Some say jigh-ro, some say ear-ro, but chef Cat Cora says whatever you call it, try it with halibut and lettuce cups. She shares a simple gyro and tart from her book, “Cat Cora's Kitchen.”
Recipe: Lettuce “Gyros” with Spicy Halibut and Cucumber Yogurt (on this page) Recipe: Fruit Tart (on this page)To make the lettuce gyros
Preheat grill or oven to 400 degrees.
Season the halibut with half of the olive oil, half of the lime juice, chili blend, salt and pepper. Let sit and absorb for 10 minutes. Place on the grill or in the oven until cooked through, but not dry, about 6-8 minutes. In a mixing bowl, mix the tomatoes, onion, olives, oregano, parsley, the remaining olive oil, remaining limes juice, salt and pepper and blend well.
Once the fish is done, remove from the oven and let sit until slightly warm. On lukewarm serving plates, layer a butterleaf leaf with a radicchio leaf and flake a generous amount of halibut into each one. Top with the tomatoes and onion mixture. Spoon on a dollop of the yogurt and garnish with the scallions.
To make the cucumber yogurt
Add lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt to the yogurt. Add grated cucumber and mix well. Chill for at least one hour.
Serve immediately with a good white wine, beer or ouzo. This is also great with other fish such as salmon, snapper, branzino, or even tuna.
Serves 4-6
Mix flour, powdered sugar, ground ginger and salt in processor. Add butter and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk 1 yolk and water in small bowl to blend. Add to processor by tablespoonful and process until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour.
Pour milk into heavy medium saucepan. Add ginger. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat. Cover and let steep 30 minutes. Strain and return to same saucepan. Bring to simmer. Whisk 3 yolks, sugar and cornstarch in medium bowl until well blended. Gradually whisk in hot milk. Return mixture to same saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until mixture thickens and comes to boil. Boil 1 minute. Pour pastry cream into clean bowl. Press plastic onto surface and refrigerate until well chilled, about 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 14 inch round. Transfer to 11-inch round tart pan with removable bottom. Line crust with foil, parchment or coffee filters; fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until sides of crust are set, about 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until crust is golden, piercing with fork if bubbles form. Transfer pan to rack and cool completely.
Combine preserves and Cognac in heavy small saucepan. Stir over low heat until preserves melt. Transfer to processor; puree until smooth. Brush half of syrup over bottom of crust. Spread pastry cream evenly over. Arrange fruit over pastry cream. Rewarm preserve mixture. Brush over fruit.
© 2012 MSNBC Interactive. Reprints
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