Salmon Burger with Avocado Salsa

This is my last Thursday evening of eating my favourite foods, as hubby has his last class tonight. I usually use these nights alone to eat things that he doesn't like, such as indian food or seafood, so I won't be able to do that any more. These yummy goodies will be relegated to when we eat out....very sad!

Tonight I made a recipe from Delicious magazine (vol 4 issue 7) and it certainly lived up to that name. This was a really simple and quick recipe that was very fresh and great for warm weather, especially if you like salmon.

Salmon Burger with Avocado Salsa
(makes 4)

600g fresh organic salmon fillet, skinned
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tbs flat-leafed parsley, finely chopped
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 small egg white
1 tbs olive oil
2 english muffins, split in half
1 cup watercress sprigs
avocado salsa
2 ripe avocado's
2 tbs lime juice, plus lime wedges to serve
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 long green chilli, seeds removed and chopped
2 tbs chopped coriander leaves

1. Roughly chop salmon into pieces and place in the bowl of a food processor with the shallot, parsley, mustard, egg white, salt and pepper. Pulse very briefly, only 3-4 times until the fish is roughly chopped but not pureed. Divide the mixture into 4 and with hands, form into large patties. Place on a tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes to help them 'set'.

2. For the avocado salsa, place all the ingredients, except the lime wedges, in a bowl and gently combine.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Sear the burgers for 1-2 minutes each side, turning carefully, until cooked to your liking.

4. Meanwhile, lightly toast the muffin halves. Top each with watercress, a salmon patty and a spoonful of avocado salsa. Serve with lime wedges.

Citrus Risotto with Garlic Chilli Prawns

This recipe comes from Bill Granger's Bills Open Kitchen. It was in the lunch section, but I found it was definitely big enough for a light summer dinner. I had to use some prawns I had in the freezer, so this was perfect, as I love risotto as well. Very tasty and pretty quick, easy and healthy. Even my visiting parents liked it :)

Citrus Risotto with Garlic Chilli Prawns
(Serves 4)

6 cups chicken stock
1 tbs olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely diced
1 tsp sea salt
1 3/4oz butter
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbs lemon juice
freshly ground black pepper
2 small red chillies
2 garlic cloves
2 tbs olive oil, extra
20 green prawns (shrimp), shelled with tails intact and deveined
1/4 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley


1. Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add olive oil, onion, salt and half the butter. Stir until the onion is translucent, then add the rice and stir for 1-2 minutes, or until rice is well coated.

2. Gradually add the stock a cupful at a time, stirring constantly and making sure the stock is absorbed before adding more. This should take about 20 minutes and the rice will be creamy. Remove from heat, then stir in the remaining butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and pepper to taste. Cover the saucepan and leave to sit for 3 minutes for the flavors to develope.

3. Meanwhile, pound the chilli and garlic in a mortar and pestle. PLace the extra olive oil in a frying pan over high heat and heat until hot. Season the prawns with salt and pepper, then cook for 2 minutes, shaling the pan, until the prawns are just opaque, then add the chilli and garlic and cook for 1 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Stir the risotto and divide bewteen four bowls. Toss the prawns with the parsley then place on top of risotto.

Tuna with Sorrel and Green Peppercorn Aioli

I received some sorrel in my CSA box this week and had no idea what to do with it. I had never even heard of sorrel before, so I set out on a quest to find out what it was and how I could use it. Turns out it is a herb (which I'm sure nearly everyone but me probably knew) and that it apparently tastes somewhat lemony. I read that I could use it in salad and that a lot of people will make sorrel soup. However, being summer and pretty hot, I didn't want to go the soup option, so when I found a recipe for sorrel and green peppercorn aioli by the New England Herb Company, I decided to go for it. I decided to serve it with grilled tuna and salad and it turned out great.

The green peppercorns gave this aioli a very spicy flavor which went perfect with the tuna. The salad was a watercress, carrot and capsicum salad that I found on the Taste website and utilized my CSA baby carrots. This was a super healthy meal and very fresh and tasty.




Grilled Tuna with Sorrel and Green Peppercorn Aioli

tuna
4 x 5oz tuna fillets
salt and pepper
aioli
1/2 cup sorrel
1 tbs parsley
1 clove garlic
1 shallot
1 tbs green peppercorns
1 tsp vinegar
1 egg
1 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

1. Prepare grill. Season tuna with salt and pepper, then grill a few minutes on each side, until desired doneness.

2. In blender combine first seven ingredients for ailoi and puree until blended. With blender running, slowly add oil until sauce thickens. Remove from blender and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready for use. Place a spoonful on top of tuna, or serve in a small ramekin on the side.

Watercress, Carrot and Capsicum Salad

1/3 cup currants
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup pistachio kernels
1 bunch watercress, washed, dried and sprigs picked
1 red pepper, halved, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1. Combine currants and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside for 15 minutes to soak.

2. Combine watercress, pepper and carrot in a large bowl. Add the oil and currant mixture, then top with pistachios. Toss gently to combine.

Seared Tuna Salad with Fennel and Lemon dressing

Where did the time go?! I ended up making dinner tonight much later than I planned, so I had to make some adjustments, but thankfully they didn't effect the overall dish.

I made this seared tuna salad tonight from Bill Granger's Bills Food, but as I just mentioned, had to tweak it a little bit. This recipe is actually found in the lunch section, but I thought it would be good for a summer dinner and also to use up some tune I had left in the freezer.

The first change I made was to cook the tuna a little more than suggested. Bill asks for rare tuna, cooked 20 seconds on each side, however hubby does not like his tuna that rare, so for his benefit, I seared for about 2 minutes on each side until it was done on the outside, but still blushing on the inside. Next Bill suggests leaving the tuna to sit for about an hour, however I didn't have the luxury of that much time, so mine only sat for about 5-10 minutes. To me, it made no difference.

Lastly, the lemon was supposed to be segmented for the dressing, however again, I didn't have time for this fiddly task and just added the juice of the whole lemon instead. Again, this didn't seem to make a difference and it actually gave the whole salad a lovely tang.

All in all, this recipe actually exceeded my expectations and was a great salad :) Healthy too....always a bonus!

Seared Tuna Salad with Fennel and Lemon Dressing
(Serves 4)

1 tbs olive oil
500g tuna cut into large batons, roughly 5cm
1 tbs sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
11oz green beans
1 baby romaine lettuce
2 heads of Belgian endive, broken into leaves
1 baby fennel bulb, sliced thinly
lemon dressing
1 lemon, juiced
3 tbs capers, rinsed
1/4 cup olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

1. Brush tuna with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick skillet over high heat, add tuna and sear for 1-2 minutes per side (depending on how raw you like it). remove from the pan and cut into 5mm slices.

2. Blanch the beans in boiling water, then refresh in cold water to cool. Arrange the lettuce, endive, fennel and beans on plates, top with tuna. Sprinkle over lemon dressing.

3. To make dressing, mix all ingredients in a bowl.

Shrimp and Chutney

Tonight's dinner was shrimp, which can only mean one thing!! Hubby has class and its seafood city for me :) This dinner was nice. Aside from the marinating it was really quick and tasty. The recipe however only allows 3 shrimp for each person, which seems like slim pickings to me. As a main, I doubled the number of shrimp for myself and that seemed to be a suitable number. Obviously if you made it, you could have however many you wanted.

The only changes I made to this recipe (from Cooking Light Grilling) were the marinating and the mango. It called for 2 hours in the fridge and I just didn't have the time for that today, as I got home later than I thought. I left it in there for an hour and that seemed fine to me. Its only in some oil, pepper and coriander, so I don't think another hour would have improved the flavor any....but that's just me. Also, I didn't have any mango chutney, so I just added some fresh mango.

This was a low calorie, low carb meal and left me feeling not too guilty about the dessert to follow (see above).

Black Pepper Shrimp with Cilantro-Coconut Chutney
(serves 2-4)

shrimp
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp canola oil
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
12 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 tsp salt
cooking spray
2 tbs fresh lime juice
chutney
1 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbs flaked sweetened coconut
2 tbs fresh lime juice
1/2 cup mango
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp minced fresh green chili
1/4 tsp salt
2 cloves of garlic

1. To prepare the shrimp, combine the first three ingredients in a ziplock bag and add the shrimp. marinate in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

2. Prepare grill to medium-high heat. Remove shrimp from bag, sprinkle with salt and then place on the grill which has been coated with cooking spray. Grill for 3 minutes on each side or until done, then drizzle with lime juice.

3. To prepare chutney, place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

4. Serve shrimp over chutney.

Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce

Tonight's dinner was supposed to come from Donna Hay's Flavours, however due to a dubious bunch of Basil from my local grocery store and the lack of other pertinent ingredients, it morphed into something else.

I had initially planned to make salmon with crusted chilli salad, but alas, it was not to be. I am actually quite miffed that the bunch of hydroponic basil I bought at the grocers this week had already decided to turn into a rotted mess. I am so glad the farmer's market season is finally here, because I am very sick of the rubbish that some of these supermarkets try to palm off as good produce. Anyway, I digress. As I slowly realized that I did not have all the ingredients for my intended dish...that I had been looking forward to all day, mind you....I became horrified that I had no idea what to do with my piece of salmon, that was sitting there just waiting to be turned into a culinary masterpiece.

I admit, I am not that inventive or inspired when it comes to cooking fish. I like it well enough, although its not my favourite thing in the world, but I know its good for me, so I try to have a crack at it at least once every week or two. Hubby, however, hates it with a passion, so it is not something I cook often. Especially salmon, which to him it is like being made to eat monkey brains or some other gross thing from a Survivor episode. So I started scouring my cook books for something to do with the Salmon, that I actually had the ingredients for. Unfortunately the fridge was looking a bit bare, not a lot of options. Salmon Nicoise salad...umm, no. How about Salmon Caesar salad...again, no. Salmon with maple glaze, salmon with asian marinade...no, no , no. I didn't have the ingredients for any of these things.

Finally, I broke out my new grilling book, which doesn't have an author, but I think is written by one of these companies that actually makes grills. Its called Modern Grilling by Vermont Castings, but its actually very good. Lots of pictures, just as I like it (Sorry Bobby Flay, I wanted to buy your books but alas, no pictures!).

Anyway, I found a recipe for lemon butter Salmon that I had the ingredients for and it was nice and simple. You take a large piece of foil, layer lemon slices over enough area to cover the bottom of the fish. Lay the fish on top of the lemon, season with salt and pepper, add a sprig of rosemary and two knobs of butter. Wrap it up and place on a medium grill for 15-20 minutes.

I have to say I am quite proud of myself with this dish. I lamented on my poor grilling abilities the other day, but today...I actually turned the grill on all by myself!! Now to some, this is not much of an accomplishment at all. But to me...one who has never even turned on the grill before...it was definitely a step in the right direction to becoming a grill master!! I am home alone this weekend (hubby has gone racing), so I managed to tame the grill all by myself.

**Yes, I can hear the roar of my adoring fans now :)**

My only problem then was what to serve with the salmon. Again, there was slim pickings, but I managed to throw together a salad of baby spinach, grape tomatoes, onion and some goat cheese. Oh, and a killer glass of wine :) !!!

To be honest, I didn't hold high hopes for this being the tastiest of meals, but it was pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. The salmon was very tender and quite tasty. It may not have been Donna Hay, but it worked out alight. Catastrophe (or at least a run to the Chinese take out store) successfully averted!!!

Leek Risotto with Lemon Fish

The last recipe this week from Donna Hay's Flavors....and yes I know its the end of the week, haha!! Next week will be more varied I promise.

One thing that my hubby loves for dinner is risotto. I can get him to eat almost anything in a risotto and I have even done an experiment with this in the past. He hates salmon...refuses to eat it. Yet, when I made salmon, cream cheese and dill risotto...believe it or not, he ate it!! And didn't complain...amazing. So anyway, when I saw this recipe with fish on a bed of leek risotto, I thought it would be a good way to get him to eat his omega 3's for this week.

This was a pretty simple recipe, the risotto obviously taking the longest amount of time to cook. But the fish only took 5 minutes and the whole dish was lovely and tasty. Hubby ate it, no complaints. The only change I made was to add some white wine to the risotto, which I think gives a nice extra bit of flavor to the dish. I also used flounder as my white fish, which is pretty flavorless as far as fish go....just the way hubby likes it :)




Leek Risotto with Lemon Fish
(Serves 4)

5 cups vegetable stock
2 tbs olive oil
3 leeks, sliced
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup shaved or grated parmesan cheese
2 tbs lemon juice
cracked black pepper
lemon fish
2oz butter
2 tsp shredded lemon rind
2 tbs chopped flat-leafed parsley
4x6oz firm white fish fillets
2 tbs lemon juice

1. To make risotto, place the stock in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a slow simmer. Place the oil in a heavy-based saucepan, add the leeks and cook for 6 minutes or until golden. Add wine and rice and stir for a minute or until rice is translucent. Slowly add 1 cup of the hot stock to the rice and stir constantly until the liquid has been absorbed. Repeat with cups of stock, until the rice is soft and creamy.

2. To make the lemon fish, heat the butter, lemon rind and parsley in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Cut each fish fillet in half and add to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes each side or until tender, then pour over the lemon juice.

3. Stir the parmesan, lemon juice and pepper through the risotto and serve in bowls, topped with the fish. Serve with lemon wedges and extra parmesan cheese.

Seared Tuna with Lime Crust

I always look forward to Friday night dinners, as I feel a sense of accomplishment. On Friday's I have managed to feed myself and my hubby for an entire week with pretty nice and healthy meals and my reward is usually to have dinner out on Saturday night...definitely something to look forward to. I love cooking, but who doesn't love to have someone else cook for them and wait on them...I sure as heck do!!

So anyway, down to tonight's "gourmet" offering. Its another dish from Donna Hay's Flavors....can you tell I am obsessed with this book yet?!! I decided to make the seared tuna with lime crust for two reasons. The first being that tuna is a fish I can usually get my picky hubby to eat and the second is that the pasta in the picture looked incredibly delicious and I happen to love love love pasta, as well as tuna, so it seemed like it would be a very yummy and healthy meal.

It certainly didn't disappoint. This was a fabulous dinner that was not too involved to make. It would have taken me even less time if I had have remembered to put the water on to boil for the pasta earlier than when I was ready to cook it. The marinade for the tuna is refreshing and delightful and the same marinade ends up in the pasta...very simple and tasty.




Seared Tuna with Lime Crust
(Serves 4)

12oz Tuna fillet
1 tbs grated lime rind
1/3 cup lime juice
1/4 cup finely chopped dill
2 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley
2 small red chillies, seeded and chopped
2 tbs olive oil
sea salt and cracked black pepper
14oz fettuccine
1 tbs olive oil, extra
3 1/2oz baby arugula leaves
extra lime juice and olive oil to serve

1. Place tuna in a shallow dish. Combine lime rind, lime juice, dill, parsley, chilli, olive oil, salt and pepper, then pour over the tuna to coat. Refrigerate for 20 minutes, turning once.

2. Cook the pasta until al dente and then drain. While the pasta is cooking, place the extra oil in a fry pan over high heat. Remove the tuna from the marinade and reserve the liquid. Cook the tuna for 1 minute on each side until well seared, then slice.

3. To serve, pile the pasta on serving plates and top with the arugula, sliced tuna and the reserved marinade. Drizzle with a little lime juice and olive oil before serving.

Feeling Crabby!

The only good thing about Thursdays and Rich having class, is that I get to make recipes that I cannot try on him. He is violently opposed to eating almost all seafood (I can sneak in some fish every now and then, as long as its not salmon) so Thursdays is the night I usually make something with our friends from the sea. Tonight was crab...if you hadn't guessed from my (ahem) hilarious title :)

This lime crab salad come from Donna Hay's-Flavors, one of the best cookbooks I think I have ever seen. Everything in this book looks so yummy, I am determined to one day work through them all!!

This recipe is simple and healthy and light...great for a summer evening. It does have green papaya as one of the ingredients, which I thought I bought...turns out I bought regular papaya, which I didn't realize until I cut it open and the flesh was bright orange. Too late to do anything about it, so I used it anyway and it was fine, however it was too soft to Julienne, so I just cut it into small strips. I also didn't add the fish sauce, as this usually makes me sick, however if you love thai food, this probably would have added a nice touch to the flavor.

If anyone could tell me what an actual green papaya is supposed to look like, I would be interested to find out as I don't believe I have ever seen one, especially not in a US supermarket.

I don't know if I will make this recipe again, but it was very tasty :)

Lime Crab Salad
(serves 4)

3 cooked crabs or 13oz of crabmeat
lime wedges for serving
lime salad
1/2 cup lime juice
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tbs brown sugar
2 Lebanese cucumbers (I used English cucumber, as Lebanese not available)
1 cup shredded green papaya (or mango)
1/3 cup shredded mint leaves
1/3 cup cilantro leaves

1. To make the lime salad, place lime juice, fish sauce, brown sauce, cucumber, papaya or mango, mint and cilantro in a bowl and toss to combine. Allow to stand for 30min to marinate.

2. Remove crab meat from shells. Place lime salad on serving plates and top with crab meat. Serve with lime wedges.

Shrimp with Tarragon and Tomato Sauce

All I can say about this dish I made for dinner tonight is Wow!! A total surprise. I happened to pick up the April edition of Everyday with Rachel Ray at the supermarket the other week...something I have never done before. I actually like watching her 30 minute meals, but have never been compelled to read her magazine. I was given Rachel Ray's 365 No Repeats for Christmas 2 years ago and whilst the recipes seem good, most are very fattening, so I tend to steer away from her. However, I was bored and the promise of checking out some new recipes...even unhealthy ones...won me over at the checkout line. Well, this shrimp recipe looked tasty, healthy and easy, so I thought I would make it on a night when Rich was at class...i.e. tonight :) As I have mentioned in the past, Rich does not share my love for our shellfish friends....or as he calls them, cockroach of the sea.

Well, I was not prepared for the taste sensation that was to ensue!! There really are not a lot of ingredients, but I think the addition of the licorice-y tarragon really made the flavors soar. If you like shrimp and get the chance to make this dish....definitely try it, it won't disappoint :)




Shrimp with Tarragon and Tomato Sauce
(Serves 4)

3 tbs Olive oil
2 Carrots, finely chopped
2 ribs of celery, finely chopped
3 shallots, thinly sliced
6 white mushrooms, chopped
2 lbs large shrimp ,peeled and deveined
salt and ground pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
One 15oz can tomato sauce
5-6 sprigs fresh tarragon, leaves chopped
1 loaf peasant bread, thickly sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed peeled and halved

1. Pre-heat the broiler. Ina large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, shallots and mushrooms and cook until tender, 7-8 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring a few times, until pink and almost firm, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in white wine, tomato sauce and tarragon and heat through for 1-2 minutes; remove from heat.

2. Toast bread slices in the broiler, rub with garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Serve the shrimp and sauce in shallow bowls with hunks of the bread for mopping.

Easy Paella

So once again, I am turning to the blog of Vicious Ange for my dinner selection tonight....the last one this week, I promise!! (I am living vicariously through her cookbooks...hahaha). She posted this recipe from Bill Granger and I just had to try it as I love love love Paella. Rich is not such a big fan, so when we go to restaurants, I can rarely order it, as you usually have to get it for 2. Having said that however, he liked this recipe....albeit after he picked out the prawns. I thought it was very tasty and easy to make. The only changes I made to the original were that I needed to add more stock, as the rice was still a bit crunchy after the original 2 cups was absorbed. I think I added another cup and that made it much better. I also didn't have enough chicken, so I used another chorizo sausage and that also worked out nicely. I highly recommend this recipe....delish!!




Easy Paella
(serves 4-6)

1 tbs olive oil
1 chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
2 chorizo sausage, chopped
1 cup basmati rice
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 425g can of chopped tomatoes
1 red capsicum, chopped
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
3 cups chicken stock
250g prawns, peeled
1 425g cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
100g baby green beans, topped and chopped
2 tbs chopped cilantro

1. Heat oil in large, deep fry pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken pieces for 3-4 minutes, turning until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and set aside to drain on a paper towel.

2. Add the onion and the chorizo to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally for 1-2 minutes until the chorizo begins to get crisp. Add the rice and turmeric, cook stirring for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes, capsicum, chilli and stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed.

3. Return the chicken to the pan with the prawns, cannelini beans and green beans. Toss and heat through for 1 minute. Stir in the cilantro and serve immediately.

Mahi-Mahi with Blood Orange Salsa

I found this great low fat, low calorie recipe last week on epicurious.com whilst looking for a recipe that uses blood oranges. I had picked some up at Wholefoods, but wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them. Rich is not really a fan of fish, but I am trying to ease him into it and he actually thought this was ok....at least, he ate it and didn't spit it out!! I thought the blood orange with Mahi-mahi was a great combination, very tangy. I tossed together a quick salad to serve with it, made from mixed greens, tomatoes, spanish onion, gorgonzola, chopped walnuts and fat free raspberry vinaigrette. This would have been nice to eat sitting outside, in the warm sunshine, overlooking our budding garden, however unfortunately we had to huddle inside with heater on, listening to the gale force winds outside....oh well, at least the company and the food were good :)

Mahi-Mahi with Blood Orange, Avocado and Red Onion Salsa
(serves 2)

1 blood orange
1/2 cup of avocado cubes
1/3 chopped red onion
2 tsp minced red jalapeno
2tsp fr sh lime juice
2 tsp olive oil
2 6oz mahi-mahi fillets

1. Using a small sharp knife, cut and peel the white pith from the orange. Working over a small bowl, cut between the membranes to release the segments. Add avocado, onion, jalapeno and lime juice to oranges in a bowl. Stir gently to blend. Season salsa to taste with slat.

2. heat oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish with slat and pepper. Add fish to skillet and saute until brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

3. Place 1 fillet on each of 2 plates. Spoon salsa atop fish and serve.