Salmon and Fennel Portobello

A great starter for any occasion, Portobello mushrooms are so tasty and juicy but at the same time they don’t overpower the gentle flavour of the salmon. The wonderfully gentle aniseed flavour of the fennel compliments any kind of fish.  

Salmon and Fennel Portobello

You will need

2 - Salmon Fillets

4 - Portobello Mushrooms (about 80 Gm each)

½ bulb - Fennel (finely chopped)

½ teaspoon - Garlic Granules

25 Gm – Butter

150 Ml – Single Cream

4 teaspoons - Cream Cheese

Poach the salmon gently on a medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Carefully remove the skin, flake with a fork then set aside.

Melt the butter in a pan, then twist and remove the stalks from the mushrooms, finely chop and add to the pan.

Fry for about 2 minutes then add the fennel and the garlic and fry for a further 5 minutes.

Add the cream then stir in the salmon, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and simmer on a medium heat for 5 minutes or until the fennel is soft.

Meanwhile put the mushrooms under a hot grill for 5 minutes each side.

Fill the mushrooms with the salmon and fennel mixture then spread about a teaspoon of cream cheese on top.

Put under the grill for a few minutes to melt the cheese and serve with a wedge of lemon.

Crispy Skin Salmon with Marsala Cream Sauce

Marsala is a medium to sweet Italian desert wine usually made from grapes grown in Western Sicily and gives a delicious flavour to any sauce.

This is a very simple sauce flavoured with garlic and the sweetness of Italian Marsala wine.

Crispy Skin Salmon with Marsala Cream Sauce

You will need

2 – Salmon Fillets

For the sauce

2 – Cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)

35 Ml - Marsala Wine

150 Ml - Single Cream

60 Gm - Butter

Melt 30 Gm of butter in a pan then season the skin side of the salmon with salt and pepper and place skin side down into the pan on a medium to high heat.
Let the salmon cook for about 10 minutes without moving it, then turn it over and let it cook through on a 

medium heat.

Set the salmon aside somewhere to keep warm while you make the sauce.

Melt the rest of the butter in the same pan add the garlic and fry for a couple of minutes then add the Marsala and cook off for about 5 minutes.

After the Marsala has cooked off add the cream and simmer on a low to medium heat for 10 minutes stirring well.

Pour over the salmon and serve with fresh vegetables and sauté potatoes.

Beef in Guinness and Shallots

A great St Patrick's Day treat

Beef in Guinness and Shallots

You will need

10 – Shallots (peeled)
850 Gm Silverside Beef
1 – Red Onion (chopped)
4 – Large Carrots (cut in half long ways) 

300 Ml – Guinness

100 Ml - Water
1 teaspoon – Dried Thyme
2 – Beef Stock Cubes
1 desert spoon - Corn Flour (mixed with a little water into a paste)

Parboil the carrots 10 minutes

Put a little olive oil in an oven proof dish and put on the hob on a medium heat.

Seal the beef then add the shallots,red onion and thyme then cook for 10 minutes with the beef.

Add the carrots, Guinness, and water then cover and put in 160°c oven for 1 ½  hours.

Take out the beef to rest and remove the carrots and shallots to a separate bowl

Put the dish on the hob on a medium heat and add the beef stock cubes and corn flour mix and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes; you need to do this to cook out the Guinness a little more to get rid of any bitterness.

Put back the carrots and shallots for the last 5 minutes.

Serve with sweet potatoes and vegetables

Roasted Red Pepper Flan with Bacon and Brie

Roasted Red Pepper Flan with Bacon and Brie

Linking to the HOST

This is like a kind of pizza and taste delicious hot or cold.

You will need

500 Gm - Shortcrust Pastry
2 – Large Red Peppers
3 – Rashers Back Bacon (chopped) 

2 cloves – Garlic (crushed)
100 Gm - Brie
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
A little olive oil

Roll the pastry out to about 4 mm thick and line a flan tin then place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Blind bake with baking beans at 200°c for 10 minutes until dry. Remove the beans and return to the oven for 15 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked.

De seed and quarter the peppers drizzle with a little olive oil and roast at 180c for 20 minutes, allow to cool then blitz in the blender.

Dry fry the bacon for five minutes, add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes then add the blended peppers give a good few twists of freshly ground black pepper and simmer for 10 minutes on a medium heat.

Now spread the mixture evenly over the flan case and lay the brie on top, then place under a hot grill for 10 minutes.

So easy and so delicious

Pickled Rollmops (Herrings)

Pickled Rollmops (Herrings)

Herrings are a really versatile fish and also a very healthy food source and this is a really tasty way to serve them.

You will need

6 – Whole Herrings

1 – Small Onion (chopped)

Gherkins (chopped)

Ground Black Pepper

For the brine

250 Gm - Salt

500 Ml - Water

For the marinade

400 Ml – White Wine Vinegar

2 – Bay Leaves

1 teaspoon – Cracked White Peppercorns

¼ teaspoon – Dried Ginger

1 teaspoon – Fennel Seeds

½ teaspoon – Whole Cloves

¼ teaspoon – cinnamon

1 – Small Onion (thinly sliced)    

First of all let me show you how to prepare a whole herring.                                                                                                                                      

Remove the scales from the herring by rubbing them off with your thumb then rinse it well in cold running water.

Remove the head and tail then cut off the fins with scissors.

Slit the complete length of the underside, clean it out and rinse well under cold running water.

Open out the herring and place it skin side up on your chopping board and press down in the centre the whole length of the fish until it is completely flat.

Turn the fish over and carefully remove the backbone making sure not to remove too much flesh with it.

Now cut each fish in half longways, and then they are ready.

Now make up the brine by simply mixing the salt in the water until it dissolves, place the fillets into the brine so that they are well covered and place in the fridge for 24 hours or at least overnight.

Put all the marinade ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil then allow to cool.

After your fillets have cured for 24 hours take them out one by one, rinse them off with cold water and pat them dry.

Lay each fillet skin down and place some chopped onion and chopped gherkins on top, give a good grind of black pepper and roll securing with a cocktail stick.

After you have done that with each fillet line the bottom of a jar with them cramming them in quite tightly, spread some onion from the marinade over then add another layer of rolled filets and carry on until the jar is full.

Fill the jar to the top with the marinade, seal it and place in the fridge for at least 5 days. The longer you keep them the more soft and pickled the rollmops become, once opened use them within a couple of weeks.

Serve with a salad or just eat then with wholemeal bread and butter.