Catfish Meuniere with Squash Cous-Cous Pilaf

Delicata Squash is amazing. It's sweet, tender, and very thin skinned which means it's a lot easier to use than it's relatives such as Butternut, Buttercup, Spaghetti, and Acorn squash. You eat the skin on the delicata, just as you would a yellow squash or zucchini skin. It's also a lot easier to cut and faster to cook than some of the thicker, harder varieties. So search it out in your local store. You'll most likely only find it in the fall, but these squash will store for months if kept in a cool, dark place so feel free to stock up on these delicious, inexpensive varieties.

Here, I made the squash in some cous cous with a few other veggies and served it with roasted brussels sprouts and a catfish meuniere. If you've never had meuniere before, do not be fooled by the simplicity. While it only uses a few basic ingredients, the fish comes out incredibly flavorful and delicious with just a few key ingredients. You can easily make fish this style with any white fish.

Difficulty: easy
Time: 30 min
Cost: $15.20

Double Sesame Tuna with Homemade Samosas

I have to put in the plug… make sure that with this recipe, as with all recipes, that you are purchasing sustainable fish. Many varieties of tuna are vastly overfished and near extinction if we do not act extremely quickly. Because, however, many of those varieties are considered delicacies, there is almost no protection offered. Countries continue to overfish to keep us happy and many species are about to die because of it. The good news? They’re not quite gone yet, and we can help. Keep your sustainable fish guide from the Monterey Bay Aquarium handy and make sure that when you head out to purchase a nice piece of tuna for this meal, that it’s sustainable. Ask the server questions to make sure it’s one of the green options on your guide. It takes so little of your time, and it saves a beautiful species of fish from dying out forever.

The heaviness aside, let’s delve into this recipe itself. I made a double sesame tuna. The double comes from using both sesame oil and sesame seeds, providing more of this delicious (yet fatty) seed. Don’t worry though, I keep the sesame count in check, and while these seeds might be quite fatty, it’s natural fat and they come with a lot of other benefits as well. Sesame seeds are chock full of manganese and copper, and also are excellent sources of calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorous, vitamin B1, zinc, and dietary fiber. Pretty good, huh?

To go with the tuna, I also whipped up some samosas. You’ll see below that these actually were made from some filling I had made a while back and written up then, but the dough was made fresh in a new fashion. Read below for details.

Difficulty: medium
Time: 1 hr 15 min
Cost: $9.99 (note: this does not include the samosa filling since it was made previously)

Provencal Turbot over Greens with Chive-Cheese Challah

Is there anything better than fresh challah out of the oven? Because frankly, I can’t name anything that qualifies. It’s warm and fresh, fluffy and light, and in this case filled with a blend of cheese and chives that makes the bread even more tantalizing than normal. I love this braided egg bread in its plain form, but this fancier version was certainly a fun mixing up of a typical bread.

Along with the challah, I made Turbot in a Provencal style. This means relatively simply prepared with a lot of fresh herbs and olive oil. The fish is served over greens, in my case fresh arugula, to add to its presentation, flavor, and nutrition. I personally love Turbot and find that it practically melts in my mouth, but feel free to substitute any firm, white fish here.

Difficulty: medium
Time: 3.5 hours
Cost: $25.48

Butternut Squash Risotto

How did I not discover risotto far earlier in my life? It’s so amazing, yet I do not believe I ate it at all growing up. It’s only now that I can dive into the endless combinations with different vegetables, cheeses, proteins, and even grains. Despite all technically being “risotto” you can create variations that are vastly different from another, continually stirring ideas for innovative recipes.

In this particular risotto, a typical base of Arborio rice is used but it’s filled with roasted butternut squash that provides a sweetness and warmth. Some cheese and sugared nuts round out the meal, but I actually would even suggest leaving out the nuts. The risotto is fabulous without it and I rather prefer the actual texture of risotto to the crunchiness the nuts add.

I paired this dish with salmon with mushrooms in a honey mustard sauce, a simple favorite of mine. Since this dish packs a wallop of vegetables while also being very filling, you could simply serve it on its own or pair it with any tasty protein!

Difficulty: medium
Time: 1 hr 20 min
Cost: $15.58

Rockfish with Sauteed Leeks

First, can I have a little rant? There is an inherent problem with coffee. In the morning, I want it. So I make it- or at least I try. Yet since I’m not yet awake or fully functioning, there are some mornings where I manage to pour the water into the filter with the coffee grinds, forget about the water, forget about the grinds, or somehow manage to screw up my coffee. Then when I saunter out of my room, clothed and ready to grab my coffee and hop on the metro to work, it’s unavailable. I was too tired to make it and now I won’t have it to wake up. If that’s not a vicious cycle, then I’m not sure what is!

Whew.

Okay, rant aside (thanks for listening!) so now it’s time to jump into the recipe of the day. This simple recipe is positively tantalizing. While a pain to cut and clean (since they’re just so dirty), leeks are worth the effort. They’re light cousins to onions, providing a lot of flavor but more smoothness than bite. Here, sautéed to bring out a touch of natural sweetness, they practically melt in your mouth. Who can resist? And then, to round out the meal, I served them with some roasted fingerling potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

Difficulty: easy
Time: 25 min
Cost: $25.48

Eggplant Parmesan

Somehow, this favorite of mine has not yet made it onto my blog. How has that happened? No idea. I make this dish fairly frequently but somehow taking a picture and writing it up never happened. A tragedy. I only hope that while belated, this recipe is good enough to make up for your long wait and welcome you to the world of healthy, homemade eggplant parmesan!

Although obviously usually a main dish, I actually usually make this on a Sunday night to take to work all week as part of my lunch. Unfortunately, my boyfriend is not a fan of eggplant. (I know, I should break up with him right now!) If I make it for dinner, I’ll be eating alone. So lunch it is! However, if you haven’t tried this yet, I actually recommend it. The dish keeps very well and is easily reheated in a microwave at work. So dive right in and make it for dinner, lunch, and anything else.

Difficulty: easy
Time: 1 hr