Category Archives: salmon

Salmon and Leek with Fusilli: Tasty, Quick and Healthy

11 Saturday Feb 2012

Posted by in pasta, quick and easy, recipes, salmon

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During weekends, we usually spend the day out with the kids, and if there are no dinner plans, I usually prefer to cook something simple at home, rather than da bao (takeout).  We used to think nothing of it before the kids came along, but this has become somewhat of an exception now as I’ve become more conscious of what goes into our diets.

Today, after a morning of go-karting at West Coast Park, we had a fast food lunch as a treat to the kids. So all the more I thought we ought to balance things out a little with a relatively healthy dinner.  Feeling tired and a little lazy, an easy one-dish pasta meal seemed an appealing option. There is usually some Salmon fillet in the freezer, and there is always dried pasta in the larder.

Salmon and Leek with Fusilli is one of the current quick and easy staples from my kitchen.  It’s easy to prepare, tasty, convenient to eat if you’re in a hurry, and best of all, makes for a healthy meal.  It’s not anything special, but I just thought I’d share this as an easy meal you could prepare on a week night.  Takes about 30 minutes.


Ingredients

Approx 600-700g salmon fillet, skin removed
350g dried fusilli (pasta spirals)
1 whole garlic
1 stalk leek
1 cup olive oil
Chopped Dill leaves (either fresh or dried)
Chopped Italian Parsley (either fresh or dried)
Pot of water for cooking pasta
Salt to taste
Method

Put a large pot of water to boil.  Add 2 tsp salt.
Cut salmon into 1 inch cubes.  Season with salt. Cook pasta in the pot of boiling water. Remove and drain once cooked.
In the meantime, heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Cook salmon, first on one till browned, then turning over (adjust heat if necessary), until just cooked through. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
Turn heat to low. Saute chopped garlic until cooked but not brown. Add leek and saute till just softened.
Return salmon to skillet and toss gently for a couple of seconds.
Turn off heat, add drained pasta to the skillet and toss gently with the other ingredients, adding chopped dill, parsley, and salt to taste. Be careful not to break up the salmon cubes.
If you like, top with freshly grated cheese (I like Pecorino).

Serves 4.

Steak and Salmon on a Whim

07 Saturday Jan 2012

Posted by in quick and easy, recipes, salmon, steak, Steak and Salmon on a Whim

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This was a quick and easy Steak and Salmon dinner we had some weeks back, decided upon on a whim at the supermarket because both the salmon fillet and beef tenderloin happened to be marked for “Quick Sale”.  So we grabbed four of each. We actually eat quite a bit of salmon at home because it’s just such a delicious fish, packed with Omega-3, and pretty easy to prepare. Anyway, we all thoroughly enjoyed this meal.  And the satisfaction I got out of it was doubled by the fact that it was done on such a whim.  We had a side of boiled potatoes tossed in sour cream and bacon bits too.

This can take under 45 minutes if you are a fairly confident multi-tasker, and you have a big skillet in which to cook all four steaks at the same time:

Boil a pot of water, with 1 tbs of salt added.
Pre-heat oven to 220 deg celsius.
Pat steaks dry with paper towels, rub salt, black pepper and about a teaspoonful of chopped garlic over each steak. (I usually have some chopped garlic in the fridge stored in an airtight glass jam jar).
Rub salt, olive oil and dried dill over the salmon fillets.
Heat skillet with 2 tsp olive oil, over medium-high heat.
Put 4 or 5 potatoes into the pot of boiling water.  Leave them to cook while you deal with the salmon and steak.
Arrange salmon fillets in a oven-proof dish and bake at 220 deg celsius for approximately 8-10 minutes, then turn oven up to 240 deg celsius for approximately 4-6 minutes so that the edges and skin brown (How long it takes depends on thickness of the fillets and also how you like your salmon done. I like mine done medium, with the insides just flaking yet moist. The one in the picture is well-done).
While the salmon fillets are in the oven, you can grill your steak in the skillet.  Cook steaks one side at a time, approximately 3-4 minutes on each side, for medium done-ness.  (Turn down the heat once the steaks are browned if you don’t want them too charred).
Remove potatoes from pot once you can prick a fork into them without much resistance, then peel skins once they’re cool enough to handle, and halve or quarter them. Toss potatoes in sour cream, top with bacon bits (this was one of those times we used Hormel) and chopped chives.
Sprinkle salt and black pepper over the steaks before serving.
Sprinkle black pepper over salmon fillet.
Serve with mesclun mix and cherry tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  We used a Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar reduction from a bottle we got from Jones the Grocer, which was pretty good.