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3 Pescetarian Recipes That Must Make it to your Must-Have List
If you follow any fitness influencers or binge on nutritionist podcasts, you will hear how important it is to adopt a “blue zone” diet for longevity and to live your optimal healthy life.
Most blue zone diets feature seafood and fish as the primary protein source in their daily meals. Many would call these diets pescetarian diets. These diets include healthy lean proteins rich in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.
If you are following a pescetarian diet, note these must-have recipes to add to your list to solve those mealtime indecisions.
Teriyaki Oven-baked Salmon
Salmon reigns supreme when it comes to seafood protein choices around the world. This is for a good reason too. This hearty pink flesh fish is satiating and filled with excellent fats like omega-3 fatty acids. And if you follow Speaking of Seafood, who are the experts in all things seafood, the texture of salmon is denser than the typical white-flesh fish, and the flavor is more intense.
Best of all is the fact that salmon can be prepared in several different ways to keep the taste buds excited.
We have picked a simple oven-baked teriyaki salmon recipe as one of our go-to favorites. This Asian-inspired dish goes very well with a multitude of sides, such as steamed rice, steamed broccoli, and even baked potatoes.
If you are short on time, a store-bought teriyaki sauce will do the trick just as well. However, our recipe below shows you how to make your own teriyaki sauce.
For the teriyaki sauce glaze, you will need:
- 1 tablespoon of grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic (about 2 cloves)
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- ⅓ cup of soy sauce
- ¼ cup of fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon of orange zest
- ½ tablespoon of cornstarch or flour
- ½ a lemon juiced and zested
- 2-3 tablespoons of water
Preparing the sauce is basically whisking the ingredients above together in a bowl and setting it aside. It should be plenty to pour over 4 fillets of salmon.
For the baking, preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit, and oil the baking sheet with some oil. Then place the salmon on the sheet and pour over the teriyaki glaze. Finally, bake the salmon for about 15 minutes until it is flakey and cooked.
Once you bring it out of the oven, pour the concentrated thickened teriyaki sauce over the salmon and garnish with some green onions and sesame seeds (optional).
Serve it over steamy boiled rice and broccoli, and you have a perfect well-balanced pescetarian meal ready in minutes.
The teriyaki sauce can be made ahead and stored in a mason jar in the fridge for a couple of weeks too.
You can also do this with a frozen fillet of salmon – you just will need to adjust the cooking time and cook for 25-30 minutes.
Shrimp Tacos with a Cilantro Lime Taco Sauce
The next pescetarian meal idea takes us on a culinary tour through Mexico for the evening. On the menu will be shrimp tacos with a homemade cilantro lime taco sauce.
Shrimp is a healthy easy pescetarian protein and is perfect for your weekly meal plans. It is also the least fishy-tasting shellfish/seafood out there – making it perfect for getting your little ones on to a pescetarian diet.
For the taco sauce, you will need:
- ½ cup of chopped cilantro (use stalk, stem, and leaves)
- ½ cup of chopped green onions
- 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic (about 2 cloves)
- Zest and juice of 2 limes (be sure to roll the limes on the counter with a bit of pressure to release the juices before cutting them open)
- ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup of greek yogurt or sour cream
- ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper
To make the sauce, whisk together the lime juice with olive oil and add the herbs and green onions. Then season the dressing, then whisk in the greek yogurt/sour cream. You can also use a food processor and pulse the ingredients together to make it into a sauce.
To stuff the tacos, make a cabbage slaw by shredding a cup of cabbage and then mixing in a few tablespoons of the taco sauce and letting it marinate.
For the shrimp seasoning, you will need:
- 2 teaspoons of chili seasoning (optional)
- 2 teaspoons of cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon of onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
For a meal for 4 people, you will need 1 pound of shrimp that has been deveined and shells removed. Mix in the shrimp seasoning and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
On a frying pan, heat a bit of oil and fry the shrimp until the shrimp cooks and curls up (once it changes color, you know it is cooked).
Next up is the easy-peasy taco assembly. Leave the shrimp, 8 tacos, slaw, and the taco sauce all on the table for the family to assemble their own tacos.
Serve this with a Pico de gallo salad and call it a perfect meal for a weekday.
Fish Biryani
The next stop in our culinary tour is South Asia! South Asian cuisine is a great one to borrow recipes from, as large portions of the population in the Indian subcontinent follow a meat-free diet.
Fish biryani is a variation of biryani that pescetarians who crave biryani will love. Biryani is typically a meat and rice casserole-type dish that is prepared with flavorful spices and yogurt, and lime juice. There are literally hundreds of variations of the biryani, and every household in South Asia has its own special edition.
This fish biryani recipe can be made with a choice of your fish – whether it is a white flesh fish or a pink flesh fish – the spice mix works very well with all of it. You can also make a variation of it by adding shrimp instead of fish too.
In short, the biryani-making process is to marinate the fish with a masala mix while you soak the rice. Then you fry up the fish pieces, then set them aside while you fry up the rest of the spice mix and onions, and rice. Then add the fish and let it all steam on low heat until the rice is cooked through.
For the marinade, you will need:
- 1 tablespoon of grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon of grated garlic
- 1 tablespoon of coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon of paprika or Kashmiri red chili powder
- 2 teaspoons of garam masala
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric
- ¼ cup of chopped cilantro and mint mix
- 1 lime zested and juiced
- ¼ cup of plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons of salt
- 2 tablespoons of dried fenugreek leaves (also called methi) – optional
The rest of the ingredients for a meal for 6, you will need:
- 2 pounds of boneless fish fillet (or cubed)
- 5 cups of Basmati rice soaked for 20-30 minutes
- 2 medium onions – sliced thinly
- ¼ cup of ghee or olive oil
- 2 cups of water
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- Fresh cilantro and green chillis (optional) for garnish.
It is traditional to serve biryani with a yogurt sauce called Raita – which can be made with some stirred plain yogurt and grated cucumber and some chopped cilantro and mint. Whisk together the ingredients for an instant raita
Here are the steps to follow:
Step 1: Marinate the fish with the marinade mix for about 2 hours in the fridge.
Step 2: Wash and soak the rice in some warm water.
Step 3: Heat up a large dutch oven or flat frying pan with some oil and fry up the marinated fish pieces for 2 minutes on each side until slightly browned. Once done, remove the fish pieces.
Step 4: In the same pan, fry some onion slices until caramelized. Remove the fried onions.
Step 5: Fry up the rice in the masala mix that was left over from the marinate with some more oil.
Step 6: Add the fish pieces evenly on the bed of rice in the same pan/pot.
Step 7: Add water and cover, and let it cook for 15-20 minutes over very low heat.
Step 8: Fluff the rice and add the garnish and serve.
Conclusion
Whether you are trying to lose excess weight, rely less on meats, lower your cholesterol, or increase your longevity, a pescetarian diet is a perfect diet to follow.
The good news is that pescetarians can still enjoy a variety of foods and meals without sacrificing flavor or satiety. You also don’t need to rely on bland foods for a pescetarian diet. You can prepare meals at home that can beat the best restaurants in York or anywhere else on the planet.
You can also lean on the world cuisines to spice up your pescetarian lifestyle and keep things interesting throughout the week.
Try out these recipes, and we guarantee you will keep these recipes in your repertoire to wow your dinner guests or family members. Bon Apetit.
