Foil Baked Salmon and Asparagus

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Where has the week gone? We had Foil Baked Salmon and Asparagus for dinner last Sunday and I'm only just getting a chance to post it. Is it really Friday again already?

I haven't got that much to say about the recipe. It does all the talking for itself. It's salmon, it's asparagus, it's baked in foil, therefore not only is it simple, it also does taste great and it's healthy. Full of essential Omega 3 from the salmon and iron from the asparagus and no other fat in sight. (Therefore I didn't have to feel so bad when I poured some melted butter over my fresh Jersey Royal Potatoes.)

Try it I'm sure you'll like it. You can increase the amounts easily to serve more people.



Foil Baked Salmon and Asparagus (serves 2)

2 skinless salmon fillets
250gr asparagus, woody ends trimmed off
1/2 lemon
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 220C/Gas 8.

Place the salmon fillet into the middle of a large sheet of tin foil.

Season with salt and pepper and any other seasoning you might like to add.

Place half of the asparagus spears on top, squeeze the juice of 1/4 of a lemon over it.

Bring up the sides of the foil and fold the top over twice, then seal the sides. Make sure the parcel is sealed well but still has plenty of air inside for the steam to circulate. It shouldn't wrap the salmon and asparagus tightly, but be more like a tent around it.



Repeat with the other salmon fillet.

Place the foil parcels on a baking tray and place in the middle of the oven for about 15 minutes.

Be careful when you remove them from the oven and open the parcels as they will be full of hot steam. Drain off the juices and serve immediately.

Enjoy.

A Breakfast Treat

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During the week breakfast is usually a very non-eventful meal in our house. Sometimes it doesn't happen at all. In any case it's usually nothing much more exciting than some cereal, a slice of toast with cream cheese and honey or porridge.

At the weekend it's a different story though, we take our time and we usually don't have it until at least mid morning, so it often replaces lunch. Most times we have a continental style breakfast with warm bread rolls, boiled eggs and a selection of sliced meats, cheese, jam and honey (not all on the same bread roll of course), plus fresh juice and plenty of coffee. Every now and then we feel like something different and therefore special though, and we might have a Full English or Pancakes with Maple Syrup and fruit.




When I saw that The Passionate Cook was hosting this month's 'Waiter! There is something in my ....' blog event and that the theme is breakfast, I thought I could join in. As our usual weekend breakfast doesn't involve any recipe (apart from ones for homemade jams, but I'll safe those for a different post) I thought we'd have one of those 'weekend specials' and made Scrambled Eggs and Smoked Salmon on a fresh bagel. It's one of those breakfast dishes that I'll happily eat for a quick dinner.

Bagels with Scrambled Eggs and Smoked Salmon (serves two)

5 free range eggs
one packet Smoked Salmon, cut into strips
2 bagels
cream cheese
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Crack the eggs into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Whisk with a fork until the yolks and egg whites have completely blended.

Heat a knob of butter in a non stick frying pan.

Pour in the eggs and top with the salmon strips.

After about half a minute start to scramble the eggs with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir and fry for a few minutes, until cooked but still a little moist. (You don't want to cook them until completely dry as they will continue to cook a little once on the plate/bagel.)

Divide the eggs between two bagels, which you have liberally spread with cream cheese (or butter if you prefer) and serve immediately.

Thou shall hev a fishy on a little dishy...

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...thou shall hev a haddock when the boat comes in. That's how the song goes and haddock we had, but ours wasn't straight of the boat unfortunately.

I wanted to make Cheesy Crust Roasted Haddock last week, but by the time I would have got to the market I was sure that the fish monger would have had packed up, so I tried Tesco, but their fish counter was pretty bare, too. What to do? I thought I'd try frozen fish, it couldn't be too bad, could it? After all I have cooked with frozen salmon and frozen prawns before and the results had been quite good.

Well, I found a packet of frozen haddock fillets and proceeded to make the topping for the fish. When it came to putting it in the oven the packet read 40 minutes and I thought that had to be too long, after all the recipe for the fresh haddock, calls for just 10-12 minutes. So I put mine in the oven without the topping for about 20 minutes, then took it out and added the breadcrumb mix and returned it to the oven for another 10 minutes, giving it a total of 30 minutes. The flavours were good, so I'll be making it again, but the fish was really dry, therefore I'd urge you to try this recipe using fresh haddock and not frozen. Maybe it didn't help that I used Panko instead of fresh bread crumbs either.

It's simple and quick, and the topping has a fresh flavour and a nice crunch.



Cheesy Crust Roasted Haddock

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
4 haddock fillet
50 g fresh white breadcrumbs
50 g mature cheddar cheese, grated
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (I use basil)
50 g semi sun-dried tomato packed in oil, drained or you can use a tomato pesto or even fresh cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7.

Coat a baking tray with 1/2 tsp olive oil and place the fish on top.

Mix the breadcrumbs, cheese and parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper and press, using the back of a spoon, onto the top of the fish fillets.

Place the tomatoes around the fish on the baking tray and drizzle everything with the rest of the oil. (I chopped up fresh cherry tomatoes and added them to the crumb mix)

Roast for approx 10-12 minutes until the crust becomes golden and the fish is cooked.

Times may vary depending on the thickness of your fish. If it needs longer you may need to cover the top with tin foil to stop it from burning, after the first 10 minutes.

Thai Green Curry

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I didn't really stick to my plan properly again last week and for this week I haven't bothered making a definite one. I've got some meals in mind, such as Jacket Potatoes, BLT Wraps and Spicy Midnight Soup, but we've got quite a few things on this week and some late nights at work coming up, so I know that I'll probably switch and change things anyways.

We did have the Thai Green Curry as planned last week, even though it was on Friday instead of Thursday. I have to admit to buying the ready-made green curry paste that comes in a jar quite often and very rarely cook Thai from scratch, but as long as all the other ingredients are fresh I really don't mind. It's quick, easy and really yummy. The amounts of some ingredients are not measured exactly as it doesn't matter if there is a bit more or less of something. You can also add some julienned carrot and some fresh coriander.



Thai Green Curry with Spinach and King Prawns for two

1/2 onion, roughly chopped
2tbsp Thai green curry paste
1/2tsp freshly grated ginger
1/2tbsp nam pla (Thai Fish Sauce)
1 red pepper, sliced
1pkt king prawns, shelled and cleaned

1/2 can reduced fat coconut milk
1/2pkt baby leaf spinach, washed

Heat a little oil in a wok and stir fry the onion until starting to soften, but not turning brown.

Add the curry paste, nam pla and ginger and stir fry for another minute before adding the prawns. Cook until the prawns are turning pink all over.

Add the peppers and coconut milk, stir well and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add the spinach and some cooked noodles (or the Straight to Wok Noodles you can buy everywhere) and stir until everything is heated through and the spinach is wilted.