Tag: spices

Curry · Fish · Gluten Free

Salmon with coconut sauce on a bed of curried onions and peas

Belinda1 Comment

This may not be the most beautiful picture, but the actual dish was tremendously flavorful and interesting with the different spices.
Although the onions I put underneath the salmon aren’t in this picture, it’s well worth doing instead of rice.

Serves 2

Ingredients
4 -6 tbsp genuine coconut oil, divided  (The healthiest oil there is, available from Wholefoods))
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cardamon seeds
1 tsp brown mustard seeds

1 tbsp ground coriander, plus 1/2 tsp to season the salmon
1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped tomatoes. (a good quality tinned one is okay)
1 cup coconut milk
salt and ground pepper to season
2 (6 ounce) fillets of wild salmon, skinned

For the onion dish
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
4 large onions
1 cup frozen petit pois, boiled till cooked
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp medium curry powder
1/2 tsp cardamon seeds
salt and pepper

For the sauce
Put 2 tbsp coconut oil into a large skillet over low-med heat then add the ginger.
Saute for 30 seconds and then add the fennel seeds, cardamon seeds, brown mustard seeds and ground coriander and cook for 10 seconds.
Add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes, stirring well. Pour in the coconut milk and simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce is thickened.
Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessary.

For the onions
Slice the onions fairly thickly. Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet to low-med and add the onions, stir frequently and add the turmeric, curry powder, cardamon seeds, and salt and pepper.
Slowly caramelize the onions, stirring for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil the peas or petit pois and add them to the onions mixture in the last 5 minutes of the onions’ cooking. The dish will have a nice deep yellow color and be very flavorful with the cardamon seeds.

For the salmon
Sprinkle the 1/2 tsp ground coriander, salt and pepper on both sides of the salmon fillets. Heat the remaining coconut oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. When it is hot, sear the salmon fillets on each side for 7 – 8 minutes total or until they are just cooked through.

Plating
Put a large spoonful of the onion mixture on a plate, lay a piece of salmon across them and ladle the sauce over the salmon.

Do-ahead · Grains · Nuts · Vegetable-related

Spiced Wheat Berry Pilaff

Belinda

This is another great one from a fellow food blogger. The spices in it are very ‘Thanksgiving-like”

Serves 8 -10

2 cups wheat berries
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup (about 3 oz) finely chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup pistachios, roughly chopped
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cumin (I roast and grind mine as it has a better flavor)
1/2 tsp ground cardamon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh mint
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Bring the wheat berries and 6 cups of water to a boil in a 2 qt saucepan over high heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a 12″ skillet over medium heat; add garlic and cook, stirring until soft, about  minute
Add wheat berries along with apricots, pistachios, cinnamon, cumin, cardamon, salt and pepper and cook stirring until warmed through and fragrant, abut 5 minutes or so.
Remove from the heat and stir in the mint, lemon zest and juice.

Dessert · Do-ahead · Egg based · Holiday Food

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Bourbon Vanilla Sauce

Belinda
I’m afraid I can’t do without my bread pudding recipes, whether they’re sweet or savory. This one is ideal for this time of year with Thanksgiving around the corner.

Ingredients
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs, preferably organic
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground allspice
pinch of ground cloves
2 tbsp Bourbon (or a bit more for luck!)
5 cups day-old baguette or Challah, cubed about 1 inch
6 tbsp (3 oz) melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in the middle. Toss the bread together with the melted butter in a large bowl. Set aside.
Whisk the pumpkin, milk, cream, sugar, egg yolk, eggs, salt , spices and Bourbon in another large bowl.
Pour the pumpkin custard over the bread cubes and toss to coat. Pour into an 8 inch square baking dish and bake 25 to 30 mins until the custard sets.
Serve the pumpkin bread pudding with bourbon vanilla custard sauce.
Serves 6 – 8

Bourbon vanilla custard sauce

1 cup whole milk
1 cup cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 tbsp sugar
6 egg yolks
2 tbsp Bourbon (or more)

heat the milk and cream in a medium saucepan until boiling. Remove from the heat. Scrape the vanilla bean seeds into the hot cream. Add the vanilla pod. Cover and steep for an hour.
Remove the vanilla pod and reheat the cream until just boiling. Remove from the heat. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a medium bowl.
Temper the yolks by whisking in a few tablespoons of the hot cream at a time until you’ve incorporated about half of the cream.
Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the remaining hot cream/milk and stir over medium heat until the custard thickens. remove from the heat. Let cool.  Stir in the Bourbon
Makes about 2 cups.