Grilled Seafood Salad with Shrimp, Scallops & Squid

One of my favourite salads to make summer rolls around, is my fabulous Grilled Seafood Salad with tiger shrimp, jumbo scallops and calamari combined with grilled asparagus, fresh sliced avocado and chilled new potatoes. Tossed with a tangy marinade, the seafood can be cleaned and prepped well in advance and pulled together at the last minute. As with any summer salad, improvisation is key, adding whatever ingredients are readily available. The idea is to compose a fresh and flavourful hastle-free salad with a treasure trove of grilled seafood and a riot of your favourite veggies nestled on top, for an easy evening meal once the warm weather finally arrives for good.

Grilled Seafood Salad
Serves 4

10 large tiger shrimp
4 large scallops
4 whole squid with heads, cleaned
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and diced
8 baby potatoes, boiled until just done, and halved
1 lb asparagus, with ends trimmed
1 head red oak leaf lettuce, cleaned, washed and torn into bite size pieces
1/4 english cucumber, thinly sliced
2 marinated roasted red peppers, julienned
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp pure sesame oil
1 tsp hot chili oil
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp fresh basil pesto 
Parmesan-Reggiano, shaved as garnish, optional

Salad dressing:
2 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste


Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tail intact. Gently run a small knife down the centre of the backs to butterfly the shrimp. Coat with 2 tablespoons of basil pesto and allow to marinate, covered in a small bowl or plastic bag, for at least an hour.

Place the squid on a cutting board and slice each tube in half lengthwise. Lay each of the pieces of squid flat. Score the squid with diagonal slices, cutting through half the thickness, scoring first one way, then the other to create diamond-shaped cuts. Then trim the heads, removing and discarding the beak of the squid. Coat with 1 tsp of hot chili oil, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

For the salad dressing, place the garlic in a food processor and pulse a few times until minced. Add the other ingredients and pulse until emulsified. Cover and set aside. 

Place the scallops and asparagus in two separate bowls, brush the scallops with sesame oil and the asparagus with the olive oil, cover and set aside.

To grill the seafood, place the shrimp, squid, scallops and asparagus on a preheated BBQ and cook until the seafood is opaque and nicely grill marked, and the asparagus is cooked through. The squid and heads should curl up nicely.

To prepare the salad, place the lettuce, cucumber and salad dressing in a large bowl and toss to combine. To serve, place the dressed salad on a large platter, then on top, decoratively arrange the boiled new potatoes, marinated red peppers and tomatoes, then top with the grilled asparagus and seafood. Using a vegetable peeler, garnish with some shaved Parmesan-Reggiano if desired.

Irish Organic Salmon with Lemon, Dill & Asparagus

I adore salmon. There are so many wonderful things about this pink beauty that it’s hard to know where to begin. Prized for its rich fatty flesh, salmon is a heart-healthy, omega-3-rich fish that's as versatile as it is healthy and delicious. Fabulous poached or grilled, smoked or cured, hot, cold or raw, salmon's rich flavour makes it a perfect partner with many kinds of marinades and cooking techniques. This simple low calorie recipe for Irish Organic Salmon with Lemon, Dill & Asparagus is a great dish for busy days. Ponzu, a light citrus-seasoned soy sauce, and sesame oil are combined in a glass baking dish with the salmon and allowed to marinate for about half an hour. The fish and asparagus are roasted together on the grill or in the oven for 10-15 minutes for medium-rare. Garnished with some fresh chopped dill and fragrant lemon zest, and served over a bed of grilled asparagus, this one of my favourite meals anytime of the year. Easy, healthy and delicious — it's a winner.




Irish Organic Salmon with Lemon, Dill & Asparagus
Serves 2

2 Irish Organic Salmon fillets
4 tbsp Ponzu
1 tsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp olive oil
1 bunch dill, washed and chopped
1 lemon, zest only
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
1 radish, thinly sliced
Kosher salt, to taste


Mix the ponzu and sesame oil in a large glass dish and add the salmon, turning to coat. Set the salmon skin side up and let marinate 15-30 minutes. Place the asparagus and olive oil on a plate and toss to coat. Season to taste with some kosher salt. Preheat and outdoor grill to medium-high or oven to 425°F. Cook the salmon skin side down with the asparagus for about 10-15 minutes. If you prefer your salmon more well done, adjust the cooking time accordingly. To serve, lay half on the cooked asparagus on each of two warmed dinner plates and top with the salmon. Garnish with chopped dill and lemon zest and finish with some sliced radishes around the perimeter of the plate.

Cold and Creamy Green Pea & Mint Soup

At the first hint of warm weather, I love to make this cold and creamy Green Pea & Mint Soup. Vibrant green in hue, the peas and fresh mint come together in perfect harmony. Positively bursting with flavour, it's like springtime in a bowl. The addition of buttermilk makes this soup light, healthy and delicious, and once puréed in a blender, the texture becomes silky smooth. A refreshing start to any meal, this soup is unbelievably easy to make and transports really well. I often bring it along for cottage country weekends, and simply store it in a plastic jug for the drive out of the city. When it's my turn to make lunch, I simply retrieve the jug from the refrigerator, discreetly pour the chilled soup into cups or bowls, and garnish with some chopped cucumber and fresh mint.

Chilled Green Pea & Mint Soup
Serves 4

2 tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups frozen peas
3 tbsp chopped mint, plus more for garnish
1 cup buttermilk
salt and white pepper to taste
1/4 cup English cucumber, diced for garnish


Heat butter in a pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté 3 minutes or until softened. Add chicken stock, peas, mint and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes or until the peas are tender. Pour in a blender and purée until smooth. Use a slotted spoon and pull out any stubborn peas that refused to cooperate, and discard. Stir in the buttermilk and season with salt and white pepper. Chill until needed. To serve, garnish with a sprig of mint, a spoonful of diced cucumber and a swirl of buttermilk if you like. 

Grilled Swordfish & Asparagus with Pesto Sauce

Moist, meaty and sinfully succulent, Grilled Swordfish is one my favourite fish to 'throw on the barbie' — it's absolutely made for the grill. Usually sold as thick steaks, all swordfish needs is a simple marinade of fresh lemon juice, a little olive oil, salt, pepper and a few herbs for the natural flavours to sing on the tongue. Cook swordfish like you would a rare steak — use high heat to sear the outside, and let it stay a little rare in the centre. Generally I allow 8 to 10 minutes per inch, rotating the fish 90° every 2-3 minutes, which produces lovely sear marks and ensures the swordfish is perfectly cooked. Low calorie and nutrient rich, Swordfish is a heart-smart choice, and makes a delicious addition to your summertime grilling repertoire.




Grilled Swordfish & Asparagus with Pesto Sauce

Serves 4

4 1-inch thick swordfish steaks

1 lemon, zested, plus more for garnish

1 tbsp Ponzu sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 handful chopped cilantro, plus whole leaves for garnish

1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed

Basil Pesto Cream Sauce: - Makes 3 cups
1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/3 cup pine nuts
4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
2/3 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp butter

1 cup low fat greek yogurt, optional

Place the basil, Parmesan, pine nuts, and salt and pepper to taste in a food processor to blend. While the machine is running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and continue mixing until well combined. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and butter over medium-low heat. Once warm, add the pesto and stir to combine. For a lower calorie option, substitute Greek yogurt instead of the cream and butter. It's as delicious and better on the waistline!

Stir together the lemon zest, ponzu sauce, sesame oil and cilantro in a shallow dish. Add the swordfish, turning to coat, and marinate at room temperature for 15-30 minutes. Place the asparagus in a large bowl and drizzle with one tablespoon of olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat an outdoor barbecue to medium-high. Place the swordfish on the grill and cook for two minutes, then turn 90 degrees. Cook two more minutes more, flip the fish, and repeat. Midway, add the asparagus and grill about 5 minutes, turning frequently.

Transfer and arrange the asparagus on four warm dinner plates, top with the grilled swordfish and garnish with a generous spoonful of basil pesto cream sauce. Finish with lemon zest and fresh cilantro and serve immediately.

Sautéed Lingcod with Creamy Pea Purée

The beauty of fish and seafood is that you can enjoy these 'treasures of the sea' every day of the month without eating the same thing twice. Buttery lingcod is a delicious low-fat fish that has a deliciously mild, slightly sweet flavour with a firm, almost dense texture, that turns white when cooked. Typically found on the North American Pacific coast, especially in the coastal waters of British Columbia, Lingcod isn’t a cod at all — it's actually a member of the greenling family, but gets its name from the cod-like appearance of it’s meat. A versatile fish, Lingcod's firm, sweet flesh yields great flavour, whether baked, broiled, grilled or added to soups, stews and even fish tacos.

Fish: Recipes from the Sea by Phaidon Press

This recipe for Sautéed Lingcod with Creamy Pea Purée was adapted from one featured in Fish: Recipes from the Sea, which first appeared in a 2012 issue of Saveur. Although the article suggested using cod, I couldn't resist the fresh pink lingcod that I found at Diana's Seafood last week, and used it instead. The natural culinary marriage between white fish and fresh peas is pure magic, and this easy recipe makes the most of these sensational springtime flavours.

Lingcod coated with mustard seeds

The lingcod is simply sprinkled with mustard seeds and chilled for an hour or two. Meanwhile, a creamy pea purée is started by sautéeing a finely chopped shallot in a tablespoon of olive oil for about 5 minutes. Two cups of fresh or frozen peas are then added along with a cup of water, and allowed to reduce for 10 minutes. Most of the peas are then puréed in a food processor with a little cream and seasoned with salt and pepper, and the pea purée is done.

Shallots are sautéed until soft then peas and water are added and cooked further

The mixture is reduced for about 10 minutes

Most of the pea mixture is puréed with cream, 

producing a fresh and flavourful crème du petits pois

The lingcod takes very little time to cook. A skillet is warmed over medium-high heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. When the oil starts to shimmer, the lingcod is added, mustard seed side down, and cooked for 4 minutes. The fish is turned over and cooked an additional 4 minutes.

A tablespoon of olive oil is warmed over medium-high heat

The lingcod is added to the pan and sautéed 4 minutes per side

There's a delicate balance between perfectly cooked fish and overcooked fish. It's always good to remember the principle of residual heat: a pan will hold heat when it's removed from the heat source, continuing to cook the food for several minutes. For best results, cook fish until it's almost done, then remove the pan from the oven, stovetop or grill and let it stand for a few minutes to finish cooking. Some fish, especially tuna and salmon, can be served medium rare, but the choice is up to you. I found that the 4-minute per side was perfect for the lingcod.

After 8 minutes the lingcod is perfectly cooked with a moist and flakey centre

To serve the dish, divide the creamy pea purée among 2 pre-warmed serving plates and top with the sautéed lingcod. The reserved shallot-pea sauce is spooned over the fish, sprinkled with chopped dill and garnished with some larger sprigs of dill for show. Easy, healthy and delicious, this dish is positively bursting with springtime flavours and looks great!

Sautéed Lingcod with a Creamy Pea Purée
Serves 2

3/4-pound Lingcod filet, cut into 2 pieces
1 tbsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cups fresh or frozen, thawed peas
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup cream
1 tbsp olive oil 
1 tbsp roughly chopped dill and whole sprigs, to garnish


Sprinkle the lingcod evenly with mustard seeds and let marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Meanwhile, heat butter in a 10" skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the peas, 1 cup of water, salt and pepper, and cover partially with a lid. Cook until the mixture is reduced, about 10 minutes. Set the sauce aside and keep warm. 

Purée 3/4 of the peas, cream, and salt and pepper in a food processor, then transfer to a small saucepan to keep warm over low heat. Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cod and cook, turning once, until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Season with salt. To serve, divide the pea purée among 2 serving plates and top with the cod. Spoon over the shallot-pea sauce, sprinkle with chopped dill and garnish with some larger sprigs for show.

Grilled Tuscan-Style Veal Chops with Lemon Gremolata

Moist, tender and enormously flavourful, these Grilled Tuscan-Style Veal Chops are outstanding and the preparation couldn’t be simpler. Marinated for a few hours in an aromatic combination of fresh herbs, bold garlic, tangy lemon juice and freshly grated zest, the veal chops are then grilled on medium-high heat for about 6 minutes per side, and finished with a pungent Italian Gremolata. Traditionally made with parsley, garlic, lemon zest and olive oil, this delicious Italian condiment is fabulous on grilled lamb, pork chops, quail and meaty fish like monkfish, halibut or swordfish or of course, any kind of grilled vegetables. Gremolata always includes lemon peel, but beyond that there's considerable variation — you could include orange zest, fresh mint or even cilantro.

Gremolata with Italian parsley, fresh garlic and lemon zest

Veal is a delicious, lean, nutrient-packed, high-quality protein that's an ideal choice for today’s healthier lifestyle needs. In fact, compared to other meats such as pork, beef and chicken, veal is much leaner and has a very low amount of saturated fat. Ontario produces both milk-fed and grain-fed veal, each with its own unique flavour profile. Milk-fed veal is light pink in colour, which is what I used for this recipe, and is very tender with a subtle taste. Grain-fed veal is a bit darker, also very tender but with a mild beef flavour. In both cases veal tends to absorb the flavours it's cooked with, making it the perfect canvas on which to paint your favourite seasonings and sauces.

Tuscan-Style Veal Chops with Gremolata 

Serves 2

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary

2 veal chops, each about 1-inch thick

Gremolata:

3 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp fresh rosemary

1 clove garlic, minced

Whisk the first six ingredients together in small bowl and mix until blended. Arrange the veal in a glass baking dish, and sprinkle the chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Pour the marinade overtop and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.

Just before grilling the veal chops, stir together the Italian parsley, oil, lemon zest, rosemary and garlic in small bowl and blend until well combined. Preheat the barbecue to medium-high heat. Meanwhile, remove the chops from the marinade and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Grill the veal about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. For attractive grill marks, rotating the chops 90° after 2 or 3 minutes, before turning them over, and repeating the process. Once cooked to your desired degree of doneness, transfer the chops to a serving platter and sprinkle each with the gremolata. Serve with some sliced lemon, grilled asparagus and maybe a bowl of roasted new potatoes.

Tuna Salad with Avocado, Sprouts & Hard Boiled Eggs

Low calorie, low carb and a great source of Omega-3, this simple, light and delicious Tuna Salad recipe makes an easy weekday dinner paired with sliced avocado, hard boiled eggs and some fresh tomatoes. Topped with a mound of flavourful onion sprouts and dressed with a tangy vinaigrette, summertime dining doesn't get any easier, healthier or more satisfying.



Tuna Salad with Avocado, Sprouts & Hard Boiled Eggs
Serves 2

10 oz (2 small cans) canned tuna, drained and flaked
1/2 cup diced English cucumber
3 green onions, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
1/3 cup mayonnaise or Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 oz mixed greens
2 large eggs, hard boiled, peeled and halved
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
6 grape tomatoes, halved
1 package onion sprouts, for garnish
Maldon salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Vinaigrette:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 large garlic clove, minced
Fresh cracked black pepper and salt, to taste


Add the olive oil, vinegar, Dijon and minced garlic together in a small bowl and whisk until well combined. Season with fresh cracked black pepper and salt to taste. Combine tuna, diced cucumber, green onions, lemon juice, zest, dill, mayonnaise, salt and pepper in a large bowl and stir well. Toss the mixed greens with some vinaigrette to taste, then arrange on 2 plates and top with a generous scoop of the tuna mixture. Top with a handful of onion sprouts and garnish with sliced avocado, tomatoes and hard boiled eggs. Season with Maldon salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste and drizzle with more vinaigrette if need.