Salmon on a Bed of Leeks

I usually do veggie food, but occasionally I go for a meal with a bit of fish, mainly salmon, because I am told it is a healthy option with Omega 3 fatty acids, amino acids and pretty OK on the vitamin front. So much for the apologies, because this is not only a quick and easy dish, it is also light and simply delicious, especially if served straight out of the oven.

Now I used to do this many years ago and recently, because we still had quite a bit of leek left in the garden (unharvested this keeps well over the winter), I decided to try it again. Here it is.

What you need (for two!)

• 300 g salmon (150 g slice per person) with or without skin
• 2-3  leeks without too much of the tough green bits at the top (they can be put in a soup), cut into fine slices
• 1 small onion finely sliced and mixed in with the leek
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, squeezed
• 100 ml good (!) white wine
• spice mix (Cajun or Oriental flavour) to taste
• salt or veggie broth dissolved in the wine
• olive oil
• a little freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice (not pictured)
• wild rice mix or long grain rice with saffron, cooked with a dash of dry sherry and veggie broth

What you do

1. Prepare the wild rice mix or long grain rice (sauté a few onions in olive oil, add the rice and stir till it is glassy, add the sherry and top up with water, about twice the volume of the rice).
2. Preheat the oven to 180°.
3. Line the bottom of an ovenproof dish with the leek and the onion, season with a bit of the spice mix.
4. Add the garlic and the wine.
5. Put in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes until the leek looks a little softened.
6. In the meantime drizzle a little olive oil on the top of the salmon, season with the spice mix and some salt (rock or sea) and squirt a little lemon or lime juice over the fillets.
   
7. Place on top of the leek and onion bed and put in the oven. Check after about 8 minutes: the fillets should look opaque and flake a little when squeezed with the back of a fork.

Serve immediately.