I first learned about skate at the beginning of my career at Le Cirque in NYC. We received skate wings weekly & it was my responsibility to clean the wings, then gently poach & cool them in court bouillon.
Cooking Skate Wings
I've always found it challenging to peel or slice the skin off of skate wings.
I enjoy sautéed, 'peeled' skate wings with brown or black butter & capers very much.
I still prepare skate wings in this fashion, but my new, preferred method is a simple curry marinade for an hour, then searing the wings on a cast iron grate with a small amount of oil. I get the curry nice and brown, the skin splits and it's very easy to see when the flesh is cooked through.
This is so much easier than cleaning the wings raw or poaching and provides a nice, flavorful crust & moist, juicy flesh. It's super easy to scrape the skin and meat using a fork or spoon.
Prep Time: 3o min
Cooking Time: 30 min (grilling/ resting)
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients
4 ea. Skate wings
Seasoning:
6 oz. Olive oil
1 Tbsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ginger powder
1/2 Cup Curry powder
tt Kosher Salt
lemons & hot sauce
How to prepare Seared Skate Wings
Step 1
Mix the curry spices and oil together and coat the skate wings well. Let marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Step 2
Heat a cast iron grill pan to medium high; scrub the grill pan and then gently oil to avoid sticking.
Step 3
Place the skate wings onto the grill pan and sear about 6-8 minutes; Invert and continue cooking to reach the desired temperature you enjoy. You'll see the skin splitting and the flesh on the sides to determine doneness-or use a thermometer and cook to 150F.
Step 4
Serve the skate with fresh lemon and hot sauce.
I recently volunteered to prepare vegetable paella for a church Bible group potluck. I was very excited to develop a delicious, new paella recipe and spent time preparing fresh vegetable stock with flavors of the Mediterranean. I always prepare vegetable and fish stocks fresh, as I intend to use them. I’m not a fan of bases or frozen stocks but I sometimes add a small amount of quality base to my stocks. A vegetable stock with mirepoix, cabbage, mushrooms makes sense in certain applications, for certain recipes—but why would we use a mushroom or cabbage-forward stock in a paella? It doesn’t make culinary sense. Paella is a Mediterranean dish originating in the Valencia region of Spain as a humble meal cooked on an open fire. I’ve enjoyed wonderful paella meals in Valencia prepared with water-not stock, prepared with rabbit, snails and local beans. While traveling through Spain this spring I researched and sampled many styles of paella… no mushrooms, no carrots, no celery and no cabbage.
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Culinary Basics: The Art of preparing Stocks
Paella is a Mediterranean dish originating in the Valencia region of Spain. It is a humble meal, originally cooked on an open fire. I’ve enjoyed many wonderful paella meals in Spain. In Valencia I had a local paella with rabbit, snails and local beans. Short-grained rice is always used to prepare Paella, there are several great Spanish varieties like Bomba and Calasparra , prized for absorbing the delicious, flavorful stock and flavors of the ingredients without getting mushy. This is important for creating the dish's signature, crusty bottom layer called the socarrat. Paella is all about the rice!
I still remember cooking breakfast burritos with my son Daniel, for volunteer workers at church events—simple, hearty, and made to fuel a long day of service. The workers were always so appreciative. Years later, I served a crowd favorite, nicknamed “The Bacon-ator,” a breakfast superstar inspired by the over-the-top spirit of fast-food indulgence. We had a popular food booth at the local country fair, where we cooked hundreds of breakfast burritos each day-stuffed with Mexican cheeses, extra bacon, fluffy scrambled eggs, and fresh salsa—nothing pre-made, nothing rushed. Every burrito was warm, fresh, and full of flavor. When food is made with love, even the most straightforward breakfast is memorable.
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