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Seafood BBQ menu

On January 27, 2011 in barbecue, dessert, entertaining, healthy recipes, recipes, salmon, seafood

Three signs you’re getting old – you no longer listen to the Top 40; you prefer watching the ABC over Channel 10; the idea of staying at home on New Year’s Eve is more appealing than hitting the town and painting it the proverbial red. So, it’s official. I’m getting old. This New Year’s Eve, I battened down the hatches, stocked up on seafood (and mandatory bubbles) and settled in for a night of quality indulgence. Call me boring, but I have to say it was the best New Year’s I’ve had since my brother’s turn of the millennium party.

Our feast kicked off with something that I vow to eat more of in 2011 – scallops. We served the scallops on potato crisps with pea puree which the wonderful Paul made from scratch.

Scallops on potato crisps with pea puree

Scallops on potato crisps with pea puree.

With a glass of Pimms in one hand and a succulent scallop in the other, I made a toast to the comfort of our couch as I pictured the crowds of drunken ferals crawling their way through the city streets. The wafter-thin potato crisps added a nice crunch to the scallop canapes, each one lovingly made by hand and cooked in oil until crisp and golden.

Pimms

Pimms

The next stop on our seafood indulgence was an Asian-flavoured barbecued king prawns on skewers. I added honey to the marinade as I thought it was too sour on its own. I’d be lying if I told you I was satisfied by these. Two skewers simply wasn’t enough. I wanted more! They were so good, I even ate the tails.

Barbecue prawns in Asian marinade

Barbecue prawns in Asian marinade

Continuing with the seafood theme, our main course came in the form of sesame salmon roulades with green apple salad. In other words, rolled salmon on skewers. You may have seen the green apple salad on Amy’s Cookbook previously. It’s crunchy, tangy, fresh and delicious. The salmon roulades are a new recipe that I found in a fabulous cookbook Faking It by Valli Little.

Be sure to ask your fishmonger to pin-bone the salmon fillets for you ‘cos this is really fiddly business and I’m sure you can think of better ways to spend your New Year’s Eve than pulling bones out of a piece of fish. Thank God for Paul. Slice each of the skinless fillets horizontally through the centre, leaving one end intact, then open them out into a long strip. Turn each fillet over and season with salt and pepper and tightly roll and secure each one on a skewer that’s been soaked in water to prevent it from burning on the barbie.

Sesame salmon roulades with green apple salad

Sesame salmon roulades with green apple salad

Next up, coat the roulades with white sesame seeds and drizzle with olive oil. We seared the salmon skewers for about a minute or so on high heat and then put the skewers on the warming rack, closed the lid and left them on low heat for about 10 minutes until the salmon had cooked through.

Since one bottle of Moet is never enough, for dessert we whipped up some champagne-infused summer fruits. Mango and nectarine compote is a cinch to make, but you’re supposed to let the fruit marinate in sugar and bubbles overnight. We skipped this step and just left it in the fridge for a couple of hours. It seemed to work!

Mango and nectarine compote

Mango and nectarine compote

Like any good New Year’s shindig, the rest of the evening involved watching the fireworks and dancing around the lounge room. And, getting home was easy since we were already there. I think we may have found ourselves a new tradition.

For more entertaining ideas, check out my dinner party menu guide.

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Salmon soba salad

On January 20, 2011 in dairy-free, entertaining, healthy recipes, recipes, salad, salmon, seafood

To me, cookbooks are like handbags – you can never have too many. My bookcase is positively brimming with cookbooks I’ve been collecting since my early 20s – so much in fact that I’ve had to relegate some to the spare cupboard. Some of them feel like old friends – always there when I need them and easy to pick up where things left off after months of no contact. Some of my favourites are Feast by Nigella, Everyday River Cottage by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Holiday by Bill Granger. Then, of course, is my handful of Women’s Weekly cookbooks which I inherently trust.

While nothing can replace a good old-fashioned cookbook, the web is another great source of recipe inspiration. I can often be found trawling it for recipe ideas. Some of my favourite sites are www.taste.com.au, Smitten Kitchen, BBC Food, SBS Food, Not Quite Nigella, and of course, the lovely Nigella herself.

Good old Google is another great source of recipes. A random search for salmon soba noodle salad led me to The FiFi Report which had this recipe salmon soba salad. It is A M A Z I N G and definitely worth giving a whirl.

Salmon soba salad

Get some super food on your fork.

If you like salmon salads, you might like to try this Thai-style salmon salad from Women’s Weekly.

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Salmon salad

On October 13, 2010 in barbecue, dairy-free, dinner, egg-free, gluten-free, healthy recipes, recipes, salad, salmon, seafood, sustainable seafood

I love seafood, and when it comes to fish, salmon is at the top of my list. Its silky texture, pink flesh and sturdy nature make for an excellent fish. Known as the ‘chicken of the sea’, a piece of salmon cooked medium-rare, accompanied by a salad and a glass of pinot grigio, is just the thing for a spring or summer evening.

Salmon salad

Don't you just love the vibrant colours of this dish?

Feeling inspired by my trip to Thailand in May, I recently departed from my usual salmon routine and created a Thai-style salmon salad. Let me tell you, it was a winner! I had never thought to put apple with salmon. The sweetness and crunch of the apple were a welcome contrast to the silkiness of the fish which we cooked on the barbie.

Adding to the flavour was the sweetness of the palm sugar dressing and the zing of the lemon juice. Yum! I used salmon fillets in this dish (only because I prefer them over cutlets), but cutlets would do just as nicely.

According to Greenpeace, salmon stocks have plummeted. Farmed salmon threatens our native fish with disease and their food is produced from wild fish. The Australian Marine Conservation Society recommends using Wild salmon, tinned salmon or Threadfin (Blue) salmon instead.

Fried Salmon with Green Apple Salad
from The Australian Women’s Weekly – Beginner’s Thai
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon sea salt
4 salmon cutlets (680g)
2 medium green apples (300g), sliced thinly
2 green onions, sliced thinly
1 medium red onion (170g), sliced thinly
1 1/2 cups loosely packed fresh mint leaves
3/4 cup loosely packed fresh coriander leaves
1/2 cup (125ml) lemon juice
3/4 cup (110g) roasted unsalted cashews

Palm sugar dressing
1/3 cup (65g) grated palm sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

Method
Sprinkle salt evenly over fish. Cook fish on heated oiled grill plate (or grill or barbecue) until browned both sides and cooked as desired.

Meanwhile, combine apple, onions, mint, coriander and juice in large bowl; pour over half of the palm sugar dressing, toss to combine. Divide fish among serving plates; top with salad, then cashews. Drizzle remaining dressing over fish.

To make the palm sugar dressing, combine ingredients in small saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; strain. Cool before using.

Do you like tuna? Here’s a yummy Salad Nicoise recipe.

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Bill Granger’s salmon risoni salad

On August 29, 2010 in Bill Granger, healthy recipes, recipes, salad, salmon, seafood

And the prize for silkiest fish I’ve ever tasted goes to poached salmon and risoni salad. Yep, yet another winner from Bill Granger. You haven’t tasted succulent fish until you’ve tried this recipe. It’s all thanks to a tried and tested method called poaching. The ensuing result is salmon that’s as smooth as silk.

Salmon and risoni salad

Looks stylish served on a big white platter.

The other benefit of poaching is it won’t leave any salmony odours lurking around your kitchen. Let’s face it, salmon can hang around like a bad smell if it’s been baked or pan-fried. Bless it. While the salmon will rock your world, let’s not neglect the rest of this dish. The other stand out is the risoni. What is risoni, I hear you ask? It’s a rice-shaped pasta that I fell in love with in my early 20s when I used to whip it into a gorgeous prawn dish (recipe to come). Not being a big pasta eater, I find risoni less daunting than a big pile of penne, and the texture is gorgeous as it loves a good lashing of butter and olive oil.

Amy’s top tips:

  • Remember to ask your fish monger to remove the skin for you as it’s fiddly to do this yourself.
  • Serve the salad on a large white platter for extra wow-factor.
  • This dish work as an entree or a lighter main meal
  • You might want to wear kitchen gloves whilst flaking the salmon fillets as they can leave you with fishy fingers.

Anyway folks, here’s Bill Granger’s salmon risoni salad. And if you’re in the mood for more salmon recipes, check out this Thai-style salmon salad from Women’s Weekly and this salmon soba salad from the FiFi Report.

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