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.  

Salmon in Foil with Wild Rice and Steamed Veggies

Last weekend I spent looking after my father and as a treat did him, a little improvised because of what I found in the fridge, this salmon with steamed carrots and broccoli and wild rice mix. It is dead easy and will take about 15 minutes max, but it needs to be done and served straight away. The amounts below serve 2.

Oh and apologies to veggie friends: salmon is hardly a vegetable…

What you need

• tin foil
• 300-400 g salmon fillet, ideally without skin
• herbal salt
• Bombay or Cajun spice mix
• 3 to 4 cherry tomatoes, halved,
• some flakes of butter
• a generous dash of dry white wine

What you do

1. Fold a piece of tin foil big large enough to hold the salmon so that the sides stand up and keep in any liquid.
2. Put in the salmon fillet seasoned with herbal salt, then sprinkle with the spice mix.
3. Cover the top of the fish with the halved cherry tomatoes. Add the butter flakes.
4. Pour in a generous dash of dry white wine, to moisten the bottom but not enough to reach up further than the edge of the fillet.
5. Put under the grill and allow to sit for between 8 and 10 minutes.
6. Serve immediately.

Wild rice and steamed veggies

I would do this first, perhaps along with steaming the veggies. Sauté a tablespoon of chopped onions and garlic in a dash of olive oil, then add the rice and stir till glassy. Add the same volume of white wine, then  the same again in vegetable broth. Allow to simmer gently until the liquid is soaked up and the rice is dry (about 15-10 minutes). After adding the liquid I steam the veggies until they still have plenty of bite. I then put them in an ovenproof dish, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with some high quality olive oil. This can be kept hot in the same oven as the salmon if necessary. Alternatively, I use some pumpkin seed oil, which I add just before serving.