Two Dishes Are Better Than One

Making our weekly menu is one of my favourite and one of the most frustrating times of my week. I get to let my imagination run (a little) wild and use some of the ideas I've picked up from my favourite foodie blogs and magazines, while trying to incorporate seasonal delights and some family favourites.
As I've said (or ranted) before, the list of foods that my husband doesn't like is a long one, and I tend to try not to incorporate too much of that list into one week, but sometimes I just can't take it anymore and simply must have a curry, tagine or, in this case, a lovely piece of salmon.
We don't eat much fish really, which is such a shame because two of the three of us love it. When I do make a food that Drew doesn't like, I try to soften the blow a little by combining it with flavours and techniques that he does enjoy.

I had bought a lovely piece of Scottish salmon for supper, which I wanted to cook simply with just some salt and pepper and some local asparagus. Because Drew loves Thai flavours, I thought that a beurre blanc perfumed with lemongrass would be a nice twist. Some lovely organic Devon cider made a nice change from using white wine as a base for the sauce and was a particularly nice compliment to the asparagus.

This was a really tasty meal in its own right, but what I have been the most excited about is what I did with the left over salmon the next morning.

Christian was having a sleep over at his BFF's house, so I had more salmon than I really needed. I decided to cook it anyway and figured that I'd just use it in a salad for lunch the next day.
The beurre blanc was so good that I packaged the left overs with the piece of cooked salmon even though I knew it would split in the fridge (which it did).

Crispy Salmon With Lemongrass and Cider Beurre Blanc
serves 2, takes 30 minutes (ish)

2 170g (6oz) salmon fillet (look for sustainably sourced)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, medium dice
1 lemongrass stalk, bashed to bits with a mallet, then chopped into roughly 1" pieces
200ml ((6.75 oz) dry organic cider
75g unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes
pinch salt
juice of 1/2 a lemon (fresh, not bottled)

Heat a small saucepan over a moderate heat and drop in the shallot and lemongrass. Dry fry these for a minute or so and pour over the cider.
Simmer the cider mixture over a low heat for several minutes, until the liquid has reduced by about half.
While the cider is reducing, sprinkle the salmon on both the skin and the flesh sides with a little salt and pepper, then, over a moderate heat, heat the olive oil until shimmery.
Place the salmon skin-side down, and lower the temperature a little, leaving the fish to cook for 3-5 minutes, depending on their thickness.
When the salmon looks to be about halfway cooked, carefully flip over to finish cooking on the flesh side. The fish will continue cooking for over a minute after you remove it from the heat, so err on the side of under-cooking and remove the salmon when it's almost, but not quite done.

While your salmon is cooking and your cider has reduced, drop the temperature to almost a simmer and put a couple of pieces of butter into the pan, stirring or whisking well to incorporate. When the butter has melted into the mixture, add a few more pieces of butter, continually stirring until combined and continue in this fashion until all of the butter has been incorporated and the mixture is creamy coloured and smooth.
Strain this mixture into a small bowl which is sitting in a larger bowl filled with warm (ever so slightly warmer than body temp) water. Season with a little sea salt and stir in the lemon juice. While sitting in the warm bowl, the sauce should be fine for fifteen minutes at least, so you could make it before you start cooking the salmon if you like.

I served the salmon skin-side-up with peeled, steamed asparagus and some new potatoes tossed in butter, sea salt and fresh mint. I drizzled the sauce over the asparagus and around the salmon, so that it didn't make the crispy skin go soft.

So yesterday morning, when I was surveying the fridge and trying to figure out what I wanted for breakfast, there was last night's salmon, winking seductively from the shelf. I grabbed a handful of spinach, a pot of cream, some tomato and basil and went to work.
Ten minutes later, I had what was seriously the best breakfast I have ever had. Of course the soft egg yolk with the salmon and spinach were lovely, but what made the dish so special for me, was the subtly lemongrassy sauce mingling with all of the other flavours, bringing a slight tang, which was accentuated by the soft tomatoes. If you ask me, it would be worth making the salmon and sauce specifically for this dish if you're having a brunch party or want to treat your special someone with breakfast in bed.

Left Over Salmon and Egg Special Brunch
serves 2, takes ten minutes


1 piece of salmon fillet, cooked as described above
2 tbsp left-over lemongrass beurre blanc, doesn't matter if it's split
2 fresh, free range eggs
1 large, ripe tomatoes sliced about 1/4" thick
1 very large handful, washed spinach
1 sprig, fresh basil, leaves picked and cut into a rough chiffonade
2-3 tbsp double cream (optional)
rye crisp bread to serve
freshly ground black pepper, sea salt

Heat a heavy, oven-proof skillet over a medium heat, then tip in the butter sauce, stirring for a few seconds until melted, then flake in the salmon.
Add the spinach to the pan and fold in, without breaking the salmon up too much and cook for a few seconds until the spinach has started to wilt.
Crack the eggs over the top and tilt the pan to encourage the whites to flood over the spinach, drizzle over the cream, then lay over the tomato slices and scatter with the basil.
Sprinkle with a little sea salt and plenty of black pepper before putting under a hot grill for approximately 3-4 minutes. Check regularly until the whites are just firm but the yolks are still runny.

Serve immediately and groan lavishly as all the amazing flavours do a waltz on your tongue.
Seriously, this dish made my week.

Beurre Blanc

Harissa Spiced Salmon With Cucumber Herb Cous Cous and Sumac Roasted Tomatoes

Because my husband really doesn't like fish very much, I tend to cook it a lot less often than I would like. When I do, I try to compensate for my fishy offense by cooking it in a way I hope he'll like, with side dishes he enjoys. In a way, it's like trying to get a child to enjoy his veggies, but that's another blog post. I love to use spice with robust, oily fish like salmon and mackerel and the complex warmth of harissa is a prefect treatment, especially when served with a cooling cous cous salad and fruity sumac roasted tomatoes. I used to roast small on-the-vine cherry tomatoes, but they have a lot of fiddly skin, which I don't like on cooked tomatoes. Now, if I'm roasting them I use very ripe* vine-ripened tomatoes and they're lovely.

Harissa Spiced Salmon with Cucumber Herb Cous Cous and Sumac Roasted Tomatoes
Serves 4, takes 1 lazy hour.

1 500g salmon fillet (skin on, or off, whichever you prefer) pinboned
Harissa:
12 large dried chillies
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3 lg cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
Cous Cous Salad:
300ml (volume) cous cous
300ml boiling water
1 tsp sea salt
zest and juice of half a lemon (finely zested)
10cm piece cucumber
large handful curly leaf parsley
3 sprigs mint, leaves picked
3 large sprigs dill
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Tomatoes:
8 large, red vine ripened tomatoes
3 tbsp (not extra virgin) olive oil
1 tsp crushed sumac ****
1 tsp coarse sea salt

First, sort out your cous cous and chillies. In a large, heat-proof dish, put your couscous and the salt, the dried chillies can go into a smaller bowl. Boil a kettle and pour enough water over the chillies to cover them and 300ml of water over the cous cous. Stir the cous cous and cover for a few minutes, then when all of the water has been absorbed, add the lemon zest and juice, fluff all of the grains with a fork, then put the bowl of cous cous in the fridge to cool while you prepare the rest of the meal.
Pour yourself a glass of wine or a G&T to sip.
Now to make the harissa. in a pestle and mortar, add the salt and spices and grind well to make a fairly fine powder (coriander seeds are hard to get too fine, but don't worry, they're fine a little coarser)
Then add the garlic to the mortar and mash into a paste with the spices. Drain the chillies and remove the seeds and stems, chop finely** and add to the mortar. Pound this mixture for a few minutes until you have a thick, fragrant paste, then mix in the oil and transfer to a small jar, as you wont need all of it.
Heat your oven to 180C/375F

With the salmon skin-side-down, cut the salmon fillet cross-ways to get four equal portions and spoon a couple of teaspoons of the harissa onto each one. Use a silicone brush or the back of the spoon to spread it evenly all over each piece, set aside for a few minutes.

For the tomatoes, wash them and use the tip of a sharp knife to cut out the tough spot where it was attached to the stem. Cut a shallow X about 2cm in each direction across the little hole and arrange them all clustered together in a small baking dish. Drizzle with the olive oil, then sprinkle with the sea salt and sumac. Put on the bottom shelf of the oven, saving the top shelf for the salmon.

Back to the salmon, heat a medium sized, oven-proof*** sautee or frying pan over a medium heat and when nice and hot, place spice-side-down. Don't try to move or prod the salmon for a couple of minutes, as you want a little bit of a crust to form. After two mins, use a spatula to gently turn over the fish, then put the whole pan into the oven, setting the timer for five minutes.

During these five minutes, cut the cucumber into 1 cm dice and finely chop the mint, parsley and dill. Remove the nearly cold couscous from the fridge and stir in the cucumber, herbs and olive oil.

Remove the tomatoes and salmon from the oven and serve immediately with the cous cous. The salmon should be just done but still very moist and tender.

This whole meal is also terrific cold, so if you make extra, you have a brilliant one-box lunch to take to work the next day.

Cook's Notes:
*I learned a few years ago not to store my tomatoes in the fridge. Toms will only retain their flavour well and ripen properly at room temp, while tomatoes stored in the fridge will lose flavour and go mealy. Once ripe, try to use within 3-4 days.

**I never learn personally, but it's a good idea to wear latex gloves when handling chillies. I can't count the number of times I've been temporarily blinded while washing my face hours after chopping these spicy little gits.

***If you don't have a frying pan that you can transfer into the oven, put a small baking dish in the oven to pre-heat. When you turn over the salmon, turn them into the piping hot baking dish and finish them in the oven.

****Sumac is a berry often used in North African and Middle Eastern cookery. The flavour is almost like a subtle cross between thyme, lemon and black tea. You can buy it in the spice section at your grocer, usually ground to the texture of black pepper and dark reddish purple.

Salmon