From the Cooking Light Archives: Moussaka, Salt-Roasted Chicken and Crispy Baked Halibut

I dug into my cooking light recipe archives which are housed in an oh-so-fancy shoebox last week and found a bunch of winners! The Crusted Halibut with Chile-Cilantro Oil is great for a quick weeknight dinner, while the Moussaka and Roasted Chicken are a little more labor and time intensive.

Cornflake-Crusted Halibut with Chile-Cilantro Aioli

Aioli:
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1 garlic clove, minced

Fish:
1 cup fat-free milk
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
2 cups cornflakes, finely crushed (panko is a great substitute if you don't have cornflakes in the pantry)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 1 ounce)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets
4 lemon wedges

To prepare aioli, combine cilantro, mayonnaise, serrano, and minced garlic, stirring well.

To prepare fish, combine milk and egg white in a shallow dish, stirring well with a whisk. Combine cornflakes (or panko), flour, salt, and black pepper in another shallow dish.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Dip fish in milk mixture, and dredge in cornflake mixture. Add fish to pan, and cook 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Serve fish with aioli and lemon wedges

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fish fillet, about 1 tablespoon aioli, and 1 lemon wedge)


Potato and Lamb Moussaka
adapted from Cooking Light

Cooking spray
2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (use a mandoline if available)
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound ground lamb
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 cup milk (skim or lowfat is fine!)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Crumbled Feta Cheese (to sprinkle on top)

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add one-third of potato slices to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Transfer potato to bowl. Repeat procedure with cooking spray and remaining potato slices.

2. Preheat oven to 350°.

3. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, garlic, and lamb to pan; cook 3 minutes or until lamb begins to brown. Add bell pepper, tomato sauce, salt, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and parsley; cook 10 minutes.

4. Arrange half of potato slices in a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange lamb mixture over potatoes; top with remaining potato slices. Combine milk and eggs in a small bowl; pour over potato mixture. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until top is golden and set. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with feta.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 piece)


Salt-Baked Chicken

2 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1x2 inch strip dried tangerine peel
1 tangerine, halved
1 4 1/2 to 5 lb. roasting chicken
5 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon honey
2 green onions coarsely chopped
2 green onions, finely chopped

Combine 2/12 cups boiling water and tangerine peel in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes.

Removed and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Trim excess fate. Starting at the neck cavity, loosen skin from breat and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Rub 1 tablespoon salt under skine; let stand 5 minutes. Rinse chicken under cold water; pat dry with aper towels. Let sit 5 min-1 hour

Preheat over to 425 degrees

Combine remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, shallots, ginger, wine, soy sauce, oil and honey in a small bowl. Rub 3 tablespoons shallot mixture inside cavity of chicken. Place coarsely chopped onions and 1 or both halves of the tangerine inside cavity. Rub remaining shallot mixture under and on top of loosened skin.

Place chicken, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Pour reserved tangerine water into the bottom of the roasting pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees and skin has turned a dark golden brown color.

Let stand 15 minutes. Slice and serve.