Fish with Garlic Lemon Butter Herb Sauce

I have heard that you are suppose to eat fish in the months which end with 'er' but I eat sea food till March and then give it a break because it gets too hot and I am already so hot that it gets a bit of hard for people to resist me.

Hence, for me January, February and March is Januaryer, Februaryer and Marcher.

I have never cooked Salmon and I always wanted to. So, I went out and got some for me. This recipe has a longer name than Akon but it was definitely worth the money. Fish with Garlic Lemon Butter Herb Sauce, the name says it all and in fact it describes all of the ingredients as well.

I have chose salmon for this because I wanted to try out the mutton of seafood but you can go ahead and try any kind of boneless fish you want.

INGREDIENTS:

2 fish fillets with skin about 750 grams or may be even more

2 tablespoons of olive oil or more if desired (I used 4 because most of it was absorbed by fish skin)

2-3 tablespoons of butter

2-3 tablespoons of finely chopped garlic

2-3 tablespoons of chopped parsley or cilantro

1 teaspoon of dried basil

1 teaspoon of dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme

1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

3-4 tablespoon of lemon juice

The recipe is very easy and only took me 30 minutes to make.

Sprinkle salt, dried thyme, oregano, basil and some chopped parsley or cilantro leave on the flesh side of the fish.

On medium heat add 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a non stick pan. Don't let the oil smoke keep an eye on it and put fish skin side up.

Fry it for 5 minutes and turn the fish around (flesh side up) fry it for another 4 minutes.

Turn the heat off and cover the pan with a lid. Let the fish rest for 5-10 minutes.

Carefully take the fish out on a plate (skin side up) and with the help of a spatula remove the skin of the fish fillets.

Now if the oil in the pan doesn't seem enough add a tablespoon or two. Turn the stove to medium heat again. Add finely chopped garlic and season the oil with some salt and black pepper.

Squeeze in the lemon juice and cook until the garlic turns slight brown.

Turn off the heat, quickly add butter and parsley and stir continuously until the butter is melted forming a thick sauce.

Add the fish to the sauce and sprinkle the rest of the parsley on it. You can eat this with bread, pasta and rice.

DO NOT FORGET TO THANK ME LATER.

Pesto Fettuccine w/ Grilled Chicken

The recipe that I am about to teach you all is from one of my favorite dine-ins in Lahore known as The Pantry.

This recipe is super easy and quick to make. It is called Pesto Fettuccine w/ Grilled Chicken. Pest is originated from Italy but who gives a crap about it we just want to eat and have a good time.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound fettuccine cooked and soaked

3 cups of fresh basil leaves

1 cup of grated Parmesan Cheese (you can find it from green valley or al fatah)

1/2 cup of pine nuts (can be replaced by cashew nuts)

1 cup of olive oil

3 cloves garlic

2-4 chicken breasts sliced from the middle

2 red chilies (if you want to spice it up a little)

Place the water to boil the pasta.

While the water boils, season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.

We will keep the seasoning of the chicken plain as we don't want to overcome the pesto's flavor.

Heat a grill pan on medium heat and grill the chicken for 4-6 minutes on each side.

Take it out when it is cooked and slice it just like in the picture.

The water must be boiled by now so add the pasta and cook it for 7-8 minutes until al dente.

Time to make the pesto.

Put the pine nuts, parmesan cheese and garlic cloves in a food processor. Pulse it until it is grounded.

Now add the olive oil slowly and keep it running.

Now add the basil leaves and pulse it until it all becomes a green mixture.

Place the pesto and the pasta besides each other.

Pour the pesto over the pasta and watch them both making love to each other. I'M KIDDING, mix the pasta and the pesto thoroughly together.

Place the Pesto Fettuccine in a bowl, top it with some more pine nuts and grate some parmesan cheese over it. Put the grilled chicken slices over it and SERVE!!!

KUNG PAO CHICKEN

This is my retake on Kung Pao Chicken because the first I made it I was not much experienced and I ended up adding cashew nuts because Mom loved them. Then I got lectured by someone about how cashew nuts are not Kung Pao which made me so furious that I met a Chinese living in Lahore to confirm.

FYI - KUNG PAO CHICKEN CAN BE MADE WITH ALMONDS, CASHEW NUTS AND BASICALLY ANY TYPE OF NUT. This is a Schezuan cuisine and the type of nuts does not have to do anything with the authenticity.

In Pakistan we don't know any other Pao than "beta zara ghr atay hovey aik pao dahi le ana." Kung Pao Chicken is literally one of my all time favorites.

INGREDIENTS FOR CHICKEN:

500 grams boneless, skinless chicken breast cut in 1/2 inch cubes

1 tablespoon red chili paste

pinch of salt and pepper

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoons baking powder (it tenderizes the chicken)

INGREDIENTS FOR SAUCE:

1 tablespoon of finely chopped ginger

6 garlic cloves finely chopped

10 dried red chilies cut in 1/2 inch pieces (you can skip or lessen them to adjust spice)

4 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons white vinegar

3/4 cup of chicken stock

1 tablespoon cornflour

4-5 green onions chopped

1/4 cup of salted peanuts (you can also add more or less)

Really easy and simple to make.

First we marinate the chicken by adding salt, pepper, soy sauce, oyster sauce and baking powder to it.

Mix it and keep it aside.

Now we let the chicken marinade and we slice green onions and dried red chilies.

Now let's prepare the sauce by putting soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, chicken stock and cornflour.

Mix it well and keep it aside.

Now we heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok on high heat and fry the chicken.

After the chicken is cooked take it out separately.

Now we heat a another tablespoon of oil in the same wok and stir fry garlic, ginger and dry red chilies for 1 minute.

Give the sauce a stir in a bowl and add it to the wok. Turn up the heat to medium.

As soon as the sauce starts boiling stir the dry ingredients and mix them together.

Now we add chicken and stir it in the sauce for a minute.

Time to add the peanuts and give them a good stir for 30 seconds.

Quickly add the green onions and stir for another minute and TADA. Kung Pao Chicken is ready to serve.

KUNG PAO CHICKEN

EVERYONE !!!