Firecracker Salmon

 

Based on a Cafe Delites recipe,  this oven Baked Firecracker Salmon fillets with an incredible sauce is an easy to make salmon recipe in minutes! Flakey on the inside with seared, crispy edges, then finished off in the oven to bake until tender!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons chili sauce of choice
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar 
• pinch of crushed red chili flakes
• 2 teaspoons sriracha (adjust to suit your heat preference)
• 4 skin off salmon fillets
• Salt and pepper to season
• 1 teaspoon paprika (mild, smoky or spicy)
• Chives chopped

Instructions

• In a shallow bowl, whisk together the minced garlic, minced ginger, olive oil, soy sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar, red chili flakes and sriracha to combine.
• Season salmon with salt, pepper and paprika. Add salmon fillets to the marinade, turning each to evenly coat in the sauce.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight (if time allows).
• Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat an oven proof pan over medium heat with a small drizzle of oil.
• Sear salmon for 2-3 minutes on both sides, undisturbed, to get nice crust. (You may need to sear in batches depending on the size of your skillet.)

  Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining salmon.
• Return all salmon fillets to the pan. Alternatively, transfer to baking dish.Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.
• Brush with any remaining marinade and sprinkle with chopped chives

Monkfish, Garlic and Ginger Asian Style

 This is really delicious as well as being fast and healthy - based loosely on a Rick Stein recipe

Serves 2

• 350-400g monkfish tail, filleted

• 1/2 tbsp finely shredded root ginger

• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped (or use chopped wild garlic if available)

• 1 tsp sesame oil

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

• 1 spring onion, finely sliced

Method

• Cut the monkfish tail into thin slices and arrange in a single layer on a plate that will fit into a large saucepan.

• Mix the ginger, garlic and spring onion together and place a small amount on each slice of fish

• Add 1cm of boiling water to a large saucepan.  Bring it back the boil and and place the plate on some sort of trivet to keep it clear of the water. Put the lid on and boil for 4 minutes.

• Meanwhile, mix and heat the sesame oil and soy sauce (microwave or small pot)

• Arrange the cooked fish on serving plates,  add any liquid from the cooked fish to the sesame/soy mixture and spoon over the fish slices.

 Serve with boiled or fried rice

Really Good Roast Chicken

 Really good roast chicken is one of the most delicious meals and I have been experimenting with different approaches for years. A recent particularly tasty effort provoked a request to record what I did as I’m inclined to forget and fail to make it as nice the next time.  The main lesson is to have liquid in the roasting pan for part of the cooking time which keeps the meat moist and gives a particularly flavoursome gravy (or jus).  Essential - start with a good quality bird - at least free range if not organic. Cheap meat tends to involve cruelty.

Smear the bottom of the roasting tin with oil and cover with sliced onion. Place the chicken on top (you may like to put a few slices of lemon and/or garlic cloves in the cavity) and add some chopped carrots which have been tossed in oil. Place in preheated oven at 190C for 20 mins.  

To half a glass of water,  add a good splash each of worcestershire sauce and vermouth or wine and heat (in microwave).  After the 20 mins, turn the oven down to 170C and pour half the liquid around the chicken.  Add more veg around the bird e.g. parsnips.

After another 30 mins,  add the remainder of the (reheated) liquid and any softer veg e,g, chopped peppers and roast for another 30 mins (for an average sized chicken) - so 1 hour 20 mins in total.

Remove the chicken to a warm serving dish and the veg to a warm bowl.  Put the roasting tin on the hob and add a splash of soy sauce and tabasco (or other pepper sauce) and heat.  You may wish to add a tablespoon of Bisto in a few tablespoons of water to the tin to thicken it. Taste and adjust seasoning

If you need a hot oven to crisp up some roast potatoes,  the chicken and veg can be kept warm with a foil cover.

That’s it.  Really moist chicken, delicious veg and the most flavoursome gravy/jus with minimum effort.

Afghan Orange and Chicken Biryani

From Felicity Cloak / Guardian Readers Recipe Swap.  Fairly easy, tasty and (probably) can be made vegetarian or vegan by using tofu, paneer or haloumi instaed of chicken

Sloe Gin

 

Ingredients

Per 700ml bottle:

• 450ml Gin
• 200g sloes
• 100g sugar

Per 1 litre Kilner Jar

• 600ml gin
• 270g sloes
• 135g sugar

Method

Freeze sloes to break the tough skin.  Add gin and sugar.  Shake every second day for a week,  then occasionally thereafter.  Ready to drink by Christmas - strain thru muslin cloth.  Keeps indefinitely. Find uses for the gin infused sloes (syrup for desserts?)

Coconut Dal with Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil

250g banana shallots (or onion) finely chopped

45g fresh ginger grated or finely chopped

1 red chilli, finely chopped

15 fresh curry leaves (not essential)

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp medium curry powder

2 tsp tomato paste

100g red lentils

1 400g tin of coconut milk 

Vegetables for roasting: cauliflower (great!), broccoli, mushrooms, peppers - whatever comes to hand (precook if necessary e.g. carrots)

Method

• Fry the shallots (onion) in the oil until soft.  
• Add the ginger, chilli, curry leaves (if using) and cook for 2 minutes
• Add the spices, tomato paste and lentils and stir for a minute
• Add the coconut milk 600ml of water and three-quater of a teaspoon of salt.
• Bring to boil and leave to simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally until lentils are cooked and sauce is thick
• Meantime,  toss the veg in oil/butter and roast in 200C oven until cooked.

Variations

Try using chana dal instead of red lentils.  Add tamarind paste, fresh tomatoes, frozen peas, spinach leave, kale, grated or desiccated coconut

Spiced Lentil Soup

A Michelin-starred chef’s recipe for a simple soup with big flavour

Ahmet Dede shares a dish he grew up eating – spiced lentil soup is a staple in Turkey

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 200g red lentils (black or green lentils also work)
• 1.2 ltr water (or chicken, beef, vegetable stock) - maybe less
• Natural yoghurt
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• 1 tsp chilli powder or flakes
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried mint (or fresh mint or coriander, chopped, if available), plus extra for serving
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt

Method


1. Thinly slice the onion and garlic.

2. Add oil to a deep saucepan and sweat the onions and garlic for a few minutes until translucent.

3. Add the tomato purée and keep cooking on low heat till it caramelises, this will take a couple of minutes.

4. Add the lentils and the spices, stir and continue cooking on low heat for another minute.

5. Add the water or stock. Cover with a lid and simmer for 30-35 minutes, until the lentils are soft.

6. When the lentils are cooked, use a hand blender or a regular blender to blend to a smooth texture. Check the seasoning and add more salt or spices, to your taste.

7. To serve: Add a pinch of salt to the natural yoghurt. I like adding mint, either fresh or dried. Pour the soup into a bowl and drizzle with yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve with a slice of toast.