Recipe: Seared salmon with mussel and dill broth

Serves two (double the ingredients for four)

Two salmon fillets – not steaks. Make sure there are no pin bones left in the fillets by running your hand along them. If there are, remove them with either tweezers or a small pair of (clean!) pointed-nose pliers

A little seasoned flour

A little olive oil

One tablespoon of butter – preferably unsalted

One handful of mussels, washed and de-bearded*

Two carrots – peeled and sliced as thinly as possible

One small onion – peeled and finely diced

One leek – use mainly the white part, cleaned and shredded

A pinch of saffron

One bay leaf

A handful of fresh dill – finely chopped

A handful of fresh basil leaves – pulled off their stem and roughly torn

One glass of white wine

One star anise – a star shaped aniseed flavoured spice available from good supermarkets or Asian grocers

Single cream – a small tub

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 7, 220°C.

Heat a large sauté pan (a frying pan) with a lid. Melt the butter in the oil and gently sauté the carrot, onion, leek and saffron until the vegetables are soft but don’t allow them to brown. Then add the mussels, bay leaf, star anise and wine, turn up the heat so the wine boils and put the lid on. Cook like this for about four minutes, occasionally vigorously shaking the pan, until all the mussels have opened (throwing away any that don’t). Using a slotted spoon, remove the mussels to a plate or bowl and, over a medium heat, reduce the resultant stock left in the pan by half. Add the cream and reduce by half again.

Whilst that’s reducing, dust the salmon with flour. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan until slightly smoking. Place the salmon fillets skin-side down in the pan and allow to cook for a couple of minutes so that the skin becomes crisp. Then turn them over, place them on a baking tray (or leave them in the pan if it’s oven-proof) and put in the oven for ten minutes (or less if they’re very thin).

The dish is now ready to assemble. Put the mussels back in the pan and add the fresh herbs. Allow the mussels to warm through for 30 seconds meanwhile tasting the sauce and adjusting the seasoning with salt and pepper – it shouldn’t need much salt as the mussels provide their own. Using, I suggest, pasta or large soup bowls if possible (but dinner plates will do – just make sure they’ve been warmed first), place a piece of salmon on the dish, spoon the mussels over the top finishing with the sauce over and around.

* Many people think cooking mussels is risky. If you are not sure about it, let’s put your mind at rest. They are alive when you buy them – or they’re supposed to be. First, wash them well in cold water (I use a washing up brush to scrub them) and pull off the beards. Any that are open, give them a squeeze to close them. If they continue to slowly close of their own accord they’re alive and ok. But throw away any that were open but don’t move at all. After cooking, throw away any that didn’t open because they were obviously dead before-hand. It’s as simple as that.

Recipe: Roast fillet of salmon on citrus cous cous with walnut pesto

Ingredients

Serves two

Two 7oz skin-on salmon fillets

A couple of handfuls of cous cous

The juice and zest of two lemons

A handful of fresh basil

A handful of wild rocket

A handful of walnuts

Extra virgin olive oil

A handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

A knob of butter

A few more leaves of fresh basil - torn

Preheat the oven to 210°C (gas mark 7)

Method

Place the cous cous in a bowl, add the lemon juice and zest and pour boiling water over, just enough to cover it all. Cover the bowl with cling film and a towel to keep it warm while the water is absorbed and put to one side.

In a little olive oil, fry the salmon fillets skin side down until it begins to colour and crispen. Turn the fish over, season and place in the oven for around 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the walnuts, basil and rocket into a food processor or blender and pulse until a rough-chopped, rustic mixture is produced. Pour into a bowl and, stirring, add the Parmesan and enough olive oil to produce a slushy pesto.

Remove the cling film from the cous cous, stir, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary and add the torn basil and the butter.

To serve, spoon the cous cous onto warmed serving plates, place the salmon on top and spoon around the walnut pesto.

Recipe: salmon and monkfish spring rolls

Ingredients
100g of salmon
100g of monkfish
One teaspoon chopped fresh coriander
A few leaves of torn basil
One teaspoon dark soy sauce
One teaspoon Thai fish Sauce
Three spring roll wrappers
One tablespoon of plain flour mixed with a little water to make a paste

For the dressing
75ml light soy sauce
One clove of garlic chopped
One spring onion, finely chopped
One teaspoon finely chopped red onion
A couple of handfuls of mixed leaves

Method
Place the salmon and the monkfish in a blender with the coriander, basil, dark soy sauce and the Thai fish sauce, and pulse until roughly chopped

Spoon one-third of the mixture onto one of the spring roll wrappers. Fold the top over, then the two sides to make ends, followed by folding the bottom up to make a complete roll. A few minutes before cooking the spring rolls, seal the edge with a little flour-and-water paste.

In a small saucepan, bring the light soy sauce to the boil. Add the garlic, spring onion and red onion, remove from the heat and allow to cool.

To cook the spring rolls, deep fry until golden or brush with a little oil and bake in a hot oven at 220c for ten to fifteen minutes

Chop each spring roll into two and place three halves on leaves piled on the centre of the serving plates. Serve with the dressing in a small bowl for dipping.