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This weekend is the ideal time to make a low-key dinner party of fresh vegetables from the garden or farm stand and fresh fish from the sea.
For an apéritif pour a glass of ice cold rosé along with roasted salted nuts and cheese straws and continue with rosé throughout the dinner … it’s perfect for this menu.
The entire dinner can be prepared and cooked in about one hour. Here’s the plan, start the potatoes first, make the spinach next and hold it in the skillet to reheat just before plating. Use a stovetop grill pan for the rest of the vegetables because it’s much easier to manage than grilling veggies directly on the grill. After the veggies are cooked, use the same pan to grill the shrimp (no need to wash it in between). And finally, sauté the fish and finish with the sauce just like the “professional chefs!”
For dessert, offer a cheese assortment with fresh cherries, berries, and stone fruits. This is easy summer entertaining for everyone. Enjoy the sunsets and bon appetit!
Roasted New Red Potatoes(Serves 4)About 20 to 28 small, new red potatoes (5 to 7 per person) scrubbed
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
About 1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs (flat leaf parsley, mint, basil, dill, tarragon, or your favorite herbs)To prepare:Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Using a vegetable brush, scrub the potatoes and drain well. Place potatoes in a baking dish that will accommodate them in one layer.
Drizzle olive oil over the potatoes and roll them around until they are coated with oil. Roast until they are tender to the point of a fork, crisp, and brown, about 30 to 40 minutes.
Pour off excess oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garnish with herbs.Medley of Garden Vegetables(Serves 4)5 to 6 cups baby spinach, washed and spun dry
Extra virgin olive oil for sautéing
1 clove garlic, slivered
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
1 medium white onion, sliced
2 pints of sweet mini red, yellow, and orange peppers, cored and seeded, cut in half
1 pint grape tomatoes, washed
Flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to tasteTo prepare:In a heavy skillet over high heat, coat the bottom with oil, add garlic and sauté until golden brown, remove garlic and set aside. Add spinach, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring constantly until the spinach wilts. Set off the heat and season with pepper to taste. Keep warm.
In a shallow dish, drizzle olive oil over the onion until coated, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Meanwhile in a heavy grill pan over high heat add onion and grill until browned and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a side dish.
Drizzle oil on bell peppers, sprinkle with salt and pepper and grill until grill marks on the skin and crisp tender on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the onions and keep warm.
Toss tomatoes in the hot grill pan; shake the pan until they blister, but not bursting the skin, about 2 to 3 minutes. Toss with onions and peppers. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
To serve, divide the spinach among warm dinner plates and spoon mixed vegetables on top.Fillet Of Flounder With Lemon And Herbs Garnished With Grilled Shrimp(Serves 4)12 large raw shrimp, with tails on and deveined
1 clove garlic, slivered
About 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
4 fillets of fresh flounder, rinsed
Wondra flour for dusting
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
About 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
Avocado or olive oil for sautéing
For the sauce:
Olive oil as needed
4 to 5 scallions, trimmed and sliced
About 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
About 5 mint and about 5 basil leaves or your favorite herbs, chopped with parsley
About 1/4 cup vegetable stock or water
About 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
About 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon or lime juiceTo prepare:For the shrimp, heat the grill pan over high heat. In a shallow dish, combine the garlic and olive oil.
Rinse and devein the shrimp, pat dry with paper towels. Roll shrimp in garlic oil, transfer the shrimp to hot pan and cook until grill marks appear on both sides and the shrimp turns from translucent to opaque, about 2 minutes per side. Cooking time will depend on the size of the shrimp. Sprinkle with pepper, transfer to a dish and keep warm.
For the flounder, remove the spiny column running down the middle of the flounder fillets. Rinse and pat fillets dry with paper towels. Mix flour, salt, pepper, and paprika together on a plate. Roll both sides of the fish in the flour and tap off the excess.
In a skillet over high heat, coat the bottom with oil and when hot, sauté fish until golden brown on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the fish. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
Pour excess oil out, leaving brown bits in the pan. Add scallions to the pan and sauté until wilted, add more oil if necessary, stir in the herbs and sauté until aromatic. Add stock, bring to a simmer and cook about 1 minute. Swirl butter into the sauce, season with salt and pepper to taste.
To finish the sauce and serve, reheat the shrimp in the microwave about 20 seconds, be careful not to overcook! If the flounder is cold, reheat about 30 seconds.
Whisk lemon juice into the sauce, add a pinch of lemon zest and bring to a boil. Taste and adjust seasonings. Divide flounder fillets among four warm dinner plates, spoon sauce over the fillets and garnish with shrimp. Serve at once.
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