GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Summer may just be the most delicious time of year. There are so many fresh ingredients to enjoy.

That’s why we’re cooking up some Summertime Suppers on this Recipe Wednesday! Shannon Smith shows us a few super summer meal ideas from Pepper Moon Catering in Greensboro.

Cilantro Lime Rice & Black Beans

Ingredients

  • 2 cups white basmati rice
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 3 1/2 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Finely grated zest of two limes
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 cup lightly packed cilantro (leaves and tender stems only), chop thoroughly until finely minced
  • 2 can black beans, thoroughly drained and rinsed

Instructions

  1. Add water, salt, and butter to a Dutch oven or large pot.
  2. Bring to a rolling boil, then add rice, cover, and lower the heat to low to maintain a very low simmer.
  3. Cook undisturbed for 20 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat.
  5. Add lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, and black beans, stir thoroughly and let sit for 10 minutes.
  6. Transfer the rice to a serving bowl.
  7. Serve immediately.

Cuban Garlic Chicken

Cuban garlic chicken photo taken by KB Williams

Ingredients

  • 2-3 pounds chicken pieces (we average 2 breasts, 6 thighs and 4 legs, based on each family member’s preference), bone-in and skin on
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Instructions

  1. Rinse the chicken pieces. 
  2. In a large Ziploc bag, combine the garlic, orange juice, lime juice salt, vinegar, pepper, oregano, and cumin and mix.
  3. Add the chicken pieces to the bag, massage marinade thoroughly into the chicken, squeeze out any air and seal the bag.
  4. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight (I personally prefer overnight).
  5. Heat oven to 450°.
  6. Arrange chicken in one layer in a rimmed sheet pan.
  7. Pour the marinade evenly over the top of the chicken.
  8. Roast the chicken in the lower third of the oven until it is cooked through, and the sauce begins to caramelize, 45 minutes to 1 hour total (Should temp to at least 165° in the thickest part of the breast), but at the 30-minute mark, open the oven door pull out the rack and baste the chicken pieces with the sauce by using a tablespoon.  If your oven cooks unevenly you may also want to rotate the pan.  Push back the shelf and close the oven door to continue cooking.  NOTE:  some corners of the skin may look like they are burning slightly, don’t worry about this.  Continue cooking until the breasts are cooked thoroughly. 
  9. Remove the chicken to a platter, spoon garlic sauce over the pieces.

Fresh Greek Salad

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 English cucumber, cut lengthwise, seeded, and sliced ¼-inch thick
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (we love San Marzanos)
  • 5 ounces feta cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes (not crumbles)
  • ⅓ cup thinly sliced red onion
  • ⅓ cup pitted Kalamata olives
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, mustard, salt, and several grinds of pepper.
  2. On a large platter, arrange the cucumber, green pepper, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, red onions, and olives.
  3. Drizzle with the dressing and very gently toss.
  4. Sprinkle with a few generous pinches of oregano.
  5. Season to taste and serve.

Oven Roasted Salmon

Ingredients

  • 4 5-7oz salmon fillets, skin-on (recommend organic farm-raised)
  • Olive oil
  • Seasoning salt, whatever you prefer

Instructions

  1. Place rimmed baking sheet on middle oven rack, and turn oven on “Bake” and heat to 500 degrees.
  2. Remove scales from salmon. You can do this by using a kitchen knife and scraping the scales opposite their growth. There are also tools that you can buy for this purpose. Be careful, they will scatter. I put several wet paper towels in the sink to catch them.
  3. Pat salmon dry with paper towels, well.
  4. Rub fillets evenly with olive oil, skin side too.
  5. Sprinkle your favorite seasoning salt on the salmon. We prefer Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning. Salt and Pepper work very well by themselves too.
  6. Remove the baking sheet.
  7. Place salmon, skin side down, directly on the pan.
  8. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and place the fish back in the oven.
  9. Roast until centers of thickest part of fillets are still translucent when cut into with paring knife or instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of fillets registers 125 degrees, usually 9 to 13 minutes. I use the “touch” method. I don’t like dark pink centers, so when the salmon stops feeling jiggly, I remove it from the oven.
  10. Using fish spatula, if you have, pull the salmon off the skin and transfer fillets to plates.

Stand-Up Tacos

We eat these standing around our kitchen island because they can be messy… hence the name. Food truck-style fish tacos at home using fresh avocado, cilantro, and corn tortillas, topped with onions in a creamy sauce.

Ingredients

SAUCE

  • 1/4 cup sour cream (would be great with Greek yogurt too)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 cup thinly sliced (long strips) Vidalia onion

RUB

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • Roughly 1.5# tilapia fillets (the individually-packed frozen filets are perfect for this, thawed)
  • 1-4 tablespoons canola oil, as needed per preference
  • 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
  • 1 ripe peeled avocado, thinly sliced
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges

Preparation

  1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth. 
  2. Pour over onions in an airtight container and refrigerate.  Overnight is great. 
  3. Combine rub ingredients and sprinkle over fish.
  4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmers.
  5. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
  6. Warm tortillas – our preference is in microwave layered with damp paper towels.
  7. Build your taco starting with corn tortilla, add fish, add avocado, add onion sauce.
  8. Squeeze fresh lime juice if desired.
  9. Prepare to drip!