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Norwegian salmon

November 4, 2012 1 Comment Filed Under: Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

Beetroot cured salmon
In Norse mythology, the god Loki sometimes transforms into a salmon. In New York delis you buy lox and bagels: lox is cured salmon rather than smoked, although in Scandinavia they do both, a dry salt cure then a smoke. ‘Lox’ is not so different from the Scandinavian word for salmon, ‘lax’ or ‘laks’. These terms must be derived from Loki, the trickster god. 
When I was a child, salmon was an expensive luxurious fish, eaten only in restaurants or at Christmas, fish farms have changed all that. Farmed salmon is now one of our most affordable fish. Nutritionists advise eating one portion of oily fish per week. 
I’ve recently been sent a side of Norwegian salmon which inspired me to find out a little more about salmon in general. Norwegian salmon is of the same species as Scottish salmon, that is Atlantic salmon as opposed to Pacific.
If I have time, my favourite thing to do with salmon is to cure then cold smoke it. Failing that, just cure it. There is a recipe in my book (only £10 on Amazon this week!). Keep the skin on if you are smoking as well. 
Scottish farmed salmon however is currently suffering parasites. Parasites are killed when the salmon is cooked, however if you are curing salmon, make sure your salmon is sashimi grade and parasite free. This is what it looks like when it has parasites. Some sources such as Signe Johansen’s excellent book Scandilicious say you can get rid of parasites by freezing the salmon for 24 hours prior to curing. Other sources counter however that the temperature you would need to freeze it at, -25 degrees, is not obtainable in a domestic freezer. So I think it’s best to use your eyes, look at the salmon, check it visually and buy it as fresh as possible from a reliable fishmonger.
I’ve done dry cures with equal parts sugar and salt, I’ve also added all spice and juniper berries, fresh herbs such as dill, crystallised citrus, sour cherries, or a glug of vodka or aquavit but one of the prettiest cures is with beetroot. 
Slather your fish with sugar and salt and lay slices of beetroot all over the fish. Weigh it down in the fridge for 12 hours, drain off the liquid while keeping the bulk of the sugar/salt/beetroot then turn it over and do the other side. After 24 to 48 hours it’s cured. You can tell because the fish is now stiff. 
Remove the sugar/salt/beetroot mix. When you slice into it, you have a beautiful deep red layer on top and the sunset shade of salmon underneath. I don’t even like beetroot but I love this recipe. And generally home cured and home smoked salmon is so much better than shop bought, it bears no comparison. We’ll probably do another smoking workshop at the Secret Garden Club soon so look out for that.
Another favourite technique, fail proof, is to cook the salmon ‘en papillote’, that is, in a foil or paper pouch in the oven. This retains all the flavours and moisture and is hard to get wrong. This year we grew fennel in the garden (secret garden club) and baked the salmon with fresh fennel seeds, flowers and pollen. I also think salmon goes very well with slices of orange and kumquat.
Just wrap the salmon filet tightly in the foil or parchment pouch with seasoning and your herbs of choice. Bake at 180c for about 10-15 minutes. You know it’s cooked if you punch through the pouch with a metal skewer into the middle of the filet and it’s warm or, even better, get a digital thermometer and check that the interior temperature has reached 65/70 degrees C.  Seriously, this is so easy, it’s a piece of piss. 
Left: I once did it whole and en croute for christmas. That was a bloody nightmare. Centre: en papillote with kumquats. Right: studded with fennel sprigs, about to be wrapped in vine leaves. 

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  1. Ayeisha Ashman

    November 4, 2012 at 10:44 pm

    I'm 15 and have just started a food blog it would really help me if you checked it out and told others about it.

    t0astfordinner.blogspot.co.uk

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MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

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Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
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Galette des Rois, made yesterday in 12th night. Mi Galette des Rois, made yesterday in 12th night. Minus Crown and king as I cannot find either. This one is made with Tonka bean. Plus homemade puff pastry (well worth the effort). According to ike delorenzo at The Atlantic:  The tonka bean, a flat, wrinkled legume from South America with an outsize flavor that the US government has declared illegal. Nonetheless, it proliferates on elite American menus. The tiniest shavings erupt in a Broceliande of transporting, mystical aromas.
The taste of the tonka bean is linked strongly to its scent. "Scents," I should say, as the tonka bean has many at once. I register the aromas of vanilla, cherry, almond, and something spicy—a bit like cinnamon. When served cold—say, in tonka bean ice cream—the taste is like a vanilla caramel with dark honey. When warm, perhaps shaved over scallops, it moves toward spiced vanilla. Additionally, the aroma of the tonka bean shavings (it's almost always shaved) is so affecting that it seems like an actual taste in the way that opium, which has no taste in the traditional sense, "tastes" like its rich, flowery smoke.  Here is the recipe: 

Tonka bean galette des rois

Serves 8
Ingredients
* 140 g caster sugar
* 125 g salted butter, softened
* 100 g ground almonds
* 2 eggs, medium
* 1 tonka bean, grated
* 2 packs ready made butter puff pastry on a roll
* 1 yolk for brushing the pastry
Instructions
* Preheat your oven to 200c.

* Blend the butter with the sugar then add the almonds. Make sure it’s well mixed. Add in the 2 eggs one at a time, then add the tonka bean.

* If using a block: divide the puff pastry into two and roll out to 5mm thick. 
* Make two circles about 15 cm’s each in diameter. Lay one circle on a silicone mat/parchment paper on a baking tray and fill with the almond cream leaving a 3 cm border around the edge. 
* Paint the border with the egg yolk. Then lay the other circle on top, sealing the edges with a fork. 
* You could then carve designs into the top. Make a little slit in the middle to let steam escape then brush the top with the egg yolk
Mapo tofu is probably my favourite Sichuan dish. T Mapo tofu is probably my favourite Sichuan dish. This is a vegan version. ***

Ingredients:
- 400 g box of soft tofu not silken
- 5 soaked dried shiitake mushrooms, diced, keep water
- 1 red bell pepper, finely sliced
- 400 g fresh shiitake mushroom, sliced thinly
- 400 ml vegetable stock
- 1 thumb fresh ginger, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 4 tbsps groundnut or vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp fermented bean paste
- 1 or 2 small red chillies, minced or a spoonful of Chinese chilli paste
- 1 tsp heaped sichuan peppercorns, finely ground
- 2 tbsps soy or tamari sauce
- 2 tbsp cornflour in 3 tbsps water, mixed into a slurry
- 4 spring onions, finely sliced
- large pinch fresh coriander leaves

Prepare the tofu by cutting it into one inch cubes and soaking it in hot but not boiling salted water. Drain after 15 minutes.
Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, covering them in boiling water. Leave until soft, then dice the mushrooms. Retain the mushroom soaking water and add to the vegetable stock water.
Prepare the other ingredients so they are ready to stir-fry: red bell pepper, fresh mushrooms, ginger, garlic.

Using a wok or deep frying pan, add the oil and heat to frying temperature. Add the bell peppers,fry for a couple of minutes, then add fermented bean paste, chilli paste or chillies, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sichuan pepper.
Add the mushroom/vegetable broth and simmer on high for a couple of minutes.
Carefully add the cubes of tofu, taking care not to break them too much.
Add the cornflour slurry, stirring for a couple of minutes.
Serve with rice or noodles, garnishing with spring onions or chives and or coriander leaves.  #veganuary #mapotofu #sichuanfood #tofu  #shitakemushrooms #supperclub #londonchef #msmarmitelover #ham&highcolumn #eatplants #lockdown3 #selfisolation #coronaloner #cooking #recipe #cookingfromscratch
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