A Salmon Tale....

I love salmon. The lovely pinkish flesh, the delicious buttery taste and that luxurious texture. One of the best bits of the salmon is the tail - often overlooked in favour of the chunkier parts of the fish, it has a delicate marbling of fat through it that makes it moist and super tasty. It rarely has any bones (occasionaly if you buy a super large sized piece you may find one or two, but this isn't common) and it is easy to cook. Salmon tail is also a great way to enjoy this beautiful fish if you are on a budget - salmon steaks can be quite pricey, but with the tail you are not getting bones and it is not as chunky as the rest of the fish. Win!

Apart from tasting amazing, salmon is also incredibly good for you, crammed with Omega 3 oils, high amounts of protein and chock full of vitimin D. Great for your skin, your hair and the rest of you!

Regular Gourmet Goddess readers will remember the fish cooking technique I learned in Paris last year - placing the fish on a bed of herbs or aromatics, to cook the fish gently and infuse it with heaps of flavour. Well, today's recipe uses that same technique, this time with fennel as the star flavour. I know many people are hesitant to use fennel - but it really works beautifully in this dish, imparting a delicate herbaceous character to the salmon that is just gorgeous.

The salmon before it went into the oven -

nestled cosily on a bed of fennel,onions,red onion,parsley and garlic.

I decided to team the salmon with a salad of watercress and pink grapefruit. The peppery nature of the watercress and the sweet tang of the grapefruit is a lovely contrast to the rich, buttery taste of the salmon. I added a very simple poppyseed vinigarette for the dressing.

With the salmon itself, I made a very simple, throw together with one hand behind your back, caper butter. You could easily add garlic or other herbs to this if you wanted to, but it was a weeknight, I was hungry and it was "cooking night" on SBS, so I wanted something fast and easy so I could get my weekly dose of Adriano Zumbo and Anthony Bourdain!

This whole dish took about half an hour to create, so it makes a great midweek meal or stress free dinner party dish. And here it is, in it's pinky, salmon-ish glory.....

And after....succulent salmon and infused with all those great flavours,

served with caper butter, a watercress and pink grapefruit salad and poppyseed dressing.

You will need:
For the salmon - 1 salmon tail, 1 tablespoon chopped continental parsley, 2 cloves sliced garlic, half a red onion cut into thin slices, the green part of 1 fennel bulb cut into slices, salt and pepper, a splash of olive oil.

For the sauce - 1 heaped tablespoon salted butter, 2 teaspoons roughly chopped capers, salt and pepper.

For the salad - 1 bulb fennel sliced finely (white part only - you will use the green part for the roasting of the fish), 1 pink grapfruit cut into segments with the white pith removed, half a red onion sliced finely, a couple of handfulls of watercress (trim the larger tough stalks off so that you are mostly left with the delicate leaves)

For the salad dressing - 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons good quality olive oil, 2 teaspoons poppyseeds, 1 teaspoon sugar, pinch of salt, pinch of cayenne pepper, a little black pepper to taste.


Method:
First, preheat the oven to 220C. Then, line a baking tray with baking paper.
Combine the parsley, garlic, onion and green part of the fennel and place it on the baking tray in a thick layer the size of the salmon tail.

Check that the salmon does not have any bones by feeling the surface of the flesh - it is unlikely that you will come across any in the tail, but if your fishmonger has given you a large peice, you may occasionally find one or two. Use tweezers to remove any that you find.

Rub the salmon all over with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay the fish on top of the fennel mixture. Set aside.

Now make the salad dressing - simply whisk together all of the dressing ingredients until it starts to emulsify (you will know this is happening when it has thickened slightly) Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Set aside.

Place the salmon in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the salmon. Watch how it is going so that you do not overcook it - the flesh should yield slightly when you press on it.

While the salmon is cooking, toss together your salad ingredients and arrange on your serving plate, without the dressing.

Now make the caper butter - just combine all of the ingredients in a warm pan until the butter is melted. Set aside.

When the salmon is cooked, take it out of the oven and allow it to rest for 5 minutes. Lift the salmon off the bed of fennel and place on your serving dish. Spoon the caper butter over the salmon.

Dress the salad and serve with the fish. Delicious.

Serves 2 for a main course or 4 for an entree.

******

Summer Sensation

I'm heading off to a BBQ this afternoon and when I asked my friend, the always delightful Jan-Jan (no, that's not her real name!) what I could bring, her request was this salad. It is probably the most popular salad I make and it always makes me think of Christmas, as I usually end up making it in December when the nectarines are in season. I have also served this dish as a beautiful summer entree and in a miniature form as a degustation course. It is very simple to put together and as well as tasting delicious, it looks lovely too.

This dish depends entirely on having good fresh ingredients - don't even consider making this dish if the nectarines are not great. This is a dish I only ever do at the height of the necatrine season when I know the flavour will be perfect. You can also substitute peaches if you like, and if watercress is tricky for you to buy where you live, then rocket is a good substitute. You want something a bit peppery to contrast with the sweetness of the nectarines and the saltiness of the proscuitto. Other forms of lettuces or greens with a milder flavour won't really do the dish justice, so it is really worth using either watercress or rocket.

This salad would be a really great addition to your Christmas table if you want something a bit out of the ordinary. It is fantastic served with chicken, turkey and all kinds of seafood.

You will need: For the salad 1 bunch watercress, 4 ripe nectarines sliced , 8 thin slices Prosciutto, 1/2 red (Spanish) onion sliced thinly, 1 lebanese cucumber (cut it lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and then slice to form half moon shapes), 2 Bocconcini (or a handful of baby bocconcini)

For the dressing 3 tablespoons each of extra virgin olive oil and maple syrup. Juice of half a lime, 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (if you can't find this you can substitute white wine vinegar but only use 1 1/2 tablespoons of it), generous dash of tabasco sauce, generous pinch of salt, plenty of freshly ground pepper, 1 clove crushed garlic.

Method: Combine all of the dressing ingredients and whisk together until it thickens (a fuss free way to make this is to throw it all into a jar and give it a good shake)
Arrange the watercress, then onion, cucumber, nectarine and bocconcini on a large, fairly flat serving platter. Tear up the prosciutto and arrange over the top of the salad. Just before serving, drzzle with the dressing.

Serves about 8 people.

*

French? Fantastique!

One of my great pleasues in life is spending time with old friends over a few bottles of good wine, great conversation and of course, delicious food. Last night my gorgeous friends Justin and Marek joined Michael and I for a long overdue catch up over a french inspired meal (see, watching Julie and Julia at the cinema the other day has brought out the francophile in me!) I was fortunate to have the day off, so I had the luxury of plenty of time. As well as the shopping and dinner preparations, I also took the opportunity to make a batch of chicken stock - I used some on the day but also put some in the freezer to use later. It is such an easy thing to do if you have time - home made stock has a flavour that a mass produced, bought product just can't match. I do keep commercial stock in the pantry but there is nothing like one that you have made yourself.

So, what did I cook? I decided to include a couple of french classics as well as some of my own dishes with a french twist. I consulted my trusty beaten up copy of Larousse Gastronomique for inspiration and came up with the following menu.

Spinach, cheese and chive souffle
Watercress and radish salad with toasted hazelnuts and garlic prawns (served with a Dijon dressing)
Coq au vin with potato galette and sauteed asparagus
Rhubarb and strawberry meringue parfait

I have never cooked a souffle before so I was a bit nervous about it. I have never been someone who really uses recipes - I prefer to cook by taste and touch and to let my instincts guide me. With a dish like a souffle however, you pretty much need to follow a recipie. I actually found it hard to do what I was told (I can already hear my mum saying - what's new?!) but the result was absolutely beautiful. Light as air and delicious. Unfortunately, in my haste to get the souffles straight from the oven to the table before they start to deflate, I forgot to take a photo of them. Sorry everyone. I do think that they deserve a blog entry of their own, so I will make them again and post the recipe and photos when I do (very soon, I promise!)

The next course was a light salad - quite simple but full of flavour and great textures. I combined watercress, thinly sliced radish, toasted hazelnuts and prawns that I marinated in olive oil, garlic and paprika. The dressing was olive oil, a touch of honey, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. This dressing combo works well with many kinds of salads and is a real favourite. The crunch of the hazelnuts was really delightful and there is a great contrast of nuttiness and the peppery taste of the radish and watercress.

The main course was the classic Coq au vin. I prepared this earlier in the day and let it cook for a long time. At the last moment, I removed the tender chicken from the pot and finished the sauce off with a splash of cream and then let the sauce reduce and thicken. I based the recipe on one of the versions of Coq au vin in Larousse Gastronomique but tweaked it a little (if you are interested, it is the Madame Maigret's recipe. It is listed in the book under Coq au vin)

My guests really loved the tenderness of the chicken and the rich, moreish sauce. I served the chicken with lovely fresh asparagus which I sauteed with just a touch of sea salt and pepper. I also made a potato galette - a layered cake of potato and leek that I cooked for a very long time until the potato was deeply caramelised and crisp on top. To make the galette, you slice the potato very thinly and layer it with sliced leeks. Season each layer with pepper and a small amount of salt, brushing the layers with a little melted butter. I used a cake tin lined with baking paper to cook it in.

For dessert, I revisited a dish that regular readers will remember from back in July - a parfait of rhubarb, meringue and strawberries. I had saved a batch of the rhubarb/strawberry mixture from back in July and had frozen it, so it is the same mixture you will see in the photos for my entry on the 25th July. Check out my archives from July for the recipe. I used delicious organic cream on the top this time with some vanilla extract and a touch of caster sugar.

The boys and I all had a wonderful evening - there was plenty of laughter and great conversation, as well as some very good red wine provided by the generous Justin and Marek. I love my friends :)

I was very happy with how the four dishes worked together and even happier to have conquered my very first souffle. Julia Child would have been proud :) In the words of the great lady herself - Bon appetit!!!

*

The taste of Spring - Lamb

As you all know, I purchased some beautiful Mirrool Creek lamb shanks at the Eveleigh Farmer's Market on the weekend. On Sunday I took advantage of the fact that I was at home all day to treat myself to the delight that is slow cooked lamb shanks. To go with the Spring theme, I decided to serve the shanks with some crispy sliced potatoes and a fresh watercress, Kalamata olive and blood orange salad, drizzled with a small amount of good extra virgin olive oil.

I flavoured the shanks with the rind from the organic blood oranges I bought from the market, garlic and fresh rosemary. The result was absolutely delicious. The meat was meltingly tender and the flavour of the orange and the rosemary was perfect with the sweetness of the lamb. This dish was so, so simple to put together, with very few ingredients. It is the long, slow cooking that really allows all of the flavours to shine and makes this dish special. It is worth the wait, believe me!

Slow cooked lamb shanks with rosemary and orange

You will need: 4 Frenched (trimmed) lamb shanks, 3 x pieces of orange rind about 6 cm long (remove as much of the white pith as you can so that it does not make the dish bitter) 1 large brown onion cut into medium sized pieces, 4 sliced cloves garlic, 1 x sprig fresh rosemary about 6 cm long, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 cup water, salt and pepper, 1 tablespoon flour, 1 teaspoon paprika.

Method: Ideally, you should use a casserole dish for this that can go from the stovetop to the oven- a heavy cast iron dish is perfect. If you do not have one of these, you will need to do the first step in a frypan and then transfer the shanks to lidded casserole dish for the oven cooking part of the process.

Mix the flour, paprika and some pepper in a plastic bag. Add the shanks and dust them with the flour. Heat the oil in a pan on the stove and sear the shanks until they are browned. Add the onion and garlic and let these cook for about 5 mintues. Add the water, orange rind and rosemary and combine well.

Put the lid on the dish and transfer the shanks to the oven. Cook covered, on a low/medium heat for 2 hours. From time to time check the shanks and turn them, also give the onions a stir, adding a little more water if they start to dry out. There should be about a 1cm layer of liquid in the pan at all times. Eventually the onions and orange rind will break down to a puree-like consistency. This will form the sauce to spoon over the meat.

When the meat is done, let it rest out of the oven with the lid on for 15mins before serving.
Serve with crispy potatoes and a salad. Serves 4.


*