Fruity Salads

Hot weather seems to call for citrus flavours and salad dinners, so I have mostly been eating fish and salad of late. I love the fruity-nutty flavours of thai salads, but decided to experiment with flavour combinations from Europe and the Caribbean this week.

Figs and Parma ham and mint

Trout with tomato and cucumber salsa

Grilled tuna with fennel, grapefruit and red onion salad



I know its a classic Italian dish, but I'd never tried the combination of figs and parma ham before, but I spotted some very ripe loooking figs in the shop and thought they'd make a nice lunch. And indeed they did. Jamie O's Italian recipe book suggested mint, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar as accompaniments, and it made a tasty meal. The mint was a nice touch - I would have expected basil to be best but preferred the mint.

Nothing fancy about the trout and salsa really, just a chopped tomato and cucumber salad in lemon juice, and mint again. Lots of mint you notice - its my new favourite herb because I actually managed to keep some alive in the garden!

The tuna salad was the most interesting. The idea came from my Cuban recipe book. I chopped 1/2 red onion finely and divided 1/2 ruby grapefruit into segments. These were mixed with the juice of a lime, salt and pepper, and a good handful of coriander. Then I shaved some fennel finely and mixed that in along with a drizzle of olive oil. I just grilled the tuna. Easy. The recipe called for swordfish but I couldn't get any, I would recommend you at least look for some if you want to recreate this as I think it might be a better combo than the tuna.

Jerk chicken recipe...since you asked nicely

Right then....I'm not sure how authentic this is, but here's my slightly adapted recipe for Jerk Chicken kebabs. Served with sticky rice and some veg its enough for 2 people for a main meal (on a hungry day - I had run a decent distance in the cold and it filled me up).

You will need:

2 chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
6 cherry tomatoes
1 courgette (zucchini) sliced into chunks

6 skewers
oven proof dish

Marinade ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar (demerera)
1 garlic clove - crushed
1/4 onion - finely chopped
1 teaspoon vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
Juice of 1/2 lime
pinch chilli flakes or chilli powder
approx tablespoon of water

Mix all the marinade ingredients together. Stir in the chicken until well coated with marinade. Leave to marinade for at least a couple of hours in the fridge (or overnight).
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Thread the meat, tomatoes, and courgette onto skewers, alternating meat and vegetables.
Arrange skewers in oven proof dish and bake in oven for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Cook the rice while they bake.

You could serve this with flatbreads instead of rice, or on their own as a starter.
Also, I'm sure the kebabs could be grilled or barbequed just as effectively.

Enjoy!

I'm so over winter

Oh for goodness' sake: This winter seems to be going on FOREVER!

I'm dreaming of beach holidays, sunshine, and feeling warm. I could do with lying on a sun drenched beach, soaking up a winter's worth of heat.



Sadly, my finances won't run to that. Its all very well to make the choice of music for a career, but just once in a while I regret not selling my soul to make a killing in the city!

Anyway, I digress. I lieu of actually heading to warmer climes I have been cooking Caribbean food and pretending.

In the last couple of days we have had Jerk Chicken Kebabs and Salmon with Mango and Ginger.

Jerk Chicken definitely got the thumbs up.
I'm still considering the salmon dish.

The mango was a strong flavour; sweet and fruity. I liked it, but such a fruity flavour on the main course is not usual for our northern European taste buds. Would I make it again? Yes I think so. It was a good dish, just not the kind I'm accustomed to. However, that's part of the point of this project - to broaden my culinary horizons!

Here's the recipe for the Salmon dish - have a try & see what you think!

Salmon with Mango and Ginger (enough for 2)

2 portions of Salmon

Marinade:
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
Squeeze of lemon
1-2 crushed cloves of garlic
salt and pepper

Sauce:
1/2 ripe mango
75ml water
2 cherry tomatoes
1/4 onion
2 teaspoons of ginger syrup (the syrup from a jar of stem ginger)
salt and pepper

Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade, pour over the salmon. Leave it to marinade for 1 - 2 hours (no more).
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180C.
Chop up the mango, onion, and cherry tomatoes. Whizz them up in a food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and add the water and ginger syrup.
Once the salmon has marinated for long enough put it into an oven proof dish and put into oven to bake for 10 minutes.
Warm the sauce through over a gentle heat. Once the salmon has cooked for 10 minutes pour the sauce over it and return the dish to the oven for another 10 - 15 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
Serve with rice.