Salmon Nicoise

Recipe adapted from Masterchef- February 2012 issue, page 70

Serves 4

Ingredients

600g baby potatoes
200g green beans
4 eggs
extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle
4 x 150g skinless, boneless salmon pieces
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
250g cherry tomatoes
1 butter lettuce
70g kalamata olives

White wine vinaigrette

1 eschalot
½ lemon
1 clove garlic
¼ bunch basil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 anchovy fillets

Method

1. Scrub potatoes. Place in a saucepan of salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Trim beans, add to pan, then cook for 3 minutes or until tender. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a colander, then refresh under cold water. Add eggs to saucepan and cook for 7 minutes for almost hard-boiled.
3. To make vinaigrette, chop eschalot and place in the bowl of a food processor. Squeeze over 1 tablespoon lemon juice and crush over garlic. Pick basil leaves and add with mustard, vinegar, oil and anchovies. Process until smooth.
4. Heat a heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Drizzle oil over fish. Roughly chop fennel seeds, scatter over fish, then season with salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes each side or until just cooked. Rest in pan for 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cut potatoes into 1.5cm-thick rounds and place in a bowl. Halve tomatoes. Add to potatoes with beans and half the dressing, then toss to combine. Peel and slice eggs then add to bowl. Wash and dry lettuce, then toss in a separate bowl with remaining dressing.
6. Layer potato mixture, lettuce and salmon on a platter, flaking salmon as you go. Scatter with olives to serve.

Lemon Myrtle Salmon

I was inspired to recreate this Lemon Myrtle Salmon dish I had from Hog's Breath. Who would've thought that their fish would taste as delicious as their steaks?

Here's the recipe for my version:

Ingredients
4 salmon fillets approx. 150g each
2 teaspoons lemon myrtle, ground
¼ teaspoon chilli, ground
olive oil spray
¼ teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
potato mash, salad leaves and lemon wedges, to serve

Method
In a small bowl, mix together the lemon myrtle & chilli. 
Spray flesh side of salmon with a bit of olive oil spray then sprinkle and rub in the spices (only on the flesh side of the salmon).
Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add salmon, skin side down to pan and cook for 4-5 mins.
Flip and cook on the other side for another minute or so. 
Serve salmon on a bed of potato mash, with salad on the side.

for the potato mash
approx. 800g potato, peeled & chopped
1-2 cloves garlic (optional)
40g butter, chopped
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Cook potato and garlic in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain well. Return to the pan with the butter. Use a potato masher or fork to mash until smooth. Add milk and use a wooden spoon to stir until combined. Add Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

for the salad
120g mixed salad leaves
½ red capsicum, deseeded & sliced
½ cucumber, cut lengthways then sliced
125g mushrooms, sliced
100g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 carrot, julienned
1 ripe avocado, sliced

for the dressing
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine honey, vinegar and oil in a jug. Stir until well combined.
Place all salad ingredients into a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve.

Indian Fish Curry

Recipe adapted from Coles Magazine, July 2013 page 55

Ingredients

1 cup basmati rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 brown onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
½ teaspoon ginger, grated
2 bird's eye chillies, chopped
750g white fish fillets, cut into 3cm pieces
500g jar Patak's Korma simmer sauce
¼ cup water
200g Perino tomatoes
1 cup frozen baby peas
¼ cup flaked almonds, toasted, to serve
¼ cup coriander leaves, to serve
Naan bread, to serve

Method

1. Cook rice following packet directions
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add almonds and toss or stir for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
3. Add the oil to pan and increase heat to medium-high. Add the onion, garlic, chillies and ginger. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until onions are soft. Add fish, simmer sauce and water. Cook for 5 minutes or until fish is opaque. Add tomatoes and peas. Cook for 2 minutes or until soft.
4. Top curry with almonds and coriander and serve with rice and naan bread.

Steamed Fish Parcels

A wok and a steamer is all you need to make this healthy dish. For a low-fat dinner that is ready in a flash, look no further than this delicious and easy-to-prepare steamed fish.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine (Xiao Xing wine)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons caster sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
4 (about 200g each) firm white fish fillets
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into matchsticks
2 shallots, trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally
4 Kaffir lime leaves, shredded
1 long fresh red chilli, halved, deseeded, thinly sliced
1 lemon grass stalk, thinly sliced
a few sprigs of coriander

Steamed Asian greens, to serve
Coconut rice, to serve

Method

1. Combine the wine, soy sauce, sugar, fish sauce and sesame oil in a shallow dish, add the fish and marinate for at least 20 minutes. 
2. Cut out four large squares of non-stick baking paper. Top with a piece of fish and sprinkle with ginger, shallots, kaffir lime leaves, chillies, lemon grass and coriander. Drizzle approx. 2 teaspoons of sauce over fish.
3. Fold the ends of each square around the fish to enclose and form a parcel (or use kitchen string to tie up the parcels).
4. Steam the fish in a bamboo or metal steamer for 10-12 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Arrange fish on serving plates and sprinkle with extra coriander, shallots and chilli, if desired. Serve with steamed Asian greens and coconut rice

Notes & Tips

Steam in banana leaves instead of baking paper to impart a beautiful fragrance

Pasta with Tuna, Chilli, Lemon and Thai Basil

Ingredients

300g dried ribbon pasta
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 lemons
425g can of tuna in brine, drained
3 eschalots, finely chopped
2 long red chillies, halved lengthwise, seeded, finely chopped
1 bunch Thai basil, leaves picked

Method

1. Cook pasta in a saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain. 
2. To make lemon oil: place oil in a large frying pan. Using a vegetable peeler, thinly peel rind from lemons over the pan. Place pan over low heat and wait for the mixture to sizzle. Cook for a further minute, then remove from the heat. Remove lemon rind from oil and chop finely.
3. Meanwhile reheat the lemon oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook eschalots for 5 minutes or until soft. 
4. Add the lemon rind, pasta, tuna, chillies, basil and the juice of 1 lemon to the pan. Toss gently to combine and warm through. Serve.

Whole Steamed Fish With Ginger And Shallots

Ingredients

500g silver perch or barramundi
3 shallots, finely shredded
4 whole shallots
1½ tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 large knob of ginger finely julienned
a few sprigs of coriander (optional)
3 tablespoons peanut oil

Method

1. Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper and put it onto a chopping board. With a sharp knife, make three diagonal slits into the meatiest part of the fish, then turn the fish and repeat the process on the other side.
2. Place the whole shallots  on the bottom of a heatproof plate that will fit into the steamer and take the fish comfortably. Add the sesame oil to the shallots. Place fish on top of the shallots. Pour the soy sauce over the fish then top with the ginger.
3. Put the plate in the steamer over rapidly boiling water and steam for 10-15 minutes (the time will vary, depending on the circulation of the steam and size of the fish).
4. The fish should be just setting on the bone, which will be exposed by the diagonal cuts.
5. Be careful not to overcook the fish, as it will cook a little more when it is covered with hot oil.
6. Remove the plate from the steamer and scatter the shredded shallots over the fish.
7. Heat the peanut oil in a small pan until it is smoking, then douse the fish with the oil – be careful, it will spit!
8. Serve immediately 

Pan Fried Salmon Cutlet with Tomatoes

This is a very home style dish that my mum used to make. It's super easy to cook and pretty healthy also!

Ingredients

1-2 salmon cutlets
4 tomatoes
3 tbs tomato sauce
1 ½ tbs sweet chilli sauce
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
3-4 shallots, sliced
1-2 tbs oil

Method

1. In a bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, sweet chilli sauce, sugar and salt. Set aside
2. Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Cook the fish for 3 minutes each side or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a plate.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add tomatoes, shallots and sauce to pan. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes, until all ingredients are warmed through and tomatoes are coated with the sauce.
4. Pour the tomatoes and sauce over the salmon cutlets. Serve hot with jasmine rice. Enjoy!

Fish Congee

Hubby wasn't feeling too well the other day so I thought I'd make him some comfort food. Fish congee was what came to mind.

Congee is basically just a lot of water and a little rice. The amount of water you add determines how thick or thin the congee will be. Hubby and I prefer our congee to be very smooth and thick. Soaking the rice for a couple of hours prior to boiling it ensures this texture is achieved but if you don't have the time, you can purchase 'broken rice' from Asian grocery shops and skip that step entirely.

I used basa fillets for this congee, but any white fleshed fish should be fine. I sliced the fish really thinly and marinated them in some Chinese rice wine, sesame oil and soy sauce - as the fish slices are only cooked for a short while in the congee, the marinade is important for a sweet and fragrant flavour.

Serves 4

Ingredients

½ cup rice (soaked for 1-2 hours)
5 cups of water (add or more less depending on consistency you'd like to achieve)
2 fish fillets, sliced thinly
2 inches fresh ginger, sliced thinly (use vegetable peeler for paper-thin slices)
4 stalks green onions, sliced

Marinade for the fish:

2 tsps Chinese Rice Wine (Shao Xing Wine)
½ tsp sesame oil
½ tsp light soy sauce

Method

1. Marinate the fish with the rice wine, sesame oil and light soy sauce in a bowl for at least 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate.
2. Boil the soaked rice with water in a pot/saucepan.
3. Once the mixture is boiling, turn the heat to low, and add 3 ginger slices, let rice simmer for about 30-40 minutes, checking frequently and stirring the mixture occasionally.
4. Add fish slices to the congee and bring to boil again. Cook approximately 5-10 minutes (depending on thickness of your fish slices). Note that the congee will continue to boil on its own even after removing from heat, so don't boil it with the fish for too long as overcooked fish is not very tasty. 
5. Serve the congee in bowls and allow your guests to spoon desired amounts of green onion slices, ginger into their individual bowls. I usually add another dash of sesame oil and white pepper to my bowl before eating as well.
    

Thai Fish Cakes

Makes approx. 15

Ingredients

8 green beans, very finely sliced
1 small onion, peeled and quartered (or 2 spring onions, finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 thick slices peeled ginger
2 red chillies, trimmed (optional)
2cm piece fresh lemongrass
6 Kaffir lime leaves, crushed
¼ bunch coriander, roughly chopped
350g white boneless fish fillets, cubed
1 x 60g egg
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons red curry paste
3 tablespoons rice flour or cornflour
Oil, for shallow frying
Sweet chilli dipping sauce, to serve

Method

1. Process onion, garlic, ginger, chillies, lemongrass, lime leaves and coriander in a food processor until it forms a paste.
2. Add fish, egg, fish sauce, red curry paste, rice flour and process until mixture is well combined.
3. Stir in the green beans and mix thoroughly.
4. Using wet hands, form 1 tablespoon of mixture at a time into flattish pieces
5. Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Cook the fish cakes until they are golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with a dipping sauce