ONE OF MY FAVORITE SWAMPSCOTT LANDLORDS

               One of my favorite Swampscott landlords is Larry Green.  I know he is a great landlord because one of his tenants is a good friend of mine.  She isn’t shy about suggesting how to improve his property; he usually jumps at the chance to follow her ideas.  Of course, that requires spending money.    Some of the most beautiful perennials on his property have been added by this generous tenant, so Larry doesn’t really have room to complain when she makes a few suggestions about how to improve the premises.  He doesn’t complain in earnest, he just puffs.

               Before Larry reached the age of SS, he was a history and geography teacher at Winthrop High School and he was a want-a-be chef.   As it was in many homes with two working parents, fathers had to pitch in.   So began Larry’s career as a chef.  His first attempt at culinary art was not entirely glamorous but certainly commendable.  He was very adapting with a can opener and Spaghetti O’s were the children’s favorite.  Larry had an extremely clever way of getting his children to eat their vegetables . . . he put maple syrup on carrots for instance.  Today the food police would have a warrant out for his arrest for such an offence.

               He also wanted to teach his children independence and how to behave properly in public.  Dad took the boys out to eat in a nice restaurant when they were about 7 and 8 years old.   Larry was not happy with the way they were behaving and continual requests for them to stop fell on deaf ears.  So daddy got up, left the table and the restaurant, got in his car and drove around the block, all the while looking into the window to check on how the boys were acting.  They were looking at the menus and seemed to be behaving in a very proper manner.  It appears the lesson had been learned and Larry was able to rejoin his boys for a nice dinner after all.  This was the story told to me and I doubt restaurant staff appreciates children that young being left alone.  Maybe Larry had some arrangement he didn’t tell me about, but he claims his boys learned the lesson and from then on behaved properly. As a mother of two boys . . . aha. 

               Larry Green has come a long way from Spaghetti O’s and has earned a reputation as a very good cook.  He is a vibrant man who likes to go dancing and enjoys an active social life.  He has a huge collection of recipes and had a hard time making a selection from his favorites to share with us.  These are all healthy, delicious fish dishes.

BROILED BAY SCALLOPS     Pre-heat broiler, maximum setting.  Place scallops in a shallow heatproof dish;

  1 lb. bay scallops, drained         sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Combine melted butter, lemon juice, and garlic, mix

¼ tsp salt                                      in breadcrumbs thoroughly.  The crumbs will be quite buttery.  Put crumbs lightly

Pinch fr. Ground pepper              over scallops; sprinkle lightly with paprika.  Broil about 3” for about 10 min.  Do

¼ cup melted butter                     not overcook.  Serves about 3-4

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 small clove garlic, minced

¾ cup breadcrumbs

Sprinkle of paprika

Parsley sprigs for garnish

SALMON ON A BED OF LEEKS AND CARROTS

In this simple but elegant recipe, the salmon steams in the vapor of the vegetables.

3 leeks                                                                              Wash leeks, discarding the coarse outer layers and leaf tops. 

3 carrots                                                                                          Slice each leek lengthwise in three or four pieces, then cut into

2 Tbsp. light olive oil                                                    Julienne strips about 2” long. Scrape carrots and slice them

    Or vegetable oil                                                          similarly.  Heat oil in frying pan and toss the leeks & carrots. 

3 Tbsp. lemon juice                                                       Stir until leeks are slightly wilted about 3 minutes.  Add lemon

    Or white wine                                                             juice or wine and season.  Place salmon on top and cover with

Salt & pepper to taste                                                    close-fitting cover.  Reduce heat cook for 10 minutes or until

4 serving pcs  (5-6 oz ea) Salmon fillet                      salmon is pale pink and firm but not dry.  Serve with potatoes                                                                                                         or rice.  Serves four.

GREEK BOUILLABAISSE

½ cup olive oil    2 med onions, thinly sliced     2 small potatoes, peeled and diced     2 small carrots, sliced

1 stalk celery        3 celery tops, chopped        ½ cup parsley, finely chopped            1 clove garlic, minced

1 ½ can peeled tomato, drained & chopped                   2 qts water      1 tsp. salt    ¼ tsp. bl. Pepper   1 lg bay leaf

¼ cup dry white wine       2 lb. fish fillets*      ½ cup a/p flour     ½ cup raw long-grain rice  

                                2 ½ Tbsp. lemon juice    ¼ tsp. saffron, optional

Heat olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat and sauté the onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, celery tops, parsley, garlic and tomatoes until almost soft.  About 15 minutes.  Raise heat to high, add water, salt & pepper and bay leaf.  Bring to a boil.  Add wine.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.  Sprinkle fish with flour.  Add to pot and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add rice and saffron and simmer for 25 minutes until rice is cooked.  Just before serving add lemon juice.  Makes 6 servings.    

*Directions say to cut fillets into bite size pieces.  Then the cooking instruction say to cook the fish for 10 minutes before adding the rice.  After adding the rice the soup is cooked for another 25 minutes.  If I were you I would wait to add the fish for the LAST 10 minutes of the rice cooking period.  Fish does not need to cook for 35 minutes!!!  I think there must have been a misprint in the instructions.  You will not ruin the soup if you follow my suggestion.