Lenten fish: Not your granny’s recipe

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Observing Lent and eating fish—probably fried—on Fridays? If so, there could well be a change in the air. Or on the plate, at any rate. According to a recent Associated Press story, parishioners at the Our Lady of Guadalupe church in Macedonia, Ohio, were sitting down to a different kind of Friday night dinner in their parish hall: grilled salmon. Mostly gone were the traditional chunks of battered and fried fish replaced by the salmon, plus grilled shrimp, fresh tuna, and baked fish. And while the traditionalists could still find offerings of battered cod, macaroni and cheese and french fries, the health conscious welcomed the heart-healthier fare.

And apparently, the trend may become broader, possibly even national, with other parishes telling of similar menu changes, reports The AP. This dietary shift will help the observant cut unwanted calories and fat from their girth, while still keeping true to the spirit of Lent. But there may be other solutions to Friday’s fried fish dinner: a soup bowl of cioppino, the San Francisco-based seafood stew, or a scoop of ceviche, the very popular “raw” fish dish from Mexico and Latin America. While you may not enjoy either of these dishes in the company of fellow congregants in the parish hall, you can offer either one to friends and family at your own Friday supper table, and know that the greasy fat calories are gone.

Cioppino

Serves 4 to 6

Although accounts of cioppino’s origins vary, most authorities agree that this lusty fish stew — a distant relative of the French bouillabaisse — probably first appeared in San Francisco when the local Italian or Portuguese fishermen used up remnants of the day’s catch. Regardless of its origins, cioppino is a robust dish with almost infinite possibilities and variations. Hot, crusty baguettes, a mixed green salad, and a chilled beverage — white wine or beer — are ideal accompaniments. This version is adapted from the recipe Cioppino a la Wood by Morrison Wood in his cookbook, “The Fisherman’s Wharf Cook Book,” Nourse Publishing Co., 1955.

3 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoon butter

2 onions, diced

8 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips

One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped

2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon whole peppercorns

Salt to taste

4 cups white wine

1/2 to 1 pound large shrimp, cleaned and deveined

1 pound crab claws, snow crab clusters, or split crabs, rinsed and cooked

6 steamers, rinsed and cooked

6 large clams, rinsed and cooked

1 pound firm-fleshed fish fillets, cubed

1 pound mussels, rinsed, shells on

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and red and green pepper, and sauté until the onion turns golden. Reduce the heat to very low, and add the tomatoes, half the parsley, oregano, thyme, peppercorns and salt. Cook for 2 to 3 hours.

Add the wine and the seafood, plus enough water to cover, 4 to 5 cups. Increase the heat to medium, and stir the mixture, adding the remaining parsley. Heat the mixture until the fish is flaky and cooked through. Serve hot in deep soup bowls.

Ceviche

Serves 2 to 4

Also spelled “seviche,” this seafood-based dish is so versatile that you can use almost any kind of fish or shellfish for equally pleasing results. Technically, the seafood has not been cooked by heat, but it has “cooked” from the action of the acid in the citrus juice — here, lime juice — that actually firms the flesh. Be sure to use fresh limes or lemons and absolutely fresh seafood for the best results. Since the acid takes time to act, plan to prepare this dish several hours or one day before serving it; the seafood has finished “cooking” when it turns white or opaque. Traditionally, people enjoy ceviche as an appetizer, but it also makes a filling — and nonfattening — entrée. Serve the dish with heated corn or flour tortillas and a side of frijoles. To dress this up, add diced mango, sliced scallions and/or sliced jalapeños.

1 pound sea scallops

1 1/2 pounds large or extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 1/2 cups fresh lime juice, or more as needed

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste

Hot pepper sauce to taste

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 cup snipped cilantro leaves

1 ripe avocado, diced

1 to 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, rinsed

Red leaf lettuce leaves, as desired

Put the scallops and shrimp into a large, nonreactive bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the lime juice, oil, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper, mixing well. Pour the mixture over the seafood, cover, and refrigerate; stir occasionally to be sure all seafood gets “cooked.”

To serve, drain the seafood, and toss it with the cilantro leaves, diced avocado and grape tomatoes. Line serving bowls or plates with the lettuce leaves and mound portions of the ceviche onto the leaves.

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