Salmon with Lime Creme Fraiche

I'm off to the Taste of Edinburgh today - yippee!!!!  Can't wait but I thought I had better catch up on all my unread blogs and catch up on my own too.  I made these last weekend alongside the Chicken and Chorizo skewers, Hubby doesn't eat fish (unless it is in batter!) so I had lots leftover for quick meals after the gym and to take to work for lunch!  It was just as nice cold as it was fresh from the barbie.

Salmon with Lime Creme Fraiche
150g creme friache
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp finely grated lime rind
3 tsp lime juice
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives
4 x 200g salmon fillets
finely chopped fresh chives and lime wedges for serving

Combine creme fraiche, mustard, zest, juice and chives in a small bowl.

Cook salmon on  a heated, oiled grill plate (or grill or BBQ) until browned on both sides and cooked as desired.

Top salmon with some creme fraiche, sprinkle with extra chives and serve with lime wedges, if desired.

Serves 4
Australian Women's Weekly, Feb 07

My pictures don't really do it justice - I was too keen to dig in than to make the perfect photo setting!  The great thing about this recipe is it doesn't need to be made on a barbie, it can be made year round on a grill as well and it is pretty healthy too provided you use the low fat version of the creme fraiche.

Now I need to shower, straighten my hair, make cupcakes for sis in laws garden party tomorrow and then I'm off to find some yummy food ;0)

Happy Friday everyone!

Homemade Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas

I reckon my greatest culinary discovery since moving to the UK has been Mushy Peas. Love 'em! Can't get enough of 'em! But I don't eat nearly as much of them as I would like to, mainly because the Brits always seem to stare at me with an odd expression of unfathomable curiosity on their faces every time I get excited about eating Mushy Peas ... maybe they don't hold the same charm when its something you've grown up with? I can understand that, after all I find it hard to muster up any kind of enthusiasm about eating a Witchetty Grub but every year when I'm A Celebrity is on I get asked a million and one questions about them. To set the record straight, yes I have eaten one. I can't tell you what it tastes like or what the texture was like because I was 7 years old at the time and did it as a dare - I wasn't brave enough to chew!!!!

Anyway - back to Mushy Peas. Fantastic invention and easy to make at home when the fancy takes ... so long as you don't belong to the camp that says dried marrowfat peas are the only peas to use. They make great Mushy Peas for sure but there is too much 'faffing' (love that word!) involved in getting to the Mushy Pea hit. Using frozen peas isn't breaking any laws at all!

Homemade Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas

200g frozen peas

Butter

1 tsp mint sauce (didn't have any handy so I used pesto with equally yummy results!)

2 firm white fish fillets of about 125g each, I used sustainably fished cod but haddock or pollack would work just as well

2 tbsp plain flour, really well seasoned (I used plain old salt and pepper but next time I'll be replacing this with celery salt and lemon pepper!)

Homemade chips [ahem:frozen oven ready chips work well too]

A few slices or wedges of lemon to serve

Cook the chips as per recipe instructions if making them from scratch or as per the packet if taking the lazy option like me!

Cook the peas following packet instructions. Drain, leaving behind a tbsp of liquid, then stir in a large knob of butter and the pesto or mint sauce. Mash with a masher or whizz with a hand blender for a smoother finish.

Dust the fish with flour then fry for 3 mins each side until really golden and cooked through. Serve with the chips and mushy peas and some lemon if you like.

Serves 2

Olive Mag, April 2010

I think my fish fillet must have been a bit thicker than the one the recipe stated, 3 mins on each side would have resulted in a very raw fish center. I ended up throwing the fry pan (not literally!) in the bottom of the oven for 5 mins while the chips finished cooking, this resulted in a perfectly cooked fish fillet, moist and flaky. And the mushy peas were pretty good too ;0)