Fried Smelts and Chard

MY MOM'S KITCHEN - Post #1

Having just arrived back from spending a week in Halifax my refrigerator was devoid of fresh vegetables. I stopped at the vegetable market and found some great looking organic swiss chard and decided to prepare that for our dinner. My intention was to saute it with garlic and serve it with spelt pasta. 

     When I arrived home I found a huge bowl of sea smelts on the counter, my husband had been to the fish market and they called out to him. He wanted to prepare them the way the do in his village in Greece, lightly floured, pan fried in olive oil, then served with a rosemary red wine vinegar reduction, they always eat this with a

raw red onion as an accompaniment.

FRIED SEA SMELTS

2 lbs of sea smelts dredged in flour

1 cup olive oil or oil of your choice for frying

1/4 cup of red wine vinegar

fresh rosemary

salt & pepper to taste

 Heat the oil in a cast iron frying pan, when hot add the dredged smelts in a single layer until golden. Discard all but about 2 tbsp of the oil, add the fresh rosemary until fragrant, pour in the vinegar and reduce for a few minutes until it slightly thickens. At this point you can pour the reduction over the fish, but I like to have it on the side and dip the fish in so that they stay crispy.

 SAUTEED SWISS CHARD WITH GARLIC

 2 bunches of organic red swiss chard cut into 1" pieces

1 head of organic garlic

2 tbsp of e.v olive oil

sea salt & pepper to taste

 Heat the oil in a cast iron frying pan, when heated add the cloves of garlic and lightly brown, shaking the pan so as not to burn them. Add the swiss chard and toss until wilted. Cover and lower the heat, cook a few minutes more until tender.