and have them handy before you start to cook.  I'm so much more relaxed that way - and prepping all of the ingredients is a ritual.  Why not enjoy a glass of wine while you chop?

Your blank canvas

When choosing a whole fish, always be sure to look to see if the eyes are clear.  Take a sniff - it shouldn't smell "fishy."  It should smell fresh and you should detect the sea - otherwise it's not fresh.

Fresh oregano, tomatoes, lemon and salt & pepper

I have roasted fish by placing the ingredients inside the cavity and sealing it shut.  Last night I let the ingredients peek through - they seemed to cook better that way.  The fish really took on the delightful tastes of the fresh tomato, lemon and oregano.

Finished product

Once you've place your ingredients in the cavity, put the fish in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. 

Broccoli rabe on the side

Meat in the cheeks is the best - two tiny morsels of deliciousness!

When the fish is done you need to remove the bones.  There's a long spine bone - the tip is just below the head and neck.  You can pull it out, carefully, in one fell swoop.  Check for other small bones and peel away the skin. Take a tiny spoon and dig out the cheek meat - it's delicious. 

Et viola!

Dig away a serving from the bones, top with the stuffing and enjoy!  While my dish wasn't as pretty as the one served at Vai - it was just as delicious.  I've even seen this served at Eataly whole and the diners picked away the flesh from the whole fish.  I like to prepare in the kitchen - but it's up to you - serve whichever way you like best.

Ingredients

1 lb - 1 1/2 lb whole sea bass per person

1 vine ripe tomato - cut in slices, then cut in half

1 lemon sliced horizontally

3 - 4 sprigs fresh oregano

2 tbspns extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Method

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Take fish, pat dry inside and out with paper towels

Add oil to fish - smear inside and out

Salt and pepper the inside and out with plenty of salt and pepper

Place the other ingredients inside the cavity

Place in oven-proof non-stick pan

Cook for 15 minutes

Remove from oven and pull spine bone away from fish

Check for other bones and place portion on plate

Top with the roasted tomatoes, oregano and lemons

Serve and enjoy!