Smoked cod with light Romesco sauce

I'm back. A few months ago I got a job and after so long without working, having all the time in the world, I found it a bit difficult to make time to publish and even to read other blogs! I hope to be back on track soon.

Last week I spent a few days back at home in Catalonia and now I have tonnes of inspiration and encouragement from family and friends to post again.

This recipe is a version of romesco, with the ingredients I can find in Edinburgh, but made the Catalan way. Romesco has its origin in Tarragona and is a sauce made with almonds and/or hazelnuts, roasted and raw garlic and nyora peppers. Then, each region has its own version. I couldn't find nyora so I used a roasted red bell pepper.

Ingredients:

300 g smoked cod
1 roasted red bell pepper
1 whole roasted garlic
1 roasted tomato
3 raw garlic cloves
50 g toasted almonds
1/2 tbs smoked paprika
4 medium potatoes
4 roasted leeks
Olive oil
Salt
Water

Blend the garlic, pepper, tomato, almonds, paprika and a splash of water into a grainy paste.

In a heavy bottom pan, cook this paste with a good glug of olive oil for a few minutes.

In the meantime peel the potatoes and split them with the knife. Add them to the pan stirring and making sure all the potatoes are well coated with the sauce. Cover with water and let it simmer until the potatoes are tender.

Add the cod pieces and let it cook for 7 minutes.

Serve with the roasted leeks. They are indispensable!

Salmon with pomegranate molasses glaze

Pomegranate molasses is a thick, sour fruit syrup, which is used widely in Middle Eastern cookery particularly in Lebanese and Iranian food, where it's added to dishes to add depth of flavour or as a dressing.

 I'd been looking for pomegranate molasses for ages, but I couldn't find it, then the other day I came across with this post on my reader list.

A-ha! A homemade pomegranate molasses recipe! Really easy to make, just get yourself some good 100% pomegranate juice, sugar and lemon juice and the best part is that it keeps in the fridge for up to 6 months.

This is my first recipe with the molasses. A speedy, healthy, delicious, glazed salmon.

Pomegranate molasses

1 litre of 100% pomegranate juice
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup sugar

Place all the ingredients in a sauce pot (large surface area speeds up the reduction) and simmer at a  gentle boil.  It took me 1 hour before it was reduced down to 1 1/2 to 1 cup or thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, but it will depend on the size of your pot.  It should be a syrup consistency.  Remember when it cools it will become thicker. 


Glazed salmon

2 salmon fillets,
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice (from 1/2 a large lemon)
Salt & pepper

Put all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix them together.

Brush the marinade onto the fillet slices and marinate for 10-15 minutes.

Bake in a pre heated oven at 200°C for 5 minutes.  Then turn the grill on and increase the temperature to 250°C and cook for another 5 minutes.

I served with some peas and roasted cauliflower.

Enjoy!

Kedgeree

And here we have another recipe I fell for when I arrived here. Actually what it made me fall in love was the smoked haddock.

In Catalunya we don't use to smoke fish a lot, of course you can find smoked salmon in the grocery shops, but haddock... I don't even know how to translate it in Catalan. What we've got is salted cod and you know what? I think it might work! So if anybody there is brave enough to try, please let me know how it has turned out.

It is believed that the dish was brought to the United Kingdom by returning British colonials who had enjoyed it in India and introduced it to the UK as a Breakfast dish in Victorian times, part of the then fashionable Anglo-Indian cuisine.

As you can imagine that's too fishy/spicy for my taste as breakfast, but I love it for supper! There are a lot of variations, but here you have the one I made earlier this evening.

Ingredients (adapted from The Good Cook:

• 40g butter
• 2 tsp garam masala 
• 250g basmati rice
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 lemon, zest only
• 2 mild green chillies, seeded, chopped
• 1 small piece fresh root ginger, finely grated
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 375ml chicken stock
• 400g un-dyed smoked haddock 
• 2 free-range eggs, hard-boiled, peeled, grated
• 2 spring onion sliced
  
  
  
  
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C
     
  2. Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based lidded casserole. Add the garam masala and allow to sizzle gently for a moment. Tip in the rice and stir around until the grains are well coated with this spicy butter.
     
  3. Add the bay leaf, lemon zest, green chilli, ginger and a touch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour over the stock, bring up to a simmer, then lay the fish on top, gently submerging it under the surface. Put on the lid and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
     
  4. Remove from the oven, then leave to stand for 5-7 minutes without removing the lid; this is important - it allows the rice to finish cooking.
     
  5. Take off the lid, remove the skin from the fish and immediately add the chopped egg and onions using two forks, gently mix the rice, while also breaking the fish into flakes and mixing everything else in as you go. Remove the bay leaf and cover with a tea towel, clamp on the lid, and leave for a further five minutes to remove any excess steam. Mix again lightly.
     
  6. Serve and squeeze over a little lemon juice.