Crisp vegetables, warm fish … they're main-dish salads - recipes

Sunset, Oct, 1989

Appealingly easy, these main-dish salads combine warm fish, crisp vegetables, and authoritative seasonings.

Oriental Stir-fried Shark Salad

3 tablespoons salad oil 1 to 1 1/4 pounds boned, skinned shark or halibut, in 1 -inch chunks

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 2 cups thin, diagonal slices celery 4 cups (1/2 Lb.) edible-pod peas, ends and strings removed

1 package (3 oz.) dry ramen noodles (omit seasoning packet)

2 tablespoons each Oriental sesame oil and soy sauce

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar 1/2 cup cilantro (coriander) sprigs

Place 2 tablespoons salad oil in a wok or 10- to 12-inch frying pan over mediumhigh heat. Add fish and ginger; stir-fry until fish is slightly translucent but still moist in center (cut to test), 4 to 6 minutes. Lift from wok; set aside.

Add remaining salad oil, celery, and peas to wok. Stir-fry until vegetables are tender-crisp to bite, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Gently stir in fish, noodles (break into bite-size pieces), sesame oil, soy, vinegar, and cilantro. Serves 4.

Per serving: 423 cal.; 29 g protein; 23 g fat;26 g carbo.; 660 mg sodium; 58 mg chol.

Italian-style Grilled Fish Salad

2 large oranges 6 cups lightly packed arugula or watercress sprigs, rinsed and crisped

About 16 slices plain melba toast

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup oil-cured black olives or drained small black ripe olives

1/2 cup each red wine vinegar and olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh or 3/4 teaspoon dry thyme leaves

2 teaspoons anchovy paste

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 to 1 1/2 pounds boned and skinned swordfish or wahoo (also called ono), cut into 1 -inch chunks

Grate 1 teaspoon peel from oranges; set aside. Cut off and discard remaining peel and white membrane; thinly slice fruit crosswise. On 4 dinner plates, arrange equal amounts of arugula, then alternate slices of toast, onion, and orange on greens. Scatter olives over salads.

In a bowl, mix grated peel, vinegar, oil, thyme, anchovy, and pepper. Thread fish on 8 slender skewers, each about 10 inches long; brush sparingly with dressing.

Place fish on a lightly-greased grill 4 to 6 inches above a solid bed of hot coals (you can hold your hand at grill level only 2 to 3 seconds). Cook, brushing once or twice with dressing, until fish is slightly translucent but still moist in center (cut to test), about 5 minutes; turn once. Put skewers on plates; spoon remaining dressing onto salads. Serves 4. Per serving: 468 cal; 24 g protein; 30 g fat; 28 g carbo.; 725 mg sodium; 1. 7 mg chol.

Hot and Cool Curried Fish and Rice

1 small head (3/ 4 lb.) romaine lettuce, cored, rinsed, and crisped

1 cup sliced green onions 1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped

2 tablespoons salad oil 2 teaspoons curry powder 1 1/2 cups unflavored yogurt 1/3 cup water 2 1/2 cups cooked white or brown rice 4 Chilean sea bass fillets (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 lb. total), each 3/4 tO 1 inch thick

Finely slice 1/3 of the lettuce. Arrange remaining whole leaves on a platter; mound shreds over half of leaves.

In a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, stir onions and bell pepper in half the oil until onions are limp, 8 to 10 minutes. Add curry powder; stir 1 minute. Put vegetables in a bowl and mix with yogurt and water; set aside 1 1/4 cups. Stir remaining yogurt mixture with rice, then mound rice on shredded lettuce. Add remaining oil to pan over mediumhigh heat. Add fish; cook, turning once, until slightly translucent but still moist in center (cut to test), 6 to 7 minutes. Place fish on whole lettuce leaves. Spoon reserved yogurt sauce on fish. Serves 4.

Per serving: 420 cal.; 35 g protein; 12 g fat; 42 g carbo.; 165 mg sodium; 63 mg chol.