Some Like It Hot!!! – Healthy Recipe, Hot Haitian Shrimp

Healthy Recipe, Hot Haitian Shrimp

 

Ti-Malice is a character in Haitian folklore who tries to make a sauce hot enough to scare off a greedy uninvited visitor. But the plan backfires when the visitor deems the sauce delicious and tells everyone. This is how “Sos Ti Malice,” a Haitian condiment, got its name. Lesley Enston prefers it as a sauce for seafood, and shows how  in “Belly Full: Exploring Caribbean Cuisine Through 11 Fundamental Ingredients.”

 

This slight adaptation allows more leeway for reducing the heat level of the fiery Scotch bonnet pepper the traditional recipe calls for. If you can’t find them, habaneros are a close substitute; a few shots of hot sauce would also work.  This dish’s complex flavors are reminiscent of a lighter, brighter Creole gumbo, with only a few tablespoons of added fat. Serves 4-6. – Susan Puckett

 

Sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup diced yellow onion
  • 2 tablespoons diced shallots
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • ½ cup diced green bell pepper
  • ¼ cup diced red bell pepper
  • ½ to 2 Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, minced (seeds & ribs removed for less heat)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or ½ teaspoon dried)
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

 

Shrimp:

  • 1 pound peeled medium to large shrimp
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • White rice for serving

 

  1. Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots, and garlic and sauté until they begin to soften, 3 or 4 minutes.
  2. Add the green and red bell peppers, Scotch bonnet, tomato paste, and thyme, and cook for 3 minutes, until the tomato paste is dark and fragrant.
  3. Add the vinegar, lime juice, water, salt, and several grindings of black pepper. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes, until the mixture has thickened and the flavors have melded. Remove from the heat.
  4. Prepare the shrimp: While the sauce simmers, place the shrimp in a bowl, sprinkle with lime juice, and season them lightly with salt and black pepper. Set aside.
  5. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat until the butter has melted. Add the seasoned shrimp and cook until mostly pink, about 2 minutes per side. Add 3/4 to 1 cup of the sauce, stir to coat, and cook until the shrimp is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately over rice.

 

Susan Puckett is an Atlanta-based food writer and cookbook author.

Healthy Recipe, Waldorf salad

This version, lightly adapted from one in “Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook” by Sohla El Waylly, pops with flavor and crunch supplied by grapes, toasted walnuts, and blue cheese. It’s a sturdy alternative to flimsy lettuce salads and a great way to use up a half-bunch of celery before it dies in the crisper. It easily accommodates leftover bits of rotisserie chicken, boiled shrimp, hard-boiled egg, or other proteins to make it a nutrition-packed meal in itself. Serves 4. – Susan Puckett Ingredients Dressing:

  • 1/3 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon mild honey
  • 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus more, to taste
  • Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper

Salad:

  • 8 medium celery stalks (leaves plucked and reserved)
  • 1 small sweet, crisp apple, such as Gala or Fuji
  • 1 cup seedless grapes
  • ¼ cup coarsely chopped, toasted walnuts
  • ¼ cup coarsely crumbled blue cheese

Instructions

  1. Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, mustard, honey, olive oil, and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  2. Make the salad: Thinly slice the celery crosswise on the diagonal. Core and thinly slice the apple. Cut the grapes in half. Add the celery, apple slices, and grape halves to the bowl of dressing and toss to combine. Taste and add more lemon juice, salt, and pepper if desired.
  3. Divide among serving plates, along with some of the dressing in the bowl. Top with blue cheese, nuts, and celery leaves, and serve. Leftovers may be stored for a day in a covered container in the refrigerator.

— Susan Puckett is an ​Atlanta-based food writer and cookbook author.

Healthy Recipe, Mediterranean Breakfast Couscous

If you’re hankering for an energizing, delicious switch from your breakfast routine, Suzy Karadsheh has just the thing in “The Mediterranean Dish” — couscous! We normally think of the teeny grain-like pasta as a base for a savory stew or side dish for bold-flavored kebabs, but couscous can also stand in as a healthier alternative to sugary cereal, as this adaptation of her recipe demonstrates. Serves 4.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups water
  • 1 ½ cups Moroccan instant couscous
  • 2 tablespoons ghee or unsalted butter
  • 4 teaspoons brown sugar (or to taste)
  • ½ to 1 cup chopped, toasted nuts (walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, almonds)
  • ½ to 1 cup dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries, chopped apricots, sliced dates)
  • ½ cup sweetened or unsweetened flaked coconut (optional)
  • Whole milk, almond milk, or another nondairy alternative, warmed
  • Flaky sea salt

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the couscous, stir, immediately turn off the heat and cover with a lid. Let the pan sit undisturbed for 10 minutes, allowing the couscous to absorb the water and double in size. Fluff with a fork.
  2. Meanwhile, in a medium nonstick skillet, melt the ghee or butter over medium-high heat. Add the couscous and allow it to toast for 3 to 5 minutes, flattening with a spatula and stirring until the grains crisp up a bit and slightly deepen in color.
  3. Remove from the heat and place a scoop of toasted couscous in each cereal bowl. Sprinkle each with brown sugar, nuts, dried fruit, and coconut (if using).
  4. Pour some warm milk over and dig in. Add a sprinkling of salt if you like.

Healthy Recipe, Sweet Pea Pesto Crostinis