Reap the benefits with this seasonal special — rich in protein and calcium and low in artery-clogging saturated fat — from Chef Lyle Bolyard at The Lodge at Woodloch in Hawley, PA.

Seared Salmon With Pumpkin Risotto

For risotto:
4 cups chicken stock
½ cup rice milk
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 cup minced onion
1 cup Arborio rice
½ cup cubed pumpkin (blanched)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the chicken stock and rice milk together and warm in a saucepot. Set aside. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions. Sauté for about 45 seconds. Add the rice and stir until the rice is completely coated with the oil and onions are mixed. Reduce the heat to medium-low and start to ladle the warm chicken-stock mixture into the rice about 4 ounces at a time, taking about 2-minute intervals between. Make sure to continuously stir the rice while it is cooking. After you have ladled about half of the stock into the pot, add the blanched pumpkin and continue to cook, adding more stock every 2 minutes. The cooking process should take 35–40 minutes, or until the rice and pumpkin are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the salmon:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 5-ounce pieces wild salmon
Salt and pepper to taste
1 5-ounce bag roasted pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat over medium heat for 1 minute. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Place the salmon into the hot pan and sear for 3 minutes on each side. After searing, finish the salmon in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the salmon from the oven and serve on a platter over a bed of pumpkin risotto. Garnish the top of the salmon with roasted pumpkin seeds.

Recommendation: Serve a favorite green with the dish like wilted spinach or sautéed Swiss chard.

Full meal serves 4; prep time: about an hour; cook time: 51 minutes total

Cora, who now resides in Santa Barbara, CA, shares one of her favorite recipes with VIVmag, “I love traditional Greek comfort food, but have lightened it up to fit in with my Southern California lifestyle,” she says.

Lettuce “Gyros” With Spicy Halibut and Feta-Mint Tzatziki

Serves 4

HALIBUT:

2  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional to sear fish
2  tablespoons fresh lime juice
1  tablespoon chili powder
1  tablespoon ground cumin
1  teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2  teaspoons sea salt
1/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2  pounds halibut fillets (four 6-ounce center-cut halibut fillets or six 4-ounce fillets)

LETTUCE CUPS:

1  head butter lettuce
1  head radicchio

CONDIMENTS:

Pepperoncini
Chopped scallions
Feta-Mint Tzatziki (recipe follows)

FETA-MINT TZATZIKI: (Makes 1 1/2 cups)

1  cup plain Greek-style yogurt
2  tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
1  tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2  tablespoons olive oil
1  teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 large clove)
1  teaspoon kosher salt
2  teaspoons finely chopped mint
1  cucumber, peeled

TOMATO SALAD:5  Roma tomatoes, diced
1  medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/2  cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
1  tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
2  tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2  tablespoons fresh lime juice
2  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

TO MAKE FETA-MINT TZATZIKI:

1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except cucumber; set aside.
2. Using an old-fashioned box grater, grate cucumber directly over yogurt mixture. Cover bowl and chill in refrigerator at least one hour, or overnight.

TO MARINATE HALIBUT:

1. Preheat grill to medium-hot or oven to 350° F.
2. In a baking dish, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper.
3. Add halibut fillets in a single layer and turn to coat thoroughly with marinade. Allow fillets to marinate for 10 minutes while you make the tomato salad.

TO MAKE TOMATO SALAD:1. In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, onions, olives, oregano, parsley, lime juice and olive oil. Season to taste with kosher salt and black pepper. Set aside.

TO BAKE HALIBUT:

1. Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into large skillet over high heat and sear fish for 1 minute on each side.
2. Bake fish in oiled Pyrex baking dish in oven until firm to the touch and flakes easily when separated with the tines of a fork, 10–12 minutes for fillets and 12–15 minutes for steaks.
3. Remove fish from oven and let it rest in the pan while you prepare lettuce cups.

TO PREPARE LETTUCE CUPS:

1. Form lettuce cups by gently separating the heads of butter lettuce and radicchio. For extra-crisp cups, soak lettuce in very cold water for a few minutes before removing and patting dry with a paper towel.
2. Make a cup by lining a whole leaf of butter lettuce with radicchio; double-line the cups to reduce the chance of leaks.

TO SERVE:1. Flake a generous portion of fish into each lettuce cup or cut fish into small chunks and divide evenly among cups.
2. Top with tomato salad. Drizzle with tzatziki, if desired, and garnish with pepperoncini and scallions. Serve immediately. You can eat this with a knife and fork or pick up the lettuce cup and eat it with gusto.

Adapted by VIVmag from a recipe courtesy of Houghton Mifflin.

Macadamia-Crusted Salmon
Serves 4

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

1 can (16 ounce) whole tomatoes, drained (reserve juice), coarsely chopped

1 cup dry white wine

½ cup tomato juice (reserved from canned tomatoes)

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup orange juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon freshly-grated orange peel

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

½ teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

½ teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

½ teaspoon dried basil, crushed

1 bay leaf

Black pepper to taste

1 pound fish fillets (sole, flounder or sea perch)

Directions: Heat oil in large nonstick skillet. Add onion and sauté over moderate heat for 5 minutes or until soft. Add remaining ingredients except fish. Stir well and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Arrange fish in 10- by 6-inch baking dish. Cover with sauce. Bake, uncovered, at 375º F for about 15 minutes, or until fish flakes easily.

From The Cardiac Recovery Cookbook: Heart Healthy Recipes for Life After Heart Attack or Heart Surgery by M. Laurel Cutlip, R.D., L.N., with Sari Budgazad, R.D., C.D.N., Copyright 2005. Excerpted with permission from Hatherleigh Press.