Mediterranean Seafood Salad

Now that April is finally here, spring has sprung! Which means it's time to kick up our healthy diets and hide away all those heavy, holiday foods. Combining seafood, a light pasta and greens is an excellent way to rejuvenate your body with energy, protein and antioxidants.

Mediterranean Seafood Salad
1/2 pound calamari
1/2 pound shrimp
1 1/2 cups orzo pasta
5 cups herb salad (you can find this packaged together at your grocery store, if not you can pair together any of your favorite herbs: I love fresh dill, arugula, endive, radicchio and spinach)
1 bag of frozen speckled butter beans
1/2 lemon
4 cups chicken stock
2 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1/2 green pepper
3 scallions
olive oil
salt
pepper

First you want to slice your veggies and toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper then place them on the grill for about 4 minutes per side. While the veggies are grilling, heat up your chicken stock to cook the orzo. Once the veggies are grilled, place the squid and shrimp on the grill for two minutes per side. Once they are done, place them on a cutting board to cool before you add to the salad. Heat up your butter beans in a few tablespoons of chicken stock, until tender. Add the herb salad to your large serving bowl, add in the grilled  veggies, cooked orzo, then slice up your squid into rings- add that in and lastly place your beautiful shrimp atop your lovely, earthy, scrumptious salad.

This salad would be perfect for any girls night in, in-law dinner, or just a romantic evening- pair with a bottle of Becker Chardonnay (my favorite) and you're perfecto! Ciao!

xo Lo

Dill Salmon with Quinoa, Cucumber Salad & Fresh Peas

In the heat of summer, seafood dishes are refreshing and exciting for the palate. Salmon is a common fish that most people prefer, dill is a beautiful herb to enlighten the flavors in any salmon dish. Recently, I've been digging into quinoa, one of the most amazing grains available. This is the one grain that is a protein versus a carbohydrate and can take on almost any flavor you pair it with. Cucumber salad is one of my personal favorites for summer, the coolness of the yogurt sauce and the spike of the dill is a gorgeous combination in hot temperatures. Peas are an easy veggie to chef up, I always add them into a saute pan with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic.

For this recipe, I took a filet of salmon added olive oil, salt, pepper and dill then set aside to let the flavors merry. I grabbed the quinoa, added it to a saute pan with olive oil and let the quinoa get toasty, after a few minutes I add chicken stock, this will enhance the flavor of any grain or pasta dish. Next I created a yogurt sauce with one cup of plain Greek yogurt, dill, garlic, salt and pepper. I place this yogurt sauce into the fridge to let the flavors come together. Next I thinly slice the cucumber, sprinkle with salt in a colander and let sit to drain out the water.

Next, I check on the quinoa, give it a stir then I grab some yellow onions, dice them up and throw them in a saute pan with olive oil, these will go into the quinoa when it has absorbed the chicken stock. This dish has a lot of components that are time sensitive. It is important not to cook the salmon right away because it cooks so quickly that it'll be waiting for the other dishes to finish and get cold.

Once the quinoa is absorbed, scoop it into the saute pan that is holding the onions and stir. Rinse the cucumbers, add the dill-yogurt sauce and place back into the fridge to chill. Stir the peas, turn the heat lower (peas cook quickly). Finally, place your salmon onto the grill pan with olive oil. Salmon does not need a lot of time to cook, you want a crispy sear on the outside and a velvety medium-rare inside. Which means you only need to cook the salmon for 2 minutes on each side, unless you prefer well-done fish then you would cook it for about 4 minutes on each side.

Time to plate, place the salmon on the dish, the creamy onion quinoa, fresh garlicky peas and refreshing, cool cucumber salad. This dish will make you love summer nights!

xo Lo