Orange and honey glazed salmon

My recent discovery of crispy skin pan-fried salmon, doused in a delicious sauce made with the juice of 1 orange and 2 tablespoons of good quality honey.

I got given this beautiful Iron Bark and orange blossom honey by a friend at Christmas which was perfect for my sauce!

Australian Iron bark and orange blossom honey!

Just put the orange juice into the pan you cook the salmon in, bring to a simmer add the honey and simmer until honey has melted into orange juice. Pop your pan fried salmo fillets back into the pan and douse with the sauce. Serve with a few extra dollops of sauce over your salmon.

Orange on orange: Looks great, tastes delicious!

Orange and honey glazed salmon

#Christmassy #canapes

Made these delicious canapés for Christmas Day but would be lovely anytime.

Bought these delicious Pastry shells from Simon Johnson, purveyors of fine foods in Sydney and filled them with a mixture of soft goats cheese, marscapone and sour cream with some finely chopped spring onion to give it a savoury zing.

The pastry shells are flaky and light, unlike many store-bought versions. Highly recommended for savoury or sweet fillings.

Topped with yummy gravalax from Peninsula Seafoods who are the best seafood suppliers on the Mornington Peninsula and topped with red “caviar” and finely sliced green tops of the spring onion.

Looked great and tasted great

Savoury gravalax and red caviar pastry shells

#Poached Side of #Salmon with asparagus salad #christmaseve

We thought a light dinner on a Christmas Eve would be nice ahead of a day of planned feasting today.

I have never actually poached a whole side of Salmon before but I certainly will be in future.

I bought this 1.5kg side from Peninsula Seafood’s Processing Plant outlet in Dromana on our way down to the Mornington Peninsula last Monday. They cryovacced the salmon for me which meant I could keep it in the fridge rather than have to freeze it and defrost it.

The recipe I used is based on Mary Berry’s Poached Salmon with shrimps and asparagus which looks delicious, but I really wanted to keep dinner simple so we had it with asparagus a d feta salad in the side.

Ingredients:

  • Side of salmon – 1.5kg
  • Butter
  • Foil
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Dill – 2-3 stalks
  • Salt and pepper
  • Asparagus – 2 bunches
  • Feta to crumble over asparagus
  • Baby spinach leaves
  • Salt and pepper
  • Foil

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

2. Lay 2 long foil sheets across a large roasting pan, fold over does in middle to join together into one sheet, grease foil with butter.

3. Lay dill in middle of sheet. Season salmon with salt and pepper on the cut side and place face down (skin side up) on the dill. Put a few dabs of butter across top of salmon for good measure.

4. Pour wine and lemon juice around the salmon and fold over long edges of foil to create a packet, then fold over short edges, rolling and scrunching to seal.

5. Bake salmon for 25 minutes. While salmon is baking, blanch asparagus until bright green and tender.

6 remove salmon from from oven, undo package and remove skin which will easily peel off. Using a teaspoon or palette knife, gently scrape off the grey coloured meat/fatty layer under the skin to reveal the pink layer of flesh.

7. Carefully flip salmon and juices onto a serving platter, surround with Baby spinach, asparagus, sprinkle with feta. Dress salad with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

8. Serve with other salads or roast potatoes. We had a tomato, basil, bocconcini salad which went well with it too.

Poached side of salmon with asparagus, baby spinach and feta salad

#salmon #caviar #Crepe Cake

Changed up the traditional Smoked Salmon Crepes recipe creating a layered crepe cake for a celebratory brunch.

Layered with herbed creme fraiche with dill and capers, smoked salmon and caviar, the overall result was delicious and looks fabulous. You could add finely chopped red onion or replace caviar with salmon roe..lots of options to suit your taste.

I used my favourite crepe recipe Martha Stewart Crepes but made them a bit smaller so that the mixture made about 18-20 crepes to layer up into a high pile, leaving a few to drape over the top to complete the picture.

Easy and fun. plenty of options to make a sweet version for a dessert too!

Grilled #Chicken or Salmon with Spicy #Romesco Sauce

Spiced up this classic Catalan sauce and then smeared it over chicken, salmon fillets before grilling and even used as a base for a fish curry over the next few days.

Sweet, smoky, nutty and this version has a nice spicy kick with the inclusion of chilli flakes.

It’s great to have in the fridge to brighten things up.

It’s delicious as a dip on it’s own as well. The recipe makes a big bowl of it so use it as you please!

Sauce: Prep time 40 minutes

Ingredients:

· 2 large red capsicums

·       1 tomato

·       6 cloves of garlic with skin on

·       1 slice of white bread

·       ½ cup of nuts – I used walnuts but traditional is almonds

·       1 tbsp sherry vinegar (or red/white wine) – I used apple cider vinegar

·       1 tablespoon smoked paprika

·       2 teaspoons chilli flakes

·       1 tsp salt

· 3 tablespoons olive oil

Method:

Heat oven to 200 degrees celcius

Wrap tomato and garlic in foil

Place red capsicums whole in oven, alongside foil parcel

Grill turning red capsicums until blackened and char grilled on all sides

Remove capsicums and foil parcel from oven

Put bread and nuts in hot oven and grill until nuts are browned and bread is toasted on both sides – take care not to burn nuts (lower oven heat to 170 degrees or so) my walnuts got a bit dark but it still tasted good!

Place blackened capsicums in a plastic bag and seal – leave to steam and cool, remove skin and seeds – put in blender

Remove skin from tomato and peel garlic and put in blender with rest of ingredients – break toasted bread into large “crumbs”

Whizz until smooth thick paste forms, place in bowl.

Chicken Thigh Cutlets: Marinate overnight if you like, cooking time: 35-40 minutes

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken thigh cutlets – skin on and bone in

1 tablespoon olive oil

Fresh Thyme

Black peppper

Method:

· Rub Chicken thigh cutlets with 2-3 tablespoons of romesco sauce – leave to marinate for a while, even overnight if you can but it’s not mandatory.

· Sprinkle with black pepper, thyme and olive oil – might need a bit more salt

·       Place in hot oven 175 degrees Celsius

· Roast until skin crisps up and chicken is cooked through – about 30 minutes, then turn up to 250 degrees for 5 -10 minutes to crisp up skin

· Serve with salad, rice or roast vegetables with romesco sauce on side.

Salmon Fillets

Smear Salomon fillets with romesco sauce, grill in hot oven 180 degrees for 15 minutes or so, turn skin side up, turn up oven to 250 degrees and grill until skin crisps up for about 5 minutes, I served this with couscous and a vegetable tagine with preserved lemons.

Smoked salmon with crepes, cucumber, herbed Creme Fraiche and “caviar”.

This classic combination of ingredients is hard to go past as a delicious brunch, breakfast or entree.

Smoked salmon with crepes, herbed creme fraiche and caviar.

Crepes

For the crepes I just halve the sugar and throw in some dill leaves into my favourite easy Martha Stewart crepe recipe….https://www.marthastewart.com/921813/how-make-crepes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1.5 cups milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Small handful Dill leaves (no stems)
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter (1 tablespoon extra for frying crepes)

Put all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until frothy.

Heat small non-stick pan, dip kitchen paper in butter and lightly coat pan with butter.

Pour a small ladleful of crepe batter into pan and swirl to create a thin crepe. Wait until browned on one side and flip. Repeat until you finish batter. You will have about 12-14 crepes depending on the size of your pan.

Filling:

  • 250g Thinly sliced Smoked salmon
  • 1 cup creme fraiche
  • 2 tablespoons dill leaves finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
  • Pinch of salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • 1 Lebanese cucumber diced
  • 100g smoked salmon pearls or caviar

Mix creme fraiche with herbs, pinch of salt, a grind of black pepper.

Lay crepes on plate, line with smoked salmon, add a dollop of herbed creme fraiche,a few bits of cucumber, roll up and serve topped with a teaspoon or two of caviar, and additional cucumber on the side of you like.