Momokawa

Day: February 26, 2015

  • ORIENTAL PANINI

    ORIENTAL PANINI

    Ingredients

    1/2 medium size onion
    8 shiitake mushrooms
    1 teaspoon butter
    1 teaspoon soy sauce
    4 slices low-fat Swiss cheese
    8 slices whole grain bread
    Salt & pepper

    Preparation

    1. Slice the onion.
    2. Remove stems from shiitake mushrooms and clean them with a paper towel.

    Cooking

    1. Preheat a non-stick frying pan, add butter and the shiitake mushrooms.
    2. Make sure each mushroom is covered in butter, this will add to the flavor. Sauté for 2-3 min.
    3. Add the onions and sauté them together with the mushrooms until they have a sweat aroma. Season with salt and pepper.
    4. Add soy sauce just before removing mushrooms and onion from the frying pan (soy sauce burns easily). Set aside.
    5. Place Swiss cheese, onions and shiitake mushrooms on the sliced bread and sandwich it with the other half of bread.
    6. Place the sandwiches into a panini toaster at medium heat for 4-5 min. (If you don’t have a panini toaster just spray a pan with oil and place the sandwiches under a plate, as a weight).

    Nutrition Comments

    Shiitake mushrooms contain the hypocholesterolemic agent eritadenine, which is known to reduce cholesterol. Shiitake mushrooms are high in fiber, and sometimes hard to digest.
  • AQUA PAZZA

    AQUA PAZZA

    Ingredients

    For Fish

    1 whole white fish or filet with skin (either branzino, snapper or sea bass)

    Salt & pepper

    1 teaspoon chopped tarragon

    1 teaspoon olive oil

    For Soup

    6-8 little neck clams

    2 sticks celery, cut

    1 medium sized potato, cubed

    2 cloves garlic, crushed

    5-8 grape tomatoes

    5-6 green olives

    Salt & pepper

    1 teaspoon olive oil

    3/4 cup water used to blanch clams

    1/4 cup chicken broth (alternatively fish broth or kelp broth)

    For Garnish

    Sliced paprika

    1 teaspoon chopped tarragon

    Preparation

    1. Sprinkle fish with salt and set aside to drain on a paper towel for 15–20 min. This is to expel the excess water in the fish.
    2. Remove drained fish from the paper towel and sprinkle with tarragon.
    3. Wash clams with a brush thoroughly and soak in salted water in a stainless steel bowl, overnight. Instead of soaking clams overnight, you can blanch them in 2 cups of water.
    4. Once the shells have opened, remove from the bottom of skillet and wash each clam individually in the same water used for blanching.
    5. Strain the water into a separate container. This water will be used for the clam soup.
    6. Cut all vegetables into small pieces.

    Cooking

    1. Heat olive oil in a skillet and add garlic, celery and olives. Sauté for 5–6 min. on medium heat.
    2. Add clam soup (strained water from earlier), chicken broth and a potato and simmer until the potato is tender.
    3. In a large frying pan heat olive oil and add fish. Fry on medium heat until fish is browned. Depending on the size of the fish it’ll take 5-8 min.
    4. Add the entire soup content, including clams, tomatoes and paprika into frying pan. Cover and simmer on medium low for 5-7 min.
    5. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Note: Fish and clams make a tasty and flavorful broth, so salt is usually not needed.

    Nutrition Comments

    Fish is rich in protein and low in fat. The fish oil is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EDP. Clams contain a lot of minerals and taurine that helps reduce and stabilize high blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, fortify the liver and can also act as a preventative means for diabetes.