Cooking Angel...
To say that I'm "a bit of a Foodie" is rather, I think, an understatement. I'm no professional chef, or even formally trained by any stretch of the imagination, but I do enjoy cooking, and seem to be at least reasonably decent at it. Having recently been told that descriptions of what I was cooking was verging on food pr0n, I've decided to start a regular (okay, intermittent, who am I trying to kid?) thing on cooking and recipes. At least it'll give me something to write about over here, even when I feel like thre's nothing interesting going on. The recipes aren't necessarily my own, though I do tend to modify them a bit.
So, without further ado...
Chile Lime Salmon
1.5 pounds (675g) skinless salmon fillets
Marinade
1/4 cup (60ml) soy sauce
1/4 cup (60ml) dry sherry
1 2-inch (5cm) piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
Thinly pared zest and juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons (10ml) chile oil
1 tablespoon (15ml) honey
1/2 teaspoon (3g) five-spice
1/2 teaspoon (3g) chile flakes (I replaced with 3 finely chopped fresh bird chiles, which made this about '3 stars' hot. You should adjust this to your preference.)
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Add the salmon, and cover. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours (absolutely no longer!). Turn the salmon over halfway through.
The recipe calls for this to be grilled outdoors, but it broiled just fine. It probably would be better over charcoal, though, imparting a bit of smokiness. Turn over once during the cooking.
The recipe also called for brushing the remaining marinade over the fish when it was done, but I decided it'd make a nice reduction sauce. To make that, I poured the remaining marinade (including all the bits) into a small saucepan and cooked it, stirring often, over a medium heat until it was reduced to a nice consistency. If you want to speed that up a bit, you could blend in a bit of corn starch (corn flour to you Brits). I find it easier to blend corn starch into a sauce like this if I mix it with a bit of oil (rather than water) into a smooth paste, in this case, use toasted sesame oil, as more chile oil would be a bit hot.
Sesame Spinach
1 tablespoon (15ml) toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic, crushed under a knife and peeled
1 tablespoon (10g) sesame seeds
1.5 pounds (675g) fresh spinach
Salt, to taste
Heat a large frying pan or wok, then add the oil and garlic. Cook over medium heat until the garlic is browned, then discard the garlic. Add the sesame seeds, and fry until the seeds are golden, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach. Increase the heat to medium-high, and stirfry the spinach until wilted, about 3 minutes. Drain well in a sieve.
To serve:
Arrange the salmon fillets on a bed of sesame spinach, then drizzle with the reduction sauce. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Notes: This was pretty quick and easy to prepare, and looks quite elegant. The recipe called for the salmon to be cut up into pieces and cooked on skewers, but I just left them as fillets, as I couldn't be arsed. I was worried that the heat in the marinade would overpower the salmon, but the subtle flavour of the fish came through pretty nicely. When I make this again (and I will!) I think I'll add a bit more lime.
I served this along side some stirfried broccoli and mushrooms. These quantities are for four servings.
Recipes from The Essential Cook Book.
So, without further ado...
Chile Lime Salmon
1.5 pounds (675g) skinless salmon fillets
Marinade
1/4 cup (60ml) soy sauce
1/4 cup (60ml) dry sherry
1 2-inch (5cm) piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
Thinly pared zest and juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons (10ml) chile oil
1 tablespoon (15ml) honey
1/2 teaspoon (3g) five-spice
1/2 teaspoon (3g) chile flakes (I replaced with 3 finely chopped fresh bird chiles, which made this about '3 stars' hot. You should adjust this to your preference.)
Mix all the marinade ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Add the salmon, and cover. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours (absolutely no longer!). Turn the salmon over halfway through.
The recipe calls for this to be grilled outdoors, but it broiled just fine. It probably would be better over charcoal, though, imparting a bit of smokiness. Turn over once during the cooking.
The recipe also called for brushing the remaining marinade over the fish when it was done, but I decided it'd make a nice reduction sauce. To make that, I poured the remaining marinade (including all the bits) into a small saucepan and cooked it, stirring often, over a medium heat until it was reduced to a nice consistency. If you want to speed that up a bit, you could blend in a bit of corn starch (corn flour to you Brits). I find it easier to blend corn starch into a sauce like this if I mix it with a bit of oil (rather than water) into a smooth paste, in this case, use toasted sesame oil, as more chile oil would be a bit hot.
Sesame Spinach
1 tablespoon (15ml) toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic, crushed under a knife and peeled
1 tablespoon (10g) sesame seeds
1.5 pounds (675g) fresh spinach
Salt, to taste
Heat a large frying pan or wok, then add the oil and garlic. Cook over medium heat until the garlic is browned, then discard the garlic. Add the sesame seeds, and fry until the seeds are golden, about 30 seconds. Add the spinach. Increase the heat to medium-high, and stirfry the spinach until wilted, about 3 minutes. Drain well in a sieve.
To serve:
Arrange the salmon fillets on a bed of sesame spinach, then drizzle with the reduction sauce. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Notes: This was pretty quick and easy to prepare, and looks quite elegant. The recipe called for the salmon to be cut up into pieces and cooked on skewers, but I just left them as fillets, as I couldn't be arsed. I was worried that the heat in the marinade would overpower the salmon, but the subtle flavour of the fish came through pretty nicely. When I make this again (and I will!) I think I'll add a bit more lime.
I served this along side some stirfried broccoli and mushrooms. These quantities are for four servings.
Recipes from The Essential Cook Book.