Pan-Seared Wahoo with Tomato-Avocado Relish

When you want a meal that’s as light and nutritious as it is fast and flavorful, pan-sear some fish, add a fresh, easy topping, and serve it with a side of rice or black beans—doesn’t get simpler or much more healthful than that.

This recipe will work for any kind of fish, especially a meaty variety like swordfish, tuna, or wahoo, as here. This was my first time cooking—and eating—wahoo, and I’ll be doing so again whenever it’s available in my area. It's really delicious.

Wahoo is found in tropical waters all over the world, and it’s known for its speed, making it an attractive challenge to sports fishermen. It's a member of the mackerel family, but the flavor is milder and the flesh is less oily. Its texture is dense, similar to swordfish, and stands up well in a hot skillet. In land-locked parts of the country like mine, or places far from the tropics, wahoo is sold frozen.

Wahoo Steaks

Both the fish and fresh tomato-avocado relish in this dish come together quickly—just give the relish about 15 minutes to develop its flavors. The fish cooks in less than 10. Add a bed of nutty basmati rice or black beans to round out this tasty, inviting dinner.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 6 grape tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
• 1 small, slightly firm avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp finely chopped red onion
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil, for brushing
• 2 4-1/2- to 5-oz wahoo steaks, about 1 inch thick
• cooked rice or black beans, for serving (optional)

Preparation

1. Combine the first 5 ingredients (through lime juice) in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Let stand 15 minutes.

Tomato-Avocado Relish

1. Heat a heavy, preferably cast-iron, skillet over medium heat. Brush with olive oil.
2. Season the fish with salt and pepper and sear until just cooked-through, 3-4 minutes per side, depending on thickness.

Wahoo Beginning to Sear 

Wahoo after Turning 

Pan-Seared Wahoo

Plate the fish and spoon tomato-avocado relish on top. Serve rice or beans alongside, if desired.

Pan-Seared Wahoo with Tomato-Avocado Relish

Linguine with Dried-Tomato Pesto

Jars of oil-packed “sun-dried” tomatoes are plentiful on stores shelves (not sure how many of those tomatoes were actually dried in the sun), but you can get the rich, caramelized flavor of gently dried tomatoes from your own oven in an hour or so. The preparation couldn’t be easier and the ingredients couldn’t be fresher: tomatoes.

Two keys to creating sweet, delicious oven-dried tomatoes: low temperature and very thin slices—about one-tenth of an inch thick. A little drizzle of good olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt provide just enough seasoning to enhance the natural flavor of the fruit.

Large Roma Tomatoes 

Thinly Slice the Tomatoes

Pesto is one of the simplest and tastiest sauces you can add to pasta—no cooking involved. Typically made from fresh basil or other herbs, pesto is also delicious with a dried tomato base, as in this recipe. Of course, if you dry your own tomatoes, there is a little cooking involved here. So easy and so worth it.

For a parsley-based pesto recipe, check out Linguine with Garlic Shrimp in Parsley-Pecan Pesto.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 large roma tomatoes, cut into 1/10-inch-thick slices
• extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling, plus 1/3 cup
• sea salt
• 1/4 cup broken pecan pieces
• 1/2 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 8 oz linguine

Remaining Pesto Ingredients

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 200° F. Line a large, shallow baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Lay the tomatoes in a single layer in the pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with sea salt.
3. Place in the oven and dry until very soft and wrinkled, 1 to 1-1/4 hours. When cool enough to handle, transfer the tomatoes to a cutting board and coarsely chop.
4. Place in a sealable container and add 1/3 cup olive oil. Seal and let stand at room temperature 2 hours. (The tomatoes may be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate and let stand at room temperature a couple hours before proceeding.)

Tomatoes Ready to Dry

Dried Tomatoes

Chopped Dried Tomatoes 

Tomatoes in Oil

1. Heat a small, dry skillet over medium heat. Add the pecans and lightly toast, shaking the pan frequently to prevent scorching, 2-3 minutes. Transfer the pecans to a plate and let cool 5 minutes.

Toasted Pecans

1. Use a fork or slotted spoon to remove the tomatoes from the oil and place them in a food processor. (Reserve the oil.)
2. Add the toasted pecans, parsley, garlic, and tomato paste to the processor and season with salt and pepper. Grind until finely chopped.
3. With the processor on, slowly pour in the reserved oil. Scrape down the sides of the processor bowl and process until coarsely smooth. Pour the pesto into a bowl and stir in the cheese.

Ingredients Ready to Grind

Ground Ingredients before Oil 

Pesto with Oil 

Dried-Tomato Pesto

1. Meanwhile, cook the linguine in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente, 8-9 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Add the pesto and stir well to combine with the pasta.

Divide the linguine and pesto among 4 pasta bowls and serve right away.

Linguine with Dried-Tomato Pesto

Pancetta Panini with Grilled Bell Pepper

Do it all in one pan. These warm, casual, cheesy, smoky sandwiches come together in a single grill pan, start to finish. When you make panini, choose only a few ingredients so that the rolls are easy to flatten in the pan. That said, make sure those few ingredients are very flavorful.

For this recipe, smoky grilled bell pepper, pancetta, and creamy provolone cheese are all you need to make tasty, satisfying sandwiches that eat like a full-course meal.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• olive oil, for brushing
• 2 medium red bell peppers, cut into thin 1-inch strips
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 lb thinly sliced pancetta
• 8 slices crusty bread, 5 to 6 inches long
• 8 thin slices provolone cheese

Panini Ingredients

Bell Pepper Strips

Preparation

1. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat and brush with olive oil. Scatter the bell pepper strips in the pan and season with salt and pepper. Grill until soft and slightly charred, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Do not wipe out the pan.

Peppers Beginning to Grill

Grilled Bell Peppers

1. Working in batches, lay an even layer of pancetta in the pan and grill until just cooked through, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Pancetta Beginning to Grill 

Grilled Pancetta

1. Lay the bread slices on a work surface and brush all with oil.
2. Divide the pancetta on 4 slices and top with bell pepper strips. Top with 2 slices of provolone each and place the tops on the sandwiches. Press down gently.

Bread Brushed with Oil 

Pancetta Layer

Bell Pepper Layer 

Cheese Layer

1. Wipe excess oil from the grill pan and re-heat over medium-high heat. Brush lightly with olive oil. Place 2 panini in the pan and place a grill press on top (or use a small, heavy skillet as a press).
2. Grill until the bread shows grill marks on the bottom, 3-4 minutes. Turn and grill, continuing to press, until the cheese is melted and the sandwiches are hot throughout, 2 minutes longer. Repeat with the remaining 2 sandwiches.

Panini Beginning to Grill

Panini after Turning

Cut each panini in half on the diagonal and serve.

Pancetta Panini with Grilled Bell Pepper

Pan-Seared Chicken with Tomato-Corn Relish

The easy, tasty relish in this dish is a simple way to celebrate the fresh flavors of spring and summer vegetables—with a lot of color and very little time. I use it here to accompany pan-seared chicken, but it would work well as a topping for pork chops or fish too.

Don’t cheat with the corn! Kernels are easy to remove from a fresh ear and taste much better in season than canned or frozen. (Tip: Leave about a one-inch piece of stalk on the corn to use as a "stand" in the bowl, giving the knife blade more room at the bottom.) 

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 ear of corn, husked
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tsp
• 2 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup chopped zucchini
• 1/3 cup chopped yellow or orange bell pepper
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 6 grape tomatoes, quartered
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, 6-7 oz each

Relish Ingredients

Preparation

1. Stand the ear of corn on its stalk end in a shallow bowl. Use a sharp knife to slowly scrape down the sides, removing the kernels. 
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the corn, scallions, zucchini, and bell pepper and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, 5-6 minutes, until tender and beginning to brown.
3. Transfer to a bowl and let cool 3-4 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, cilantro, and lemon juice and re-season with salt and pepper.

Cut the Kernels from the Corn

Corn Mixture Beginning to Cook 

Cooked Corn Mixture

Tomato-Corn Relish

1. Meanwhile, heat another skillet (preferably cast-iron) over medium-high heat and brush with 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Sear until golden brown on the bottom, 6-7 minutes.
2. Turn the breasts over and reduce the heat to medium. Sear until just cooked through, 5-6 minutes, depending on thickness. Transfer to a plate and let rest 3 minutes.

Chicken Ready to Cook

Chicken Beginning to Cook 

Chicken after Turning

Plate the chicken and spoon the tomato-corn relish on top of and around the chicken.

Pan-Seared Chicken with Tomato-Corn Relish

Pulled-Chicken Tacos with Loaded Guacamole

In my opinion, tacos don’t get the respect they deserve on the dinner table. Maybe that’s because they often land there in paper bags from a fast-food place. As with anything else, preparing them at home turns the humble taco into an inviting, flavorful, even healthful meal, whether you go authentic Mexican, Tex-Mex, or California style. I’ll call the ones in this recipe a combination of the latter two.

Yes, you could buy a rotisserie chicken at the supermarket and shred the meat, but that bird won’t be as tender and succulent as the one you slow-cook in your own oven. Is it worth spending two hours making a taco dinner? You bet. And your guests will love you for it.   

Braising a whole chicken gives you a mix of white and dark meat. If you prefer one or the other, substitute all leg quarters for dark meat only or all breast for white meat. (Use bone-in breasts—they’ll be a little juicier than boneless.) To help the chicken braise evenly in only a couple hours, cut it in half lengthwise by removing the backbone with kitchen shears, then cutting through the breast plate.

Cut Along Each Side of the Backbone 

Remove the Backbone 

Cut through the Breast Plate

I usually enjoy a simple, unadorned—and more authentic—guacamole, but sometimes it’s fun (and tasty) to load it up with fresh ingredients for a little extra depth and heartiness. Fresh tomatoes, tomatillos, chile, onion, cilantro, lime juice—all come together to make a very flavorful accompaniment for the chicken.

I used homemade ranchero sauce as a finisher, but choose your favorite bottled hot sauce as an alternative.

Makes about 10 tacos

Ingredients

For the Chicken

• 1 whole fryer chicken (about 3 lbs), cut lengthwise in half, backbone removed
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano (or regular dried oregano)
• 1 tsp chile powder
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup ranchero sauce (or other hot sauce), plus more for serving
• 10 6-inch tortillas (flour or corn), warmed

For the Guacamole

• 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• sea salt
• 3 small (or 2 medium) ripe avocados, halved lengthwise, pit removed
• 8 grape tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
• 2 small tomatillos, husked and chopped
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice 

Guacamole Ingredients

Preparation

For the Chicken

1. Preheat the oven to 300° F. 
2. Place the chicken halves cut-side down in a Dutch oven or large, ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid. Scatter the garlic around and on top of the chicken and season with oregano, chile powder, salt, and pepper.
3. Pour the broth into the pot and cover tightly. Braise until the meat is fork-tender, about 2 hours, turning once halfway through.

Seasoned Chicken 

Broth Added

Chicken Halfway Through

Braised Chicken

1. Remove the chicken to a large plate or cutting board and let rest until cool enough to handle. Remove the skin and pull the meat from the bones, shredding it into bite-sized pieces.
2. Heat a large skillet or saucepan over low heat and add the pulled chicken. Add 1/2 cup of ranchero sauce (or bottled hot sauce) and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and keep warm until ready to use.

Let the Chicken Cool

Pulled Chicken with Sauce

Transfer the chicken to a serving bowl and serve with warm tortillas, guacamole (recipe follows), and extra sauce.

Pulled-Chicken Tacos with Loaded Guacamole

For the Guacamole

1. Place the garlic cloves in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Use a fork to mash the garlic and salt to form a chunky paste.
2. Scoop the flesh of the avocado into the bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Stir well to combine.

Scooped Avocado and Garlic Paste 

Mashed Avocado

Loaded Guacamole