Black Cod with Bacon Dashi

It’s an age-old dilemma: serve your valentine a dish as rich as romance, or something to avoid feeling stuffed after dinner?

Find balance in this Black cod with bacon dashi, which takes the alluring, smokey flavor of bacon and actually makes it light and healthy. Dashi is a seaweed broth rich in minerals with as much Vitamin C as orange juice. Black cod is a terrific source of protein and healthy fats. Find those recipes below.

INGREDIENTS

Bacon Dashi

• 3 cups water

• 5 kombu seaweed sheets

• 3 strips bacon

• 1” fresh or 1 piece dry galangal ginger

• 2 tbsp mirin (to taste)

• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (to taste)

• 1 tbsp sake (to taste)

Black Cod

• 4 6-ounce black cod fillets, skin on

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• sea salt

• white pepper

• corn starch for dusting on skin

PREPARATION

In a saucepan, bring the water to 140° and add the kombu and ginger. After steeping for 30 minutes, discard the kombu (or reserve for another use like a seaweed salad). Add the bacon, keeping the temperature similarly low for another 30 minutes. Discard the bacon and ginger. Next, season the dashi with mirin, sake and/or soy sauce. Pour the sauce into a shallow sauce pan and keep warm until you are ready to use it to poach the fish.

Season the skin side only with sea salt and pepper from well above. Smack corn starch on the skin only. Heat olive oil in a pan on medium high. Sear the skin side only until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes); you should see the sides of the flesh start to turn whiter. Gently flip the fillets into a shallow sauce pan with the bacon dashi broth. Be careful to only submerge the fillets one quarter of the way up their sides. Finish steeping and poaching for approximately another 3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.

A Bacon-Wrapped Scallop with a Bloody Mary Kick

If you’re cooking for your special somebody this valentine’s day, here’s something in romantic red that will make them come running but won’t weigh them down. I’m not one to use bacon much (as it’s not known for its health benefits), but there’s no denying that there’s something special about the smoky flavor and the alluring scent when its cooking. Par-cooking the bacon in the microwave between paper towels ensures its fat is rendered evenly and that much of it ends up absorbed by the paper. Here, I’ve paired it with sumptuous scallops, which — in addition to their delectable taste — offer a variety of nutrients that can promote cardiovascular health plus provide protection against colon cancer. They’re also a good source of B12, magnesium and potassium. Meanwhile, the Bloody Mary sauce features vitamin-rich tomatoes, garlic and horseradish with a bit of a vodka kick that you can take or leave, depending on your lover’s taste.

INGREDIENTS

Bloody Mary Sauce

• 1 bunch of fresh basil

• 5 pounds of Roma tomatoes or vine ripe tomatoes

• 5 teaspoons prepared horseradish (not creamed)

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled

• 1 celery stick

• 3/4 cup vodka

• 3 Tbsp sherry vinegar

• 1 small slice of red beet for color,

• sea salt and fresh black pepper

Scallops

• 8 slices bacon

• 8 large sea scallops

• Olive Oil

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter

• 1 Lemon

• Scallops

PREPARATION

Scallops and Bacon

1. Prepare the bacon. Layer uncooked bacon on a plate with paper towels lining the plate and in between the layers of bacon. Cook in the microwave one minute to “pre cook” the bacon and remove some of the fat. Your bacon will be slightly cooked but not crunchy, and should wrap easily.

2. Wrap the scallops, secure with tooth pick and cut off extra bacon. Chop up all the leftover pieces of bacon and set aside.

3. In a large skillet. heat one tablespoon olive oil and one tablespoon butter.

4. Place bacon-wrapped scallops in a hot pan and sear two to three minutes on each side, being careful to not overcrowd the pan.

Bloody Mary Sauce

1. Pick several smaller leaves from the basil and set them aside. Crush the remaining basil, stems and all, into a large bowl. Halve or quarter the tomatoes and add to the basil — along with the horseradish, celery, garlic, vinegar, vodka, beet and sea salt/ground black pepper. Let marinate for at least six hours or overnight.

2. Preferably with a stick blender, puree the marinated vegetables (though a regular blender or a food processor will also do). Taste and add more seasoning as necessary.

3. Pass this mixture through a course strainer or cheesecloth until smooth. Do not let it touch the garnish until just before serving or the garnish will wilt.

PLATING

In a shallow bowl, place one scallop on a couple of frisée leaves and gently pour the Bloody Mary sauce around at the bottom of the scallop — preferably until it reaches about one quarter of the way up the scallop. Add a couple of celery leaves and give a squirt of fresh-squeezed lemon. Makes eight appetizer-sized portions. Garnish with frisée lettuce and celery leaves.