We Love Cooking!:
salmon

Now earlier in the week I did come down a bit heavy on Sweden and their food culture, but I do have a big fondness for many parts of Swedish culture and cuisine. Whenever you talk to a Swede about the best time to visit Sweden, I could nearly almost guarantee they would say the summer. After a long cold winter the Swedes go all out for the summer with the highlight being the midsummer celebrations which take place on the 25th of June every year. With fields full of wild strawberries and crayfish pots heaving with luminous red critters, the Swedes certainly make the most of it. I have spent quite a lot of time in Sweden over the last few years and have got the opportunity to experience the country through all the different seasons, but despite the excitement of 5 feet of snow at Christmas, which let me add wears very thin when all you have on your cold Irish feet is a flimsy pair of Converse runners, the summer is always the season I look forward to the most.

I have a secret love affair with the fantastic warm lakes, complete with picture postcard jetties, the beautiful forests which are teaming with wild blueberries and big juicy yellow chanterelle mushrooms all ripe and ready for the picking. This week I was over to finish writing the recipes for my next book, and pick up a little Swedish food inspiration along the way. A few years ago I worked in a restaurant on an island just off Gothenberg and one of the things we regularly served up was big hearty slices of sweet and salty Gravadlax.

Swedish Gravadlax
Gravadlax is truly a thing of beauty, and although quite different in taste, is what I like to think of as Sweden‘s answer to our delicious smoked salmon! It sounds quite complicated but I’m here to tell you that isn’t the case and you can produce this seriously impressive dish with a minimal amount of hassle! The man I bought the fish from actually suggested using honey instead of sugar as he said it produces a slightly different taste, but it's up to you!

Serves about 12 portions
2 halves of salmon fillets
2 good handfuls of fresh dill, roughly chopped
6 tablespoons of sea salt
10 tablespoons of caster sugar
2 tablespoons of freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl combine the dill, sea salt, caster sugar and ground black pepper corns.
Roll out a large piece of cling film and sprinkle the base with 1/3 of the dill mixture.
Place one side of the salmon skin side down on the dill mixture and top half the remaining mixture.
Place the last fillet on top flesh side down and sprinkle with the remaining dill mixture.
Wrap the salmon tightly with the cling film and give it an extra layer if you need to.
Place the wrapped parcel in a high sided dish and weight it down with a plate and some full cans or whatever heavy item you have to hand.
Leave the salmon to cure in the fridge for up to 5 days turning half way through. The dish will fill with juices but don’t be too concerned about draining them until you are ready to serve.
When you are ready to serve, remove the package from the dishes and wipe clean of the juices.
Separate the sides and slice thinly with a large knife.
Serve with freshly boiled potatoes and a side salad.

Of all the dishes we prepared for Foodstock, I am pretty certain that the Irish Seafood Chowder was the biggest success. I am told that the French absolutely love their seafood which is probably why! The chowder we made had a great selection of fish, haddock, cod, smoked fish, and prawns which the amazing chefs at the Chalet meticulously prepared for us. I have to admit that cooking on such a large scale can be quite daunting in terms of producing a similar end product to that of a smaller quantity, but that said between the whole team we served up some damn tasty chowder!

For about an hour on the Wednesday night I did feel like I was in a soup kitchen and there was a high chance of some sort of repetitive strain injury after ladling the chowder 350 times! Luckily we had the lovely ladies from Bord Bia to help us out, one of whom was out on her first assignment with them, though I’m pretty sure she is well inducted after Foodstock.

Irish Seafood Chowder
This is the kind of soup that if you put a lot of love and time in you will get the best results. The key is to add the fish at the very end leaving just enough time to let them cook. Cook the fish pieces too long and you will be left with an Irish seafood mush rather than a chunky creamy chowder!

Serves 8 (Makes 3.15 litres)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions, finely chopped
100g salt pork diced (or pancetta/bacon bits)

2 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 kg of peeled and diced potatoes
1.125 litre of fish stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1.25kg of cod (or similar white fish)
750g of fresh salmon
500g of mussels
500g of smoked haddock
330ml of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley, chopped finely
100g of smoked salmon, cut into fine strips for garnish

In a large pot, heat the butter and sauté the onions for 3-4 minutes.
Add the salt pork and continue to fry until it colours.
Add in the fresh thyme, bay leaves and potatoes and cook gently for 2-3 minutes before adding the fish stock.
Season well with salt and pepper.
Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are tender yet firm. (Some of the potato will break down and help thicken the chowder).
Add the haddock, salmon, cod and mussels and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat and allow to sit before finally and gently stirring in the parsley and cream.
Serve with the strips of smoked salmon as a garnish on top.

This is a great recipe for entertaining with an Asian twist. You can make the noodles ahead of time and pop them in the fridge the night before, they should be just as tasty the next day.

Teriyaki Salmon with Noodles
Salmon is an extremely healthy ingredient to cook with. It's low in calories, has immune system boosting properties and contains omega-3 essential fatty acids which the body does not naturally produce. If you have any leftovers, this tasty sauce can also be used tossed through a crunchy asian salad.

Makes 2 portions.
2 salmon fillets skinned.
3 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce.
150g of egg noodles.
A small handful of sesame seeds.

1 red chilli deseeded and chopped finely.
3 cloves of garlic chopped finely.
5 tablespoons of soya sauce.
1 tablespoon of dark brown sugar.
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.
1 tablespoon of sesame oil.
The juice and zest of 1 lime.

Slice the salmon into bitesize chunks and place in a bowl with the teriyaki sauce. Cover and place in the fridge to marinate. While the salmon is marinating prepare the rest of the ingredients. Cook the noodles according to instructions on the packet, drain and toss with a little bit of sesame oil and sesame seeds. In a small sauce pan fry the chilli and garlic in the vegetable oil over a high heat for approximately 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar, soya sauce, lime juice, zest and sesame oil and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and allow the sauce to bubble away gently for about 6-8 minutes. While the sauce is cooking, in a large frying pan fry the salmon pieces in a little vegetable oil over a medium heat until browned on all sides. Serve the salmon pieces on top of the noodles and drizzle over the teriyaki sauce.

Unfortunately I have gotten into a seriously bad habit of taking photo's of the food I cook and then doing nothing with them for a week or two, which means I end up forgetting what I have actually done, very irritating indeed! The good news is I have managed to recover this recipe, from the deep dark depths of my memory bank, and have also made a pact with myself to finally start writing my recipe's down. We'll just have to wait and see how that works out.

I haven't been doing any serious cooking this week as I'm doing a 3 day course in Dublin city for Adobe After Effects. And being in town has meant making my ritual stops at Aya, Cafe Mao, and Wagamama, for lunch time- I'm so glad I don't work in town, because my bank balance would be zero!

Today is my last day in the big smoke, so I'll be soaking up all the culture I can before I head back to the sticks of Ashbourne, Co. Meath to earn my daily bread. Not that I'm complaining though, I once loved the hustle and bustle of the city, but nowadays, I seem to much prefer the calmer side of life. And anyway who really enjoys the scrum with the 5 million Spanish students on Grafton St.?

Personal soul searching aside it's time for a recipe, when I made this a few weeks ago I wasn't so sure that it was going to come out the way I wanted and had set myself up for disappointment as soon as the over door was closed. But I was pleasantly surprised with the results- the baking of the salmon with the mix creates a really interesting texture to the bite, but doesn't loose any of the peppery spice from the chopped garlic.

Baked Dill and Garlic Salmon

1. 2 large Organic Salmon Fillets.
2. A large handful of Dill.
3. A small handful of Basil
4. 2 Cloves of Garlic crushed.
5. 3 Tbsp of Olive Oil.
6. Sea Salt

Enjoy!