Recipe of the Week: GOOP

One of my all-time favorite role models is Gwyneth Paltrow. We have a lot in common.  She is slender (as am I). She loves yoga (as do I). She's attends Coldplay concerts (as have I). She was once engaged to Brad Pitt. (Okay, I wrote a lot in common, not everything in common).

I am an avid reader of Gwyneth's blog, GOOP, not only because I want to be just like her, but also because it's filled with really fun, creative ideas, solutions and recipes. In her last post, she featured Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (as did I). Coincidence? Or proof that perhaps my aspirations are attainable? I'll let you decide.

In channeling my inner Gwyneth, I stayed pretty close to the original recipe and I am so glad that I did. After all, this woman does know what she's doing...

Spicy Moroccan Stewed Fish with Couscous
Serves 2 (or 1 Gwyneth wanna-be who enjoys leftovers)
Original recipe and interview with Jamie Oliver

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup quick-cook couscous (leftover from previous meal)
• olive oil
• 2 lemons
• sea salt and freshly ground
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 fresh red chili
• a bunch of fresh basil (reserve leftovers for pesto over eggs this weekend - yum!)
• I teaspoon ground cumin
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 x 8-ounce salmon fillets, skin off and bones removed
• Handful of Trader Joe's frozen langostino tails (um, if you forget to buy shrimp too)
• 14 ounces, or half a can, of Trader Joe's whole plum tomatoes (reserved tomatoes can be used in egg/pesto dish too)
• 2 handfuls of frozen French cut green beans from Green Giant

INSTRUCTIONS:

Take an amazingly great yoga class. Appreciate life. On your way home, realize that nearly a week has gone by and you have not yet conducted your weekly culinary experiment and will therefore be lagging behind with your blog. Recall an interesting recipe that Gwyneth sent earlier in the week. Take out iPhone and pull up her newsletter, which informs you of ingredients needed. Use iPhone as your shopping list as you peruse your local gourmet market. Briefly wonder how you ever functioned without an iPhone.

1. In a tea kettle, bring water to boil. Put the couscous into a bowl and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Halve the lemons and squeeze in the juice from two of the halves. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour in just enough boiling water to cover the couscous, then stir and cover the bowl with a plate. Let stand.

2. While couscous is soaking, take out your iPhone again to reference the recipe. Peel and finely slice your garlic. Finely slice your chili. Pick the basil leaves off the stalks. Put the smaller ones to one side and roughly chop the larger ones. Enjoy the amazing aromas of the fresh basil. Mmmm... make a mental note to register for your CSA so you can continue to get fresh basil from your farm this year. Yum. Decide to make fresh pesto with the remaining basil leaves. Double yum.

3. Get a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add a couple of lugs of olive oil to the hot pan. Add the garlic, chili, basil, cumin and cinnamon. Give it all a stir and put the fish fillets on top. Read the recipe and notice that the next step says, "Scatter over the shrimp." Crap. Notice that you did not purchase shrimp and that you do not have shrimp! Open your freezer. Grab the langostino tails. Decide that they look like shrimp. Decide that they probably taste like shrimp. Scatter two handfuls of frozen langostino tails into pan. Exhale.

4. Add tomatoes and use spatula to break them up into chunky bits. Notice that canned whole tomatoes are so much more fun to cook than diced tomatoes. Add two handfuls of frozen green beans. Notice that frozen beans are never fun to cook. Squeeze in the juice from the two remaining lemon halves. Put a lid on the pan. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 8 minutes.

5. While fish is stewing, return to your iPhone. Send a few WhatsApp messages. Check email. Check Facebook. Try to figure out the hype about iemoji. Feel genuine gratitude for the best device ever. Wonder if Gwyneth has an iPhone too and venture to guess that perhaps that is how she keeps it all together. Re-read her newsletter and sign Jamie Oliver's petition to save cooking skills and improve school food. Feel like you can contribute towards the greater good just by cooking and being in your own kitchen, thanks to your iPhone.

6. Check to see that the fish is cooked through and flakes easily. Taste, and season with salt and pepper. Fluff couscous with a fork. Wonder if you will ever truly be able to make couscous the way it tastes in Morocco. Spoon the couscous on to a large dinner plate. Top with the fish, vegetables, and juices from the pan, sprinkle with the reserved basil leaves. Savor its aromas and flavors. Be amazed that this dish took no more than 15 minutes to make. Be inspired by Jamie and Gwyneth.

Optional step: Place iPhone on your sound dock and put on some Coldplay to truly create a Gwyneth and Chris Martin-inspired atmosphere in your home. Realize that the stew is very hearty and that you'll have ample leftovers, being able to extend this experience for another day. Wonder if Gwyneth and Chris will be able to extend their marriage as well.