Sat, 11th Aug 2007

I'm going to make this short and snappy as I'm really tired from cooking and really need to go to bed soon.

So here is home-made fresh & smoked salmon with fresh asparagus/diced deseeded tomatoes with fettucine pasta and creamy herb sauce.

First, marinate salmon with olive oil, salt & black pepper. Put aside and let it come to room temperature. Pan fry in a hot pan - don't turn it to the other side till its just done on one side. Let the other side cook for 2 minutes or so and put aside and let it cool - cover while you are waiting please.

An hour later I came back and patiently sat down and deskinned and deboned the salmon steaks and put the meat aside for flaking later. I took a small bite - it was good - firm and just done with the slightest hint of pink in the core of the steak.

Here are the slightly icky remains - salmon skin and some bones. Tie them in a strong plastic bag and discard asap.

I also opened a box of smoked salmon which was quite sweet , I removed the skin and broke the fillet into large pieces. This was later added into the salmon sauce.

Then it was a decision which I was going to serve my pasta in - the wide square plate or the deep fruit bowl - the wide plate on the left won in the end. And my favourite square olive plate which I have used very often. Zt, recognise the oil you gave me??? :)

And now here is the recipe:

Fry some onions and garlic in olive oil till translucent, add asparagus, herbs (parsley, tarragon & marjoram), black pepper & salt, add salmon pieces, break them down slightly, add a splosh of white wine and cream. Add some milk if mixture is too rich and thick and some corn starch to re-thicken if necessary. (Tired and too lazy to make a roux). Adjust seasoning.

Boil spinach fettucine in a large pan with salt & a dash of oil till al-dente, drain and toss in extra virgin olive oil and salt & pepper. One and a half packets of pasta fed 5 adults and 2 children with a bit left over.

Put salmon sauce on top, serve with lots of black pepper and a huge glass of chardonnay.

And here are the side dishes:

Grilled scallops with garlic butter. Highest heat on the grill as close to the heat as possible, 10 mins max. I only removed the vein but didn't remove all the gristly bits - they can be quite tasty!

Hazel's plate (she had 2 helpings) and Mark's plate.

No pics.....

Mustard leaves with garlic lightly panfried.

Microwaved ladies fingers (3 minutes) with chilli/garlic soy sauce.