Cooking Light Night #2

Welcome home Matt & Camille. I picked them up at the Burbank airport tonight on their return trip from Spokane. It was great to see them but did make for a bit of a long day. Between baggage mishaps, arrival times, and traffic, I didn't make it home until 7:30 p.m. And you know what, it was ALL WORTH IT. Because Don had dinner ready and waiting for me when I got home. Tonights Halibut recipe was a nice change from our regular chicken, beef, and salmon rotation. We just used frozen Halibut from Trader Joes and it turned out quite tasty. The whole steaming in Parchment thing is kind of fun and makes clean up pretty easy. But Halibut aside, the highlight of the meal had to be the dressing on the bean salad. It's absolutely unbelievable. You must try this recipe! We used fresh cut green beans instead of wax beans. Either way it's still delicious. Thank you, Babe, for an AMAZING dinner!

Parchment-Baked Halibut With Pesto, Zucchini, and Carrots


Prep: 20 minutes; Cook: 15 minutes. In place of halibut, you can use other small, flat, white fish fillets, such as red snapper, sea bass, pompano, striped bass, or cod.


4 (12- x 18-inch) sheets parchment paper
Cooking spray
4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets
1/4 cup commercial pesto
1 cup shredded carrots (2 medium)
1 cup shredded zucchini (1 small)
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
4 teaspoons olive oil
4 teaspoons dry white wine

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Follow directions for heart-shaped parchment package below.

2. Unfold parchment heart, and coat lightly with cooking spray, leaving a 2-inch border ungreased at edge.

3. Place fillet on one side so that it touches the fold, but not the ungreased border. Spread 1 tablespoon pesto over fillet; top with 1/4 cup carrot and 1/4 cup zucchini. Sprinkle with one-fourth of salt and pepper. Drizzle fillet with 1 teaspoon oil and 1 teaspoon wine.

4. Fold paper; seal edges with narrow folds. Repeat with the remaining parchment paper, fish, and vegetables.

5. Place packets on baking sheets. Bake at 450° for 15 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. To serve, open packets and transfer the fillets with their vegetable topping to plates; pour juices over top. Or serve right in packets; carefully transfer to plates and pierce each to allow steam to escape.

Note: Nutritional analysis includes Sugars 0g.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 parchment packet)

CALORIES 253 ; FAT 10g (sat 2g,mono 6g,poly 2g); CHOLESTEROL 56mg; CALCIUM 112mg; CARBOHYDRATE 1g; SODIUM 337mg; PROTEIN 36g; FIBER 0.0g; IRON 2mg

Health, MARCH 2005

Wax Bean, Roasted Pepper, and Tomato Salad with Goat Cheese


A tart vinaigrette dresses this fresh combination of mild-tasting wax beans, sweet roasted red bell pepper, and juicy cherry tomatoes. Pungent goat cheese adds an extra dimension of flavor. To save time, you can use bottled roasted red bell peppers; just rinse them well to remove as much of the briny flavor as possible.


1 medium red bell pepper
2 quarts water
2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 pound wax beans, trimmed and cut in half crosswise
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon extravirgin olive oil
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

Preheat broiler.

Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise, and discard the seeds and membranes. Place bell pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil pepper halves 10 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag, and seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel and cut into strips.

Bring 2 quarts water and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add beans; cook 4 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender. Drain; place in a large bowl. Add bell pepper strips, tomatoes, onions, and parsley; toss to combine.

Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, cider vinegar, and remaining ingredients except goat cheese, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over salad; toss gently to combine. Sprinkle with goat cheese.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

CALORIES 63 (36% from fat); FAT 2.5g (sat 1.2g,mono 0.9g,poly 0.3g); IRON 1.2mg; CHOLESTEROL 3mg; CALCIUM 40mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8.9g; SODIUM 289mg; PROTEIN 3g; FIBER 2.7g

Cooking Light, JULY 2005