Swordfish, Malaga style

I went to Malaga once and it was cold. A friend had offered a vacation condo in this Mediterranean resort after I sold my loft, but it was February and I had to keep the space heater going the whole time.

Nonetheless, the name conjures up hot weather and beaches, so for one of my bachelor fish dinners, I picked this recipe from Janet Mendel's My Kitchen in Spain. I had to cut down the recipe, of course, and just left out the ingredients I didn't have (I bought the swordfish before I found the recipe).

Saute chopped onion, chopped garlic, and chopped green pepper (missing) in olive oil for 5 minutes, then add diced tomato, white wine, parsley (missing), bay leaf, ground cloves, salt and pepper, and simmer to thicken sauce. Then add the swordfish steak(s) and cook in sauce, turning once, until cooked through. I didn't sprinkle it with sliced green olives to finish. I had it with white rice.

I find the taste of swordfish surprisingly mild given how oily and fishy it looks in its raw state. Here the white flaky cooked fish paired nicely with the tomato, onion and garlic.

Mendel has this nice touch of simple, tasty recipes that bring you the Mediterranean with just a couple of ingredients. "Malaga style," she explains in the headnote, means cooked with a sofrito that includes fresh tomatoes. Maybe next time I go it will be sunny and hot.

Slow-roasted duck breast

Here is a recipe with the shortest list of ingredients you can imagine: 2 moulard duck breasts, salt, pepper. No fat, no onion, no garlic, no spice, no herb, no rub, no marinade, no waiting.

And it tastes great! Molly Stevens does not hesitate to simply describe techniques in her All About Roasting, without dolling them up with superfluous directions or ingredients. Here you just use a sharp knife to cut a cross-hatch pattern in the skin (don't pierce through to the flesh), sear the duck breasts skin-side down in a skillet for 5-6 minutes (no need for extra fat since they start rendering fat immediately), then put on a flat rack on a sheet pan skin-side up into a 200-degree oven for 50 minutes, or until 135 degrees internal temperature for rare and 145 to 150 for medium rare (our choice).

The slow roast leaves the breasts juicy and tender, while the salt and pepper enhance the slightly gamy flavor of the duck and its fat. Just slice and serve, no further ingredients needed.

Stevens suggests using some of the rendered duck fat to saute greens as an accompaniment. We used a Brussels sprouts recipe from About.com, of all places, instead. This involved gently sauteeing diced bacon starting in a cold skillet until it renders fat and turns golden. Add the Brussels sprouts -- halved or quartered depending on how crunchy you want them -- and saute for a few minutes. Then add chicken stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in some butter and a squeeze of lemon juice and adjust seasonin at the end.

This is a great technique for preserving the green cabbagy flavor of the sprouts. The braising disperses the grease so it does not distract from or overpower the vegetable taste.