Welcome to Friday Food Reviews where I will be covering a different food or product each week and looking at… what are they?  where do they grow, what can we substitute them for in a recipe, are they safe to eat, how to store them, how to use them, cook them, anything connected to that food. or product..all the why’s and the wherefores…it will, of course, be mainly my own opinion or a known fact…good or bad…there may even be a tried and tested recipe…or three…

This week it’s…Salmon…

Why Salmon? Well, it’s one of my favourite fish and if we buy sustainably caught salmon it is also very good for our health… Sally over at Smorgasbord Magazine posted about the type of salmon we should be buying and the benefits to our health so I thought I would share a couple of our favourite recipes which as you know are truly tried and tested in my kitchen…Just in case you missed Sally’s post then I have highlighted the link to that post above…

Cajun Salmon with Salted Lime Butter…

 

Ingredients for the Salted Lime Butter.

• 4 tbsp butter unsalted
• ½ Lime zested
• A pinch of sea salt

Mix the lime zest and salt into the butter, then keep in the fridge until required either in a ramekin or make a roll and slice as required.

Ingredients for the Cajun Spice Topping…

• 2 tbsp of dried oregano
• 2 tbsp garlic powder…
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp mineral or sea salt
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp chilli flakes ( optional)

Let’s Cook!

• Mix all the dried ingredients together …I always add fresh garlic and chopped onion to mine so I make my mix excluding the onion and garlic and then when required I add the fresh ingredients…
• Place the salmon on foil and add the amount of  Cajun topping you require
• seal the foil and cook in the oven at 180 for 10-15 mins until cooked
• I open the foil for the last 5 minutes of cooking and add my lime butter…
• Serve with rice or noodles and freshly steamed vegetables.

Enjoy!

Quick and easy to do…this next dish will be ready as long as it takes your rice to cook…The dip I made just enough for one which is the beauty with this one …It is a favourite dip here, especially with young Lily who when she was here last week and I had fish while they had spag bol…put some over her spag bol…she likes it that much..weird child…haha

Pan-Seared Salmon.

• 120 -150 gm of Salmon per person.
• Olive oil and a little butter to cook the fish.

For the spicy sauce…

• 2 nice sprigs of fresh coriander
• 2 coriander roots (optional)
• 1 spring onion(green onion) or shallot finely chopped
• 1-2 red chillies finely sliced
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 cheeks fresh lime /lemon
• Splash of water

Let’s Cook!

To make spicy dip wash and chop coriander finely. Finely slice green onions or shallots.

Finely chop chilli( I leave) the seeds in but they can be removed if you want a milder dip.

Put in a small dish and add the fish sauce and lime juice and a splash of water…

Taste and adjust seasoning if required…

Set to one side while you cook your fish…Score the fish skin and season with salt and fresh ground pepper…

Heat a pan and add the olive oil and butter when hot add your salmon skin side down. I cook for about 2/3 mins on the skin side and then turn and cook for 1-2 mins depending on the thickness of your fish and how you like your fish cooked we prefer ours just cooked rather than overdone. With salmon still pink in the middle. Baste the fish with the butter to keep it moist…

Place the fish on your rice skin side up and spoon over the chilli sauce…as little or as much as you like…Enjoy!

BBQ sauce leftovers were too good to waste so we coated some salmon just to try it…My taste tester Aston gave it the thumbs up…It was quick and easy to do…

I just marinated the salmon for about 15 mins in the BBQ sauce and then cooked it in foil for 10 mins..brushed it with a little more and served it on rice…Done! It was just right for a light lunch if you want something a little more substantial add some steamed veggies

Run out of your store brought BBQ sauce...again so easy to make from store cupboard ingredients…

• 1 1/2 cups tomato ketchup
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce.
• 1 tbsp lime/ lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 tsp hot sauce ….I use 1/4 cup siracha which gives a nice background heat.
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Whisk all your ingredients together in a small pan and heat and simmer for about 5 minutes then use as required…Today I halved the recipe and added a couple pinches of mixed herbs…I just wanted enough to baste some Pork belly which I did a couple times during cooking.

If not used immediately allow to cool and store in the fridge in a screwtop jar. It is good for about a week.

Lovely brushed on meat or fish or as we did last week we cooked our ribs in the sauce.

Salmon Trout …simple but delicious…

• 180 gm  Trout or Salmon fillet.

For Topping:

• 1 spring onion finely chopped.
• 2/3 stems Coriander chopped finely.. I use the stem as well.
• 1 red bird’s eye chilli finely chopped.
• 1 tbsp Fish Sauce.
• A cheek of lime.

Mix all ingredients together.

Put fish on foil and spoon topping on. I reserve some of the toppings to add when serving. Seal foil and put in the oven on 180 for 10/15 mins until cooked.

Saute some kale or spring greens and serve with Cauliflower rice… recipe here

One of my favourite ways is to eat salmon in Tom Yum Soup…

Quite simply I make Tom Yum soup and then near the end I portion out enough for me and I poach my salmon in the soup with some noodles…it makes a beautiful meal…this is how I make it… add your noodles and after 2 mins add your salmon and cook for a further 5 mins until salmon is just poached…

Remove from heat and gently stir in fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and cilantro.

Taste and adjust if necessary.

This delicious soup is now ready to serve. Garnish with half a boiled egg and some coriander… Enjoy!

 

If you are doing an original Tom Yum with prawns only add your 500 gm of prepared prawns and cook for 2-3 mins max ( if overcooked the prawns will sink to the bottom of the pan. If you get any scum on the surface of soup it’s from the prawns then just skim off with a spoon. Then remove from heat and gently stir in fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and cilantro.

Taste and adjust if necessary.

Enjoy!

Of course, there are many other ways to eat Salmon…raw as sushimi is a lovely way… with pasta it can be flaked into the dish or just a sandwich with some tinned salmon and cucumber… which always reminds me of Sunday tea when I was a child…

or some lovely smoked salmon in a bagel …Smoked salmon is packed with nutrients, vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids, all of which will boost your health …so many ways to eat this beautiful fish…How do you eat yours? what is your favourite salmon dish?