Marinated Salmon

Marinated Salmon

I wanted to try a new way to make my salmon. We love salmon in my house, and we have it frequently, and I needed a new easy recipe. I found a picture on Pinterest where they used soy and brown sugar, witch made me think of the marinade from my angry tacos, from where I got my inspiration.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces salmon, serving size
• lemon pepper
• salt

Marinade:

• ⅓ cup (80 ml) soy sauce
• ⅓ cup (60 g) brown sugar
• ¼ cup (60 ml) warm water
• ⅓ cup (80 ml) grape seed oil
• grated ginger, to taste
• ½ jalapeño pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Directions:

Marinade:

In a bowl, whisk the cilantro, brown sugar, oil, soy sauce, jalapeños, and coriander to blend well. Reserve ¼ cup of the marinade for dressing the slaw. Pour the rest of the marinade into a ziplock bag and place the salmon in the  marinade and turn to coat. Marinate for at least 20 minutes or up to 2 hours in refrigerator. 

Preheat stove grill for medium heat, and lightly oil grill grates. (I used a Le Creuset cast iron grill)

Place salmon on hot grill. Cook salmon for 4-6 minutes per side, or until the salmon flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to overcook the salmon, nobody like a piece of dry fish.

Serve with an easy slaw a la this one.

The danish version:

Marineret Laks

Ingredienser:

• 2 stykker laks
• citronpeber
• salt

Marinade:

• 80 ml soyasauce
• 60 g brun farin
• 60 ml varmt vand
• 80 ml vindruekerne olie
• revet ingefær, alt efter smag
• ½ jalapeño 
• 2 tsk frisk koriander

Fremgangsmåde:

Marinaden:

Bland alle ingredienser i en skål, og rør indtil sukkeret er opløst. Hvis du laver en "coleslaw" så tag ½-¾ dl marinade fra til dressing. 

Kom marinaden i en frysepose, og kom laksen i. Lad fisken marinere i mindst 20 minutter, eller op til 2 timer i køleskabet.

Varm en grillpande op til den er godt varm. Pensel panden med lidt olie og steg laksen 4-6 minutter på hver side, eller indtil laksen ikke længere er gennemsigtige lyserød. Pas på med ikke at give laksen for meget, da den bliver kedelig når den er tør.

Server laksen med en hurtig “coleslaw" evt, den jeg bruger til Angry Tacos. (Kinakål, gulerod, forårsløg, jalapeño, frisk koriander og den ubrugte marinade som dressing)

Stjerneskud - Shooting Star

Stjerneskud - Shooting Star

Stjerneskud, or shooting star, is a classic Danish open-faced sandwich. The kind you would see at most lunch restaurants or cafés in Denmark. A stjerneskud is white bread, with a piece of fried and poached fish and cold-water shrimps.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 fried petrale sole filets 
• 2 poached petrale sole filets*
• a handful cold-water shrimps
• 6 aspagus (I used Reese asparagus spears)
• thousand Island dressing (homemade or store bought) 
• caviar (I used salmon roe)
• 1 lemon
• dill
• butter lettuce (I forgot to buy that)

* Poaching:

• white wine
• lemon juice
• salt
• white pepper

Directions:

* Poaching:

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (200℃).

Season the fillets with salt and white pepper. Roll up the filets and place them in an ovenproof dish with white wine and lemon juice. Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Poach the fish for 7-8 minutes. (If you poach the fish on the stove and start with barely simmering liquid, poach the fish for 5-6 minutes.)

Fry the fish and make the dressing.

Toast the bread. 

Arrange lettuce, fish fillets, dressing, shrimps, caviar, dill and place the slice of lemon on top.

Enjoy with a cold beer, cold white wine or a cold lemonade.

Chicken with Rhubarb

Chicken with Rhubarb

You know it is spring when you can get fresh Rhubarb. The sweet and sour vegetable, (it's a vegetable, not a fruit, even though you use it like a fruit), is good in cakes, in jams but also in ´food. 

As a child we had the rhubarb picked straight from the plant, washed and dipped in some sugar to snack on. If you discount the sugar, rhubarb is a healthy snack. 

This chicken dish is sweet and sour, and the creamy sauce make this really good with pasta.

Serves 4.

Ingredient:

• 6 chicken thighs ( I use boneless skinless thigh filets)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil or butter
• ¾ cup (180 ml) whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon chicken base
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ½ teaspoon chili paste
• ¼ cup chives, chopped
• 300 g rhubarb, sliced

Directions:

Check the chicken thighs and remove any excess fat. Heat the olive oil and sear the chicken on both sides for about a minute. Place the chicken in an ovenproof dish.

In a bowl mix cream, honey, chicken base and chili paste. Sprinkle rhubarb and chives over the chicken and pour the cream mixture over it.

Roast the chicken in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. Serve the dish with rice or fettuccine pasta. I normally serve this dish on a bed of baby spinach. 

Source Arla.dk

Pistachio crusted Halibut.

Pistachio crusted Halibut

I have been looking for ways to have more fish on the menu. Most times we end out having salmon. I really wanted to have more white fish. 

In Denmark you normally have halibut smoked for lunch on an open faced sandwich. So the fresh halibut was new to me, but it’s so meaty and the color so bright white. 

Putting halibut together with pistachios and lemon zest is a winning combination.

Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

4 (1 1/4-inch-thick) pieces skinless halibut fillet (about 6 ounces each)

1 cup whole milk

2/3 cup shelled pistachios

2 tablespoon parmesan,  grated

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 lemon, the zest of

Directions: 

Put fish in a ziplock bag, pour milk over it, and chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the pistachios finely and mix it with lemon zest, parmesan and oil in a bowl.

Heat the oven to 425°F

Remove fish from milk, letting excess drip off. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper, top up with pistachio mixture to form a thick coating on the halibut.

Bake the fillets until the topping is crisp and browned and the fish is cooked through, 10 to 12 min., depending on thickness. Serve immediately.

Serve with roasted potatoes and a spicy sour cream sauce. 

Spinach Pie Quesadilla

Spinach Pie Quesadilla

I stumbled over Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine’s recipe for spinach pie quesadillas. I had to try them, becauce they sounded like spanakopita minus the crispy filo pastry. And I love spanakopita, this crispy salty creamy greek spinach pie snack.

I'll think the filling will work great in a pita bread, frying it the same way. Served with a salad It would work great as dinner or lunch. And if you slice it in wedges you could use it as a appetizer.

makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ½ small onion, finely diced
• a small bunch scallion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¼ tsp salt
• freshly ground pepper
• pinch of thyme
• pinch of oregano
• pinch of cayenne
• 1 bag (170 g) fresh spinach
• 2 whole wheat tortilla, 8-inch in diameter
• 2 large egg 
• 2 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt
• 4 tablespoon crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

In a small nonstick pan, heat the oil. Add the onion and scallions and cook until soft, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, salt, pepper, and the spices.

Add the spinach a handful at a time and cook until wilted a bit before adding more. When all the spinach is wilted, pour the mixture into a bowl to cool a bit. When cooled, drain the mixture.

In another bowl whisk together the egg white, yogurt, and half the feta. Mix in the cooled spinach.

Clean the pan and brush with a splash olive oil.

Over low heat put the tortilla in the pan. Warm the tortilla on one side and turn it, before sprinkling the rest of the feta over the one side of the tortilla and get it to soften slightly. Turn the heat to medium and pour the egg-spinach mixture over the same half of the tortilla, fold the other half over and cook on one side until the egg begins to firm up about 3-4 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side for 2-3 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve immediately.