Pan-Fried Salmon with a Rhubarb and Blackcurrant Sauce

Back in July when blackcurrants were in season, I froze a punnet.  Now the first forced rhubarb is coming into the shops, I thought a sauce of the two would give a nice tangy acidity against an oily fillet of salmon.






Ingredients (serves 1)
180g fillet salmon
150g red chard
1 tsp olive oil for frying
a few leaves of mint for garnish
For the sauce (makes 4 portions)
340g rhubarb
10g butter
160g blackcurrants
40g honey
handful of fresh mint

Nutrition Info (serves one, with one portion of sauce)
Calories: 539
Protein: 40g
Carbohydrate: 25g
Fat: 30g
Dietary Fibre: 5g

Method

• Chop the rhubarb into 5cm lengths.  Put the rhubarb, blackcurrants, butter and honey into a saucepan and cook down for about 10 minutes over a medium heat.  Add the mint, roughly torn and stir in.  Set aside with the lid on to keep warm.
• Pan-fry the salmon over a medium heat in the olive oil. Remove onto a plate.
• In the same oil, quickly pan-fry the chard for about two minutes.
• Serve the salmon on a bed of chard, topped with the rhubarb and blackcurrant sauce.  Garnish with mint.

Smoked Trout with Beetroot and Creamy Rocket

And so, I think, starts an obsession with cooking rings...!  This was so quick and simple, yet had a delicious clean flavour and looked effective.







Nutrition Info (excluding puree)
Calories: 304
Protein: 15g
Carbohydrate: 15g
Fat: 21g
Dietary Fibre: 2.5g

Ingredients (serves 1)
Beetroot puree for decoration (www.creamsupplies.co.uk)
Sprig of dill
1 cooked (85g) beetroot
handful (30g) of wild rocket (rucola/arugula)
1 heaped tsp (30g) horseradish sauce
2 heaped tsp (28g) sour cream
50g smoked trout flakes

Method

• Pipe the beetroot puree onto a plate.
• Position an oiled cooking ring onto the plate.  Make a first layer of sliced beetroot.
• Mix the rocket, horseradish sauce and sour cream and press down onto the beetroot layer.
• Top with the flaked smoked trout, garnish with dill, and serve.

Sweet Chilli Marinated Tuna and Carrot salad

I guess this is a bit like a ceviche actually.  Last night I marinated some fresh cubes of raw tuna and pared carrot for tonight's salad...  The tuna certainly tasted lightly cooked but very tender, and the marinade had also tenderized the raw carrot.  Delicious!




Ingredients (serves 1)
70g fresh raw tuna steak
100g carrot (1 carrot)
30g salad mix of rocket, spinach and watercress (large handful)
juice and zest of 1 lime
1 tsp reduced salt soy sauce
1 tsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
a little cress for garnish

Nutrition Info
Calories: 187
Protein: 18.1g
Carbohydrate: 17.2g
Fat: 5.7g
Dietary Fibre: 4g

Method

• Cut the tuna steak into small cubes.  
• Using a vegetable peeler, pare off ribbons of carrot.  Put the carrot ribbons and pieces of tuna into a bowl.
• In a cup, mix the lime juice and zest, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and sesame oil.  Toss with the tuna and carrot until everything is well coated.  Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge overnight.
• When ready to serve, mix with the salad on a plate and garnish with a little cress.

Mango and Tuna Sashimi Crunchy Vegetable Salad with Sweet Sesame Dressing

 This is a very refreshing summer salad.  the mango has the same melt-in-the-mouth texture as the tuna, and the flavour is brought out by the dressing.  Although it's only 300 calories, I found it quite filling.

If making this outside of Japan, you need to check that the fish is very fresh i.e. caught the same day.  The large Sainsbury's in my town stocks fish that is caught the same day.

Sesame seeds are high in calcium.  A tablespoon of sesame seeds contains about 10% of the RDA for calcium.  However, because of the hard shell, they need to be broken down to make that calcium accessible to the body.  If you can find crushed sesame, so much the better.


Ingredients (per person)
50g very fresh tuna (outside Japan you need to check it's been caught that day - large Sainsbury's in the UK sometimes (often?) do this)
100g celery (2 sticks)
100g cucumber (this is about 1/4 of a British cucumber)
100g mango (1/2 mango)
strips of nori (dried seaweed)
1 tbsp reduced salt soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
15g ginger paste
15g horseradish sauce (or wasabi to taste)
1 tbsp (approx 10g) white sesame seeds (or better if you can get the crushed ones with more whole sesame seeds for garnish)

Nutrition Info
Calories: 300
Protein: 17.7g
Carbohydrate: 35g
Fat: 8.3g
Dietary Fibre: 6g

Method 

• Make the dressing.  Crush the sesame seeds as much as you can in a pestle and mortar.  You probably can't crush them entirely, but that's OK.  Grinding the seeds releases the flavour and also makes the calcium more accessible to the body.
• In a cup, mix the soy sauce, mirin, ginger paste, horseradish sauce and ground sesame seeds.  Put in the fridge.
• Now prepare the salad.  Slice the celery sticks.  Quarter the cucumber lengthways and chop into cubes.  Chop the mango into similar sized pieces to the vegetables.  Chop the raw tuna steak into 1cm cubes.  Put everything into a bowl and mix well with the dressing.
• You want to eat this salad cold, so if everything hasn't come out of the fridge, you should cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for an hour.  This would also be nice for marinading, for people less impatient than me!
• Spoon onto a plate or bowl, sprinkle with strips of nori, and enjoy!

Smoked Mackerel Salad

Ingredients (serves 1)
50g smoked mackerel
100g celery
10g chives
5g dill
50g sour cream
25g horseradish sauce
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
black pepper to taste
100g iceberg lettuce

Nutrition Info
Calories: 354
Protein: 13.9g
Carbohydrate: 12.2g
Fat: 28.5g
Dietary Fibre: 3.7g

Method

• Chop the mackerel into bite sized pieces, chop the dill and chives finely, slice the celery.  
• Mix the sour cream, horseradish sauce and vinegar together.  Add black pepper to taste.  
• Toss everything together, and serve on a bed of lettuce. Decorate with a little more dill.

Pollock with Orange, Fennel and Courgette

Ingredients (serves 1）
1 fillet of pollock (or other white fish)
2 tablespoons of orange juice
1 orange
1/2 bulb of fennel
1 courgette
freshly grated pepper


Method

• Peel and segment the orange.
• Thinly slice the fennel and arrange in a microwaveable dish (I use the Lekue steam case).
• Spoon over the orange juice.
• Thickly slice the courgette and arrange on top.  Grind pepper over,
• Cover and microwave for 3-4 minutes.
• Remove the courgette and arrange on a plate.
• Put the fish fillet onto the fennel and season with pepper.
• Cover and microwave for 3 minutes, add the orange segments and microwave for one more minute.
• Serve immediately.

Creamy Smoked Salmon and Potato Soup

This tasty and pretty soup is a delicate shade of pink, highlighted with wisps of fresh green dill. 







Ingredients (serves 4 as a starter)
1 onion, sliced
500g potatoes in their skins
70g smoked salmon
1 x 150g pack of silken tofu
1 tsp olive oil
fresh dill
freshly grated black pepper

Method

• Caramelize the onion in the olive oil until golden brown.
• Meanwhile cook the potatoes in boiling water for about 20 minutes.  Drain and cool under cold running water.
• Break up the potato in the saucepan, add the onions, smoked salmon, tofu and dill.
• In batches, blend all the ingredients together in a blender with water to the desired consistency.
• Reheat to serve.

Sweet Chilli Lentil and Smoked Salmon Warm Salad

This is very filling and is high in protein and fibre.  The pomegranate seeds and chilli sauce give a lovely tang against the lentils, and the seeds look beautiful too.

In the ingredients list I've specified 200g cooked lentils, I'm not sure what the dry weight would be because I cooked up so many for the week!


Nutrition Data
Calories 384
Carbohydrate 59g
Protein 28g
Fat 3g
Dietary Fibre 19g


Ingredients (serves 1)
200g cooked brown lentils
1/2 red onion, sliced
50g spinach
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
40g smoked salmon
30g pomegranate seeds
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

Method

• If not already done, rinse the lentils and cook them for about 30 minutes in boiling water.
• Meanwhile, cook the onions in the balsamic vinegar and some water until soft and caramelized.
• Wash the spinach and tear into the lentils.  Add the onions.  Mix in the sweet chilli sauce.
• Mix in pieces of smoked salmon and the pomegranate seeds.
• Serve warm or cold.

Tobiko and Soft Cheese Rye Bread

A straightforward snack!  Cut 3 slices of Delba Wholegrain rye bread in half.  Spread with soft cheese, and sprinkle a little tobiko on top.

Tobiko - Flying Fish Roe

I used to think flying fish roe (tobiko/tobiran) was not worth buying because there is a lot of it, and you only use a little in recipes.  However if you freeze it in small containers, it defrosts easily with no deterioration.

What is it like?  Well, each egg is tiny, less than 1mm in diameter.  They are hard crunchy sparkling red-orange jewels which explode in your mouth with a salty lemony taste.  They make a beautiful garnish.

This is about 40g for 298yen.

Tuna and Avocado Flower

I had this stunning dish in a bar last night, and so wanted to recreate it quickly before I forgot... It looks so beautiful - it was a bar snack, but would be beautiful as a starter for a special meal.






Ingredients (serves 1)
5 very thin slices of daikon (mooli/Japanese radish)
1/2 ripe avocado
1/2 rounded tsp green pesto
about 20g very fresh raw tuna
a little red onion
about 2 tsp flying fish roe (tobiko)
a sprig of something dark green

Method

• Peel a small piece of daikon and slice it into 5 very thin rounds - you can use a knife or vegetable peeler for this. If it is thin enough you will see the veining on the daikon.
• Arrange on a small plate as a 5 petaled flower.
• Thinly slice a little red onion into slivers.
• Roughly chop the raw tuna into about 1cm cubes.
  
• Mash the half avocado with about 1/2 rounded teaspoon of green pesto. Mix in the tuna.
• Arrange the avocado mixture on the daikon petals, top with the slivers of red onion, and scatter the flying fish roe on top.
• Chop something green on top. I just chopped a bit of green salad leaves on top, but you could use basil or parsley.
• Serve immediately!

Cod and Poached Egg on Wholemeal Toast

Now that was a delicious breakfast! I steamed some cod in the microwave for a couple of minutes, mashed it with some fresh dill, and piled it on one small slice of wholemeal bread. I put a poached egg on the other piece of wholemeal bread.

Egg Drop and Salmon Soup

All quantities are approximate - it's really not important to measure everything out. I used a 400ml bowl because this was breakfast! If this was a side dish, then this would easily serve 2.





Ingredients (serves 1-2, multiply quantities as necessary)
400ml of water made into a light stock (I used katsuodashi which is stock made from bonito flakes, but any stock would be ok)
a dash of soy sauce (about 1 teaspoon)
1 - 2 teaspoons of seaweed, perhaps wakame (I used nebarumekabu)
1/2 teaspoon of potato starch or cornflour, mixed with a little water)
1 teaspoon ginger paste or grated ginger with juice
2 slices cooked or smoked salmon
1 egg, beaten

Method

• Add the seaweed to the stock and heat until very hot but not boiling.
• Mix in the soy sauce and ginger, and stir in the potato starch mixture. It will not noticeably thicken, but will just stop the egg from sinking to the bottom.
• Add the salmon, and stir in the beaten egg, which will set immediately in strands.
• Serve immediately.
  

Citrus Salmon with Strawberry and Mango Balsamic Dressing

This is a variation on my previous recipe that I tried today, all shades of pink and orange! This time the salmon is steamed and cooled rather than panfried and eaten hot.






Nutrition Data
Calories 378
Protein 30g
Carbohydrate 55g
Fat 4g
Fibre 9g

Ingredients
1 ruby grapefruit
1 orange
1 skinless fillet salmon (about 100g)
4 strawberries
about 1/8 of a mango
about 2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
shredded dried chilli and lemon zest to garnish

Method

• Steam the salmon and allow to cool.
• Meanwhile peel and segment the grapefruit and orange and arrange on a plate. Sprinkle with shredded dried chilli.
• Put the cooled salmon on top of the fruit.
• Make the dressing. Put the strawberries, mango and balsamic vinegar in a blender and whizz for a few seconds.
  
• Spoon the dressing over the salmon and fruit, and sprinkle with a little lemon zest.
  

Pan-Fried Citrus Salmon

Nutrition Data
Calories 570
Protein 26g
Carbohydrate 50g
Fat 33g
Fibre 14g




Ingredients
100g skinless salmon fillet
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 grapefruit
1 orange
1 small avocado
fresh mint, ground pepper and dried chilli to garnish

Method

• Peel and segment the grapefruit and orange in a bowl.
• Roughly chop the avocado and tear up a handful of mint leaves and add to the fruit.
• Put on a plate, reserving any drops of juice.
• Scatter dried chilli over the top.
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium hot heat.
  
• Grate pepper over both sides of the salmon fillet. Put in the frying pan, and pour over any juice. Fry for about 3 minutes both sides until cooked through and golden brown.
• Serve immediately on top of the fruit.
  

Goya Champuru

My all time favourite food! This picture was one I took a couple of Christmases ago... Goya champuru is really easy to cook, and goya is a very cheap vegetable in summer. It's just beginning to come down in price to under 200 yen for a large goya now, so I'm starting to eat it more again. In the summer, it's only about 70yen.

Goya is also known as bitter gourd. It's very high in vitamin C. Usually vitamin C is destroyed when you heat it, but with this vegetable it isn't.

Unfortunately, goya/bitter gourd/nigauri is going to be hard to come by in the UK as it needs hot weather to grow, you might be able to find it in a Japanese supermarket...

This is my recipe, I don't use oil or fatty ham in my version... I also use a lot of goya, and it's very filling! It takes about 5 minutes to cook!


Ingredients (serves 1)
1 goya
200g pack firm or extra firm tofu, drained
1-2 teaspoons of soy sauce
60g of parma type ham, or smoked salmon
1 egg

Method

1. Halve the goya lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Slice into 1/2cm semi-circles. Put in a saucepan
   
2. Wrap the tofu in about 3 sheets of kitchen paper and microwave on high for about 2 minutes to drain. Cut into 12 cubes and add to the saucepan.
3. Pour the soy sace over the tofu and turn the heat to high. Add the ham or smoked salmon and stir fry until the liquid has just about evaporated.
4. Crack in the egg and stir everything thoroughly until the egg has set.
5. Best served immediately, although I often cool it and then take it to work for lunch.

Note: Apparently if you put the cut goya in a colander and sprinkle with salt and leave it for 15 minutes before washing, this removes some of the bitterness. I skip this step! In Okinawa and Hawaii, they often use Spam and oil to cook it, which also counters the bitterness. I love the taste of goya and often eat it raw during the summer.

Salmon and Green Lentils on Sauted Sweet Potato

I once had this delicious dish in a restaurant in Winchester. This is almost equal to that dish, but is my own variation with easy to buy ingredients.

Serves 2

Ingredients
2 fillets of salmon, skin removed.
Lemon juice
2 sweet potatoes, sliced lengthwise about 2cm thick with skin
100g green lentils
1 tub of creme fraiche (mascarpone or sour cream can be used as substitutes)
olive oil for sauteing
3-4 tablespoons of fresh dill
2 small sprigs of dill to garnish

Method

1. Cook the lentils until al dente. Wash quickly with cold water and drain. Pat dry with a kitchen towel.
2. Put the creame fraiche and most of the dill in a large bowl and mix. Remove a little of the creme fraiche and dill mix into a small bowl - this is for garnish. Mix the remainder of the creme fraiche with the just warm lentils.
   
3. Loosely wrap each salmon fillet in aluminium foil, sprinle with lemon juice and a little dill. Steam until cooked. Keep warm.
   
4. Meanwhile, saute the sweet potato slices until soft and golden brown. Keep warm.
5. On 2 large plates, arrange slices of sweet potato. Top with the creme fraiche and lentil mixture, and then with a salmon fillet. On each salmon fillet, garnish with a spoonful of creme fraiche and a sprig of dill.
   

Okonomiyaki

Credit: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/holidaytraditionalfood/r/okonomiyaki.htm with amendments!

Serves 4-6

Okonomiyaki is said to be Japanese-style pizza. This recipe makes Osaka-style okonomiyaki. There are lots of toppings. Okonomi means according to your taste, yaki means grilled. The only essential ingredients are the flour, stock, eggs, cabbage and spring onion. Any other ingredients can be added, according to your taste. I like to cook proscuitto ham and kimchi (pepperdew peppers from Sainsbury's work well instead of kimchi!)

Ingredients:

• 2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cup dashi soup stock, water, or any other stock
  
• 4-6 eggs
• 1 - 1 1/4 lb cabbage
• 6 tbsps chopped spring onion
• 2/3 cup bonito flakes, if liked
  
• 12 - 18 strips of thinly sliced pork or beef
• For toppings:
• Ao-nori (ground or fine strips of green seaweed)
• Okonomiyaki sauce, tonkatsu sauce, or fruity brown sauce
  
• Mayonnaise

Preparation:

Pour the stock or water in a bowl. Mix the flour in the stock. Rest the batter for an hour in the refrigerator. Chop cabbage fairly finely. Take about 1/2 cup of the batter (to make one sheet of okonimiyaki) in another bowl. Mix chopped cabbage (about 1/4 lb) and chopped green onion (about 1 tbsp) in the batter. Make a hole in the middle of the batter and add an egg in the hole. Stir the batter. Add meat and kimchi or your choice of toppings in the batter. (Some people like to add meat and seafood). Heat a large frying pan and oil slightly. Pour the batter mixture over the pan and make a round. Cook 5-7 minutes , flip the okonomiyaki and cook for 5-7 more minutes. Flip the okonomiyaki again, spread okonomiyaki sauce on top and drizzle with mayonnaise in a criss-cross pattern. Sprinkle seaweed over the sauce. Sprinkle katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and beni-shoga (red ginger) if you like. Makes 4-6 sheets.