THE NIBBLE BLOG: Products, Recipes & Trends In Specialty Foods


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RECIPE: Salmon Tostadas

July 12, 2015 at 8:42 am · Filed under Fish-Seafood-Caviar, International Foods, Recipes

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Nutritionists advise that salmon and other fish make a healthier tostada or taco. Also substitute fat-free Greek yogurt for the sour cream! And substitute corn tortillas and shells for the white flour versions. Photo courtesy Salmon From Norway.

  

According to Cabo Flats Cantina & Bar, there are 54,000 Mexican restaurants in the U.S., and $39 billion is spent each year on Mexican food.

You can keep some of that restaurant money in your pocket by making these tasty salmon tostadas at home.

Simple mesquite-seasoned salmon tostadas are a tasty Tex-Mex meal. You can grill the salmon or cook it on the stove top.

RECIPE: FRESH SALMON TOSTADAS

Ingredients For 4 Servings

  • 4 each 5-6 ounce salmon fillets, skin removed
  • 1 small head iceberg lettuce
  • 4 teaspoons mesquite barbeque seasoning
  • 2 tablelspoons canola oil
  • 8 tostada shells
  • 1 can refried black beans
  • 1 cup Mexican cheese blend, shredded
  • 3/4 cup salsa
  • Optional garnish: sour cream (substitute plain Greek yogurt)
  • Optional garnish: fresh cilantro leaves
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    Preparation

    1. SHRED the lettuce.

    2. SPRINKLE mesquite seasoning on each fillet. Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat, add the canola oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Carefully place the salmon into the pan, and cook for 2-3 minutes until browned.

    3. TURN over carefully and cook for another 4-6 minutes or to desired temperature.

    4. HEAT the refried beans in a saucepan while the salmon finishes cooking.

    5. ASSEMBLE: Place 3-4 tablespoons of beans on each tostada shell, and place two shells overlapping on each plate. Mound lettuce on top of the beans and sprnkle with the cheese. Place a salmon fillet on top. Garnish with salsa and the optional sour cream and cilantro.
     
    Find more salmon recipes at SalmonFromNorway.com.
     
    TACO, TORTILLA, TOSTADA: THE DIFFERENCE

  • A taco is a corn tortilla with filling. Corn tortillas have more flavor and are whole grain. Taco chips are made from corn tortillas.
  • Flour tortillas are more pliable and used to roll burritos, enchiladas and soft tacos. Hard tacos are flour tortillas that have been deep fried into the familiar “U” shape.
  • Burritos are a meal-size alternative to tacos. Tacos are snack foods, and typically have one filling (beef, chicken, fish) plus garnishes (cilantro, lettuce, onion, salsa, sour cream, tomato, etc.). They can be made with corn or flour tortillas. The much larger burritos require a flour tortilla that won’t crack when rolled. It has multiple fillings—beans, cheese, meat, rice, vegetables, etc. While tacos date back to pre-Columbian times, the burrito is a 1940s century invention, credited to an unnamed vendor who wanted to sell rice and beans without having to provide plates.
  • Quesadillas are large flour tortillas toasted on a grill with fillingd (cheese, meat, onion, pepper), folded over and sliced into triangles.
  • >Tostada means toasted, and refers to a “tortilla tostada,” a toasted tortilla.

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    TIP OF THE DAY: 12+ Uses For Flat Beer

    July 12, 2015 at 8:23 am · Filed under Beer & Hard Cider, Recipes, Tip Of The Day

    When leftover beer goes flat, there’s no need to toss it. With respect to all of the household and personal care uses, we prefer to consume it. When you add it to recipes, the flatness doesn’t matter at all; it becomes analogous to adding still wine.

    The beer is substituted for all or some of the water (or, in the case of a marinade, another liquid). Here are 12+ uses for flat, leftover beer:

  • Batter: Make beer batter shrimp, chicken, anything battered and fried.
  • Beans: Substitute for water, as in the Mexican recipe Frijoles Borrachos, “drunken beans”.
  • Beer Can Chicken: Set a whole chicken atop a beer can, atop a grill (recipe).
  • Braises: Add to pot roast and other slow-cooked meats like short ribs and pork butt. Check out this Belgian recipe for chicken with beer and prunes or carbonade flamande, a Belgian beef stew.
  • Brats and Franks: Steam them in beer.
  • Bread: Check out recipes for beer bread. There are a number of beer bread mixes, too: Just add the beer!
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    Who knew: You can add flat beer to pancake and waffle recipes. The slight bitterness is a nice counterpoint to the sweet syrup. The Silver Dollar Waffle Griddle is from Nordicware.
  • Butter: Make “beer butter,” a compound butter used for cooking. There’s a recipe below to use as a bread spread.
  • Cheese Soup: This was a popular breakfast soup in medieval Europe, sometimes poured over yesterday’s bread (or toast). Try it for lunch or dinner (recipe).
  • Honey Beer Sauce: Cook chicken breasts in this tasty sauce.
  • Marinades and Brines: Beer helps to tenderize and adds flavor.
  • Pancakes and Waffles: Replace the water with beer.
  • Sauces: Use beer instead of wine.
  • Seafood: Combine with water to steam clams, mussels, shrimp, etc. Consider adding some Old Bay seasoning.
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    Use leftover beer in a hearty cheese soup—a breakfast staple in medieval Europe. Photo courtesy Melissas.com.    		  

    RECIPE: HONEY MUSTARD BEER BUTTER

    Ingredients

  • 1 stick/8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room
    temperature
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon or honey mustard
  • 1 tablespoon beer
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

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    Preparation

    1. BEAT the butter in a mixing bowl until very soft and silky, 2 to 3 minutes. Drizzle in the honey and continue mixing until well incorporated.

    2. ADD the mustard, beer and salt. Beat until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Use immediately or tightly wrap and store in the refrigerator or freezer.
     

    Adapted from a recipe on SoupAddict.com, where it was used with Irish soda bread.

      

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    RECIPE: Blueberry Sorbet

    July 11, 2015 at 8:35 am · Filed under Food Holidays, Ice Cream-Sorbet-Yogurt, Recipes

    July is National Ice Cream Month as well as National Blueberry Month. Why not combine both concepts and make blueberry ice cream?

    Or, lower in calories and lactose free, blueberry sorbet?

    You don’t need an ice cream maker to prepare this two-ingredient blueberry sorbet; just blueberries and apple juice concentrate.

    The recipe, from U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, couldn’t be easier to make. While you can do it with fresh blueberries in season, it’s just as good with frozen blueberries, which are picked at their peak and flash-frozen.

    The icy and refreshing treat can be enjoyed plain or served with cake, cookies, pies or fruit salad; or turned into a sorbet cocktail or mocktail.

    RECIPE: BLUEBERRY SORBET

    Ingredients For 4 Cups/6 Servings

  • 4 cups fresh or thawed, frozen blueberries
  • 1 can (6 ounces) frozen apple juice concentrate
  • Optional garnish: fresh blueberries
  • Optional garnish: crème fraîche
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    Two-ingredient blueberry sorbet. Photo courtesy Blueberry Council.
     

    Preparation

    1. COMBINE the blueberries and apple juice concentrate in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Whirl until liquefied and our into a 11 X 7-inch baking pan. Cover and freeze until firm around the edges, about 2 hours.

    2. BREAK the frozen mixture into pieces with a heavy spoon. Place the pieces into the food processor or blender and whirl until smooth but not completely melted.

    3. SPOON into a 9 X 5-inch loaf pan; cover and freeze until firm. Serve within three days.
    Find more recipes at BlueberryCouncil.org.

      

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