This is a light and flavorful as a main dish or side dish. It’s a perfect side for any grilled meat or fish.  I make it pretty frequently during the Spring, Summer and Fall.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 cups chopped spinach leaves
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. In a saucepan, bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and the rice. Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork.
2. In a large bowl, whisk lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, pepper, pepper flakes, and remaining tsp. salt.
3. Add rice to dressing and toss to combine. Add spinach, toss, and let sit until no longer steaming, about 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and toss to combine. Serve at room temperature or cold.

This is how it looks when you are done!

This is an excellent and flavorful way to cook fish that I adapted from the Barbecue Bible. I had a large, whole salmon (not a smaller snapper or pompano as recommended), and was hoping the flavor would be strong enough to impact the Salmon. Boy was I pleasantly surprised! The fish came out delicious and my guests all asked me to put it online as soon as possible. So here it is!

Ingredients

• 1 whole salmon, cleaned
• 1 cup fresh lime juice (or lemon juice)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup kosher or sea salt (or 1/4 cup regular salt)
• For the SPICED BUTTER
• 6 Tbsp Butter
• 1.5 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large shallot or 1/2 small onion minced
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 2/3 tsp ground turmeric

Directions

1. Rince and dry fish. Make 4-5 diagonal slices to the bone in each side of fish. Put in a baking dish large enough to hold (you may have to wrap tail around a bit to fit).
2. Combine lime juice, water, and salt in bowl and whisk till salt dissolves. Pour mixture over the fish in dish, turning once or twice to coat. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat grill to medium-high.
4. Put butter, lime juice, soy, garlic, shallot, ginger and turmeric in a bowl, cover loosely, and microwave for about 2 minutes till melted. Alternatively, melt on stove in a heavy sauce pan. Remove from heat and let cool.
5. When grill is hot, drain the fish and reserve the liquid (called bumboo). Bursh each side of the fish and inside with the spiced butter, working the butter into the cuts. Then spoon some of the reservedbumboo over it. Spray the grill and the outside of the fish with an olive oil spray (or other oil spray) and place on the grill.
6. Grill for about 10 minutes, basting with any additional butter and the reserved bumboo. Then carefully turn the fish, and cook an additional 10 minutes, again basting with any remaining butter and bumboo. (This timing will work well for a 3.5-4 lb salmon. Adjust for a smaller or larger fish.)
7. Using a spatula, carefull transfer the fish to a serving platter. Serve whole, to be eaten with the fingers. Or fillet using this method:
8. Remove head (if still on). Insert a knife in the back bone of the fish and slice from head to tail. Holding the tail in one hand, use the knife to carefull peel the lower fillet from the bone. Gravity should help if fall off the bone. Then turn the fish over and scrape the knife along the bone to dislodge the other fillet. You should be left with just the bone in your hand which you can discard.

Here’s how it looks!

Let me know how you like it!