VOL AN VENTS WITH TEA SMOCKED SALMON MOUSSE

My husband and I have a couple of friends who are both pescaterian so every time we invite them over, I try to come up with some new fish or seafood recipes.

As our paths and our circle of friends do not cross over the Christmas/New Year activities, we invited them over before the festive season started, to mark the end of the year and to wish each other all the best for the year ahead and I wanted to create the menu that would match the occasion, so I wanted my dinner to be festive with a slight touch of decadence.

At last I settled for the menu that I describe as “Frutti di Mare” which literally means Fruits of the Sea

Menu

Hors-d'oeuvre: Mini vol au vents filled with tea smoked salmon pate

 Entree: Sesame seeds crusted crab cakes served with sweet chili sauce

 Main Course:Roast barramundi with a medley of seasonable vegetables

Orange and red onion salad

Dessert: Chocolate semifreddo with pistachio nuts

Tea smoked salmon mousse

You need (for 8 people):

16 small size vol au vents

2-3 pieces, appx 600gr of fresh salmon (tuna is absolutely fine)

1 tbsp whole egg mayonnaise
1 tbsp. crème fresh

1 tbsp of horseradish cream

1 tsp of capers

1 medium Spanish onion, finely chopped

4-5 coriander stalks, washed, roots intact

4-5 sprigs of dill

A drop or two of red Tabasco sauce (optional)

Juice of half a lemon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For smoking:

2 tbsp of white sugar

2 tbsp of jasmine rice

2 tbsp of aromatic tea (jasmine, pekoe)

It is the first time in my life that I had smoked anything by myself and I have to say if you are armed with the proper cookware, it is not a big deal.  A wok is ideal but it has to have a rack and a lid which mine doesn’t, so I opted for a bamboo steamer as long as it is the right size to sit on top of the pan and leaves enough space between them to accommodate the fish without squashing it.  Prepare the salmon by sprinkling it with a mixture of sugar and salt, then place it in the steamer.  Line the bottom of the pan with foil, mix sugar, jasmine rice and any flavoured tea of your liking and pour over the foil, cover loosely with another sheet. Place it on a burner on medium heat and wait till the smoking process kicks in.

Once you can smell and see the smoke rising from the pan, place the steamer on top and smoke salmon for about 8 minutes.  The fish should be of a pale pink colour inside and out, but make sure not to overcook it as the process continues even after you take it off the stove.

Once it has cooled down, flake it, mash with a fork and then mix with all the other ingredients.  Adjust the seasoning to your liking, if the mixture looks too clumpy, add 1 or 2 extra spoons of mayonnaise or crème fresh.

When your guests arrive, warm up the vol au vents in the oven for a couple of minutes, fill up with the dip and garnish with a twig of dill and a slice of lemon.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!!!

WHOLE BAKED SALMON LEBANESE STYLE + YOUNG BOILED POTATOES

This time of a year is not called the festive season for nothing:  there are so many reasons for celebrations such as Christmas, of course, Chanukkah, the end of yet another year, New Year night - to name just the few.  And it is in the spirit of the season that we go out of our way to delight our friends and families with carefully chosen gifts and scrumptious meals. Here is the menu that I have chosen to impress my guests.  You can find this menu and other entertaining ideas by clicking on the "Entertainment" page.

MENU

Fresh oysters with balsamic vinaigrette

Baby beetroot, baby broccoli and blue cheese salad with mustard dressing

Whole baked salmon Lebanese style with tahini yogurt

Young boiled potatoes with garlic butter and dill

Chocolate Pots

I am sure I could speak for most of the cooks here that we all have our signature dishes, the ones that our guests enjoy and praise the most, the ones that we love cooking time and time again or on the other hand cook for special occasions only and feel very protective if another cook asks us for the recipe.   Want to know what mine is?  It is a whole salmon cooked on the barbecue and served with yogurt and tahina paste and garnished with fresh herbs and spices.  This dish is my secret weapon to impress my guests and win their tick of approval.

Add fresh oysters and beetroot salad  for the entree and chocolate pots served individually in an espresso cup for dessert and you have got a perfect menu for entertaining your family and friends during the festive season. 

For 8-10 people you will need:

One whole fish approx 2 -2.5 kg (scaled and cleaned without the head)

100 grm tahina paste

200 grm of natural yogurt

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

2 cloves of garlic

½ cup of chopped dill

½ cup of chopped mint

½ cup of chopped coriander

1 medium red chili de-seeded (optional)

½ cup of chopped walnuts

Juice of 2 lemons

1 cup of extra virgin olive oil

If the fish is heavier then I need, I ask the fishmonger to cut it in half along the spine into two halves.  So I can still cook one half, just reduce the cooking time to fifteen minutes. As for the other half, I ask him to portion it into fillets that I will freeze and cook at another time.  And when I am serving the fish, if I only have a half I put it on the plate flat side down.

You can cook the fish in an oven but I find it that the BBQ option is more flavoursome and it is also prevents my kitchen from smelling like a fishmonger’s shop for days. 

Method:

Preheat the BBQ to 180º C.  Clean the fish and pat it dry.  Cut 2 pieces of tinfoil about twice the length of the fish and spread them on the kitchen bench slightly overlapping each other.  Repeat the same process with baking paper and place it on top of the tinfoil.  Sprinkle the paper with extra virgin olive oil, season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides, place a bunch of fresh aromatic herbs inside the cavity (whatever you can find:  dill, parsley, coriander).  Place the fish diagonally on top of the baking paper and wrap it tightly as if it were a baby, tucking in all the edges.  Place the parcel on a baking tray and put on the BBQ grill and close the the lid.  Cook with the lid down for 20 minutes on each side for medium rare maintaining the temperature at 180º C.  Bring inside and open up the foil to prevent further cooking.

While the fish is cooking, prepare the paste by mixing tahina with yogurt, crushed garlic and lemon juice into a smooth consistency.  Next, chop coriander, walnuts, red onion, red chili, and mint and mix them all together, add lemon juice, a splash of olive oil, salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.  

Going back to the fish – gently scrape the skin off the fish, it actually removes very easily, then running a spoon along the spine remove the gray jelly-like fat.  Carefully transfer the fish onto a plate leaving the foil and paper behind.  Spread the paste on one side of the fish covering as much of the fish as it permits and spoon the salad over the paste pressing it lightly together. 

Serve with young boiled potatoes.

Enjoy!!!