salmon

Smoked Salmon Fillets with Crushed New Potatoes and Mustard Cabbage

TheseNovelThoughts3 Comments

Smoked Salmon Fillets with Crushed New Potatooes and Mustard Cabbage (2)

Following on from my post yesterday, when I went on and on about Spring being here and the weather being wonderful, typically today is ice cold. It started off warm, which meant I did not wear appropriate clothing for the deep freeze which came later. Being a Brit is a great burden (so much weather to talk about…)!

Anyway, I wore little shoes with no socks to work, and so by the time I got home I was very cold. Good job, then, that I had this warming Nordic inspired recipe lined up.

Whilst I like sliced smoked salmon, smoked salmon fillets are a different kettle of fish entirely. They are unctuous and luxurious and taste as though you should be eating them with a glass of champagne (hubby did not take the hint and crack a bottle open when I told him this). I bought my smoked salmon fillets, but if you smoke your own then kudos to you.

I used white cabbage in this dish too. Lots of people don’t like cabbage, mainly because it is often overcooked and thrown on the side of the dish as an after thought. But, cook it properly and season it properly (and add double cream) and it will be delicious.

This will serve 2 with leftovers, and will take around 40 minutes to make.

Smoked Salmon Fillets with Crushed New Potatooes and Mustard Cabbage (1)

Smoked Salmon Fillets with Crushed New Potatoes and Mustard Cabbage

2 smoked salmon fillets

1 white cabbage

300ml vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

50ml double cream

2 tsps wholegrain mustard

500g baby new potatoes

1 small handful chives

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Thinly slice the white cabbage and add to a large saucepan. Add the stock and bay leaf, cover and simmer on a low heat for 20-25 minutes, until softened.

3. In another pan, boil some water and add the potatoes. Cook for 15 minutes or until softened.

4. Meanwhile, put the salmon fillets in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

5. To finish the cabbage, stir in the cream and mustard and season to taste.

6. To finish the potatoes, crush gently with a potato masher (you still want big chunks of potato) and stir through the chopped chives.

7. To serve, ladle cabbage and plenty of the cooking broth into bowls, then top with the potatoes and salmon. Yum!

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Pan Fried Salmon with Noodle Broth

TheseNovelThoughts14 Comments

Pan Fried Salmon with Noodle Broth (1)

I have unfortunately not been well the last few days – hence my absence from the blog – but I am feeling much better today and was ready for something nourishing and delicious to get rid of the last vestiges of my illness.

This is something I always crave when I’m not quite feeling right. The salmon is obviously wonderfully healthy, packed full of protein and healthy oils. The broth contains garlic, ginger, coriander and lemongrass – they also contain lovely, healthy things (I swear by ginger when I’m not well; I’ll chop fresh ginger and have it in a cup of boiling water – try it, it will cure anything). Mix this with noodles and coconut milk and you have a hug in a bowl.

Helpfully, the meal is also ready in 15 minutes, so perfect when you are tired.

This will serve 2, with extra broth left over.

Pan Fried Salmon with Noodle Broth (2)

Pan Fried Salmon with Noodle Broth

2 salmon fillets

2 tbsps olive oil

1 thumb sized piece ginger

2 cloves garlic

1 stick lemongrass

2 tsps tamarind paste

1 small bunch fresh coriander

400ml coconut milk

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp palm sugar

300g straight to wok style or pre-cooked noodles, any type will do

200g sugarsnap peas

Spring onions and peanuts, to serve

1. Start by finely chopping the ginger and garlic, and adding it to a large pan over a medium heat with half of the olive oil.

2. When it starts to sizzle, bruise the lemongrass with a knife and add this to the pan, along with the sliced coriander stalks and tamarind paste. Cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes, then add the coconut milk and the same amount again of water. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce and palm sugar.

3. Bring the broth to a simmer then add the sugarsnap peas and noodles. Simmer for 5-7 minutes, while you cook the salmon.

4. To cook the salmon, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and add the salmon, skin side down. Cook for 5 minutes, until the skin is crisp, then flip over and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

5. Stir the chopped coriander leaves into the broth. To serve, ladle the broth into bowls and top with the salmon. Sprinkle over some chopped spring onion and peanuts. Enjoy!

Soy Glazed Salmon with Miso Noodle Broth

TheseNovelThoughts22 Comments

Soy Glazed Salmon with Miso Noodle Broth (1)

This is a very simple, and quick (it’s ready in 15 minutes), dish – but it will taste like you’ve spent hours slaving over the stove. It’s a Japanese inspired dish, and I love the savoury, sweet flavours this recipe has.

When you’re cold (we were threatened with snow today, but all we got was misty, relentless ice cold rain, which I would argue is worse), there is nothing better than a warming broth; and miso is such a comforting flavour. Paired with salty, sweet soy glazed salmon (say that after a couple of glasses of wine!), where the marinade leaks into the broth, this recipe ticks all of the boxes. Our plates were clean in 5 minutes.

The most important things to remember with this dish are 1) don’t overcook the salmon – try to make sure it’s still nice and pink in the middle and 2) don’t panic when the glaze bubbles up and turns black as ink – this is perfectly normal. Remember it’s bound to go like caramel – it has sugar in it – and this is what makes it so delicious.

This will serve 2 (with broth left over – I could drink it instead of tea!) and will take 15 mins.

Soy Glazed Salmon with Miso Noodle Broth (2)

Soy Glazed Salmon with Miso Noodle Broth

For the salmon:

2 salmon fillets

2 tbsps soy sauce

20g brown sugar

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

For the noodles:

100g miso paste

1 clove garlic

1 thumb sized piece galangal (ginger would work if you can’t find any)

300g medium noodles (the straight to wok ones work well)

2 pak choi

1 spring onion

1 small handful coriander

1. For the noodles, heat the miso paste in a large saucepan for 30 seconds, then add the sliced garlic and galangal. Add 1 litre water and bring to the boil, then add the noodles. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add the pak choi. Simmer gently until your fish is cooked.

2. For the glaze, mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl. Put a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat and add the salmon fillets, skin side down. Cook for 1 minute, until the skin starts to crisp, then pour the glaze over them. Cook for another 5 minutes, then flip and cook for 30 seconds – 1 minutes.

3. To serve, ladle the noodles into bowls then top with the salmon fillets. Sprinkle over sliced spring onions and coriander leaves, then let your taste buds enjoy a treat!

Smoked Salmon, Roasted Beetroot and Watercress Smörgåsbord

TheseNovelThoughts3 Comments

I wasn’t going to call this dish a smörgåsbord, because it’s not exactly the right definition, but it is a sharing platter with plenty of Scandinavian flavours so I hope I can get away with it.

This is so simple, barely any cooking is required (any use of the oven is just for warming things up, apart from the beetroot which needs roasting) and it’s really just a case of compiling the ingredients.

You could add or remove various ingredients to this – if you had any gherkins they would go well on the side, as would a dollop of horseradish sauce or some pickled fish. Use your imagination!

I love the fact you can put this in the middle of the table and let everyone help themselves; just make sure you get to go first!

This will serve 2-3 and is ready in 30 minutes.

Smoked Salmon, Roasted Beetroot and Watercress Smörgåsbord

2 tbsps olive oil

500g raw beetroot

2 smoked salmon fillets (I used lightly smoked which meant they needed cooking, if you’re using fully smoked you don’t need to cook them).

1 loaf rye bread

100g watercress

40g soured cream

1 handful dill

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Drizzle half of the olive oil over the beetroot in a roasting dish (trimmed and cut into wedges; no need to peel it) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put in the oven for 30 minutes.

2. When the beetroot has been in for 15 minutes, put the salmon in an oven proof dish and drizzle with the rest of the olive oil. Put in the oven for the remaining cooking time.

3. 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time, put the loaf of bread in the oven.

4. Chop the dill and mix with the soured cream in a small bowl.

5. To serve, load all of the ingredients onto a large board or tray, and let everyone tuck in.