This post was supposed to be my entry into the PaperChef Challenge #53, but due to workload & lack of time it didn't get written up in time :(
The ingredient were selected by Cathy from ShowFood Chef
They were:
Dried Mushrooms
Thyme
Vodka
& her selection of Salmon.
As soon as I read that I knew what I wanted to do: Vodka cured Salmon, thyme potato pikelets & a mushroom paste.
The vokda cure is very simple & easy, but needs at least 24hrs curing time.
Simply mix 2tbls sugar, 2tbls sea salt, 2tbls (unflavoured) vodka, 1 tsp English mustard, 1 tbls fresh black peppercorns crushed (they were in season so why not). This amount of cure covers a 500g piece of salmon. rub the paste into the salmon & then place the fish skin side up on a bed of dill. Pour all the remaining paste over the fish & cover it with cling film, place a weight on the fish & leave it in the fridge to cure.
Paul created a mushroom "caviar" using the dried truffles that have been hiding in the back of the cupboard. The potato & thyme pikelets were a quick & simple recipe on which to serve these little canopes.
How time flies..
Its that time of month where my creative idea's start running wild & my part just starts running, scared, away from what ever concoction I dream up. Ah yes, the joys of The Paper Chef.
This month's ingredients were selected by Adrienne from Hungry Bruno. Adrienne's friends randomly selected three ingredients: Blackberries, Artichokes, Bulgar. The fourth ingredient was her own selection: Salmon. This was going to be fun!
First up, its the wrong season for artichokes & blackberries have just finished. So I had to rely on tinned artichokes & frozen blackberries. Now, what to create :)
I was toying with the idea of a bulgar salad with the artichoke petals, flaked salmon & blackberries, but was worried that the blackberries would turn it into a black mess... So I tossed around a few different ideas & did a bit of googling and decided on pan fried salmon with a blackberry sauce. I was tempted to use the bulgar as a coating on the salmon before frying, but decided against it, maybe next time. The bulgar you can treat like Couscous and is one of the main ingredients in Tabbouleh. My partner Paul decided to pilfer some of the bulgar & artichokes and make a salad (in case my concoction was inedible?). I decided to use the bulgar to coat the artichokes & roast them. Did it work?
Sort of...
The salmon is very hard to get wrong, the blackberry sauce was a complete success & I'll be making it again (Paul says it will be perfect to accompany pork), the texture of the cooked & roasted bulgar was good, but even after repeated rinsing the tinned artichokes tasted of vinegar. So while the ingredients may not have all been in the one dish, they did all work well together.
Ingredients:
for the blackberry sauce:
1 cup blackberries
1/2 cup red wine (I used Shiraz Cabernet)
1/2 tbls finely chopped fresh ginger
5-10cm stalk of bruised lemongrass
2 tbls vincotto
2-3 tbls sugar
Pinch salt
pinch ground black pepper
Salmon fillets
seasoned flour
400g tin artichokes, thoroughly rinsed
1 cup prepared bulgar
20g butter
Olive oil
1 clove finely chopped garlic
1/2 finely chopped onion
salt
pepper
Method:
For the blackberry sauce:
Place the blackberries, wine, ginger, lemongrass & 1 tbls of the sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat & simmer until its reduced by about half
Remove the lemongrass stalk and pass the remaining contents through a mouli or fine sieve to remove the blackberry seeds.
return to the heat & balance the sourness of the wine with some sugar
Season to taste.
Halve the tinned artichokes & rinse thoroughly.
in a saucepan, melt the butter and a dash of olive oil. and soften the onion & garlic.
When softened add the bulgar and season to taste.
Add the artichokes and toss to thoroughly coat the artichokes.
Place the artichokes into a greased oven proof dish & spoon the blugar mixture over them
Place into a pre-heated oven (200c) & cook until the bulgar starts browning & crisping up.
Rinse & pat dry the Salmon fillets
Coat in the seasoned flour
Quickly shallow fry on both sides
remove & drain on paper towel.
Serve immediately with the blackberry sauce.
