Cheats Salmon Tikka

I love all Indian cooking and sometimes it’s nice to mix it up a little as salmon wouldn’t usually be used for a tikka curry but for a quick dinner option this is fab and doesn’t have a huge long list of ingredients.

Serve with rice and dhal, on top of a crunchy salad or I sometimes make this for nibbles and just pop a little salmon onto baby cos lettuce leaves which works beautifully too

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

150g Greek yogurt

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 teaspoons garam masala

3 teaspoons paprika powder

1/2-1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder

8 teaspoons chickpea flour

juice of 1 lime

salt and pepper

600g skinless salmon fillets, around six small fillets

Method

Combine the yogurt, garlic, garam masala, paprika, chilli powder, chickpea flour, lime juice, salt and pepper in a zip lock bag and mix well.

Add the salmon, gently squish it around to make sure that it is all covered in  marinade and then pop back in the fridge for at least one hour.

Preheat the oven or BBQ to 200 degrees Centigrade.

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment if using the oven.

Place the salmon onto the baking tray, spreading it out so the fillets aren’t touching and then top with the remaining marinade and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Fresh Ceviche

I absolutely love ceviche, amazingly fresh with flavours that blend so well, I don’t think that there is a better way to serve the freshest of fish.

The lime juice works to “cook” the fish so I like to eat it within 15mins of adding the juice because I slice the fish thinly, if you have thicker slices or even diced or cubed, you can leave it a little longer.

I have used a red snapper for this, it works well with any light white fish, salmon and tuna. the fish has to be as fresh as possible, this is the same idea as sashimi so quality is key.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

800g fish fillets

3 limes

few coriander leaves

salt and pepper

Method

Take a fish fillet and with a very sharp knife, slice finely down towards the tail end, as if you were slicing smoked salmon.

Lay carefully on your serving plate and repeat, working up the fillet.

Continue with each fillet.

Squeeze the limes over the fish, sprinkle with coriander leaves and season.

Serve within 15mins of the juice being added.

Sushi Rolls

When life is getting too busy with lots of comings and goings I rely on sushi to feed the boys.  Given the choice this is one of their favourite meals, they can nearly eat their body weight in it!

When it comes to fillings I love using raw fish, mostly salmon and tuna, however, for school lunches raw fish is not an option, so I use smoked salmon and tinned tuna instead.

For the vegetarian options I have one boy who likes cucumber only and another who likes Asian omelette, cucumber and carrot. The fillings are only limited by your imagination, teriyaki chicken, prawns and tofu, just make sure your filling is one that’s easy to slice for serving.

This recipe makes 10 rolls of sushi.

Ingredients

3 cups sushi rice

125mls rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons caster sugar

3 tablespoons mirin

10 sheets of nori/ seaweed

Method

Place the sushi rice and four and a half cups of water in a pan with a well fitting lid.

Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat to low, allow to cook for 15 mins, do not remove the lid.

After 15mins, turn the heat off but leave the lid on.

Combine the rice vinegar, salt, sugar and mirin in a jug.

After 5mins standing tip the rice into a large bowl.

Pour the rice vinegar solution over and give it a gentle stir to combine.

Allow to cool.

Now prepare to make the sushi, you will need a bamboo roller and a bowl of warm water.

Place the roller in front of you, so you can roll away from your body.

Take a sheet of nori and place, shiny side down on the roller.

Wet your hand in the water and take a handful of rice and gently spread it onto the bottom half of the nori, you may need another handful of rice to reach the edges.

Press the rice gently down and use the side of your hand to make an indentation the length of the sheet. This is where your filling goes.

Once filled, take a little water and spread it on the far side of the nori, furthest from your body.

Gently roll the sushi away from you, towards the wet area, using the roller, keep a little pressure on the roller until you have rolled all of the nori.

Set aside and repeat.

Cut the prepared sushi into 8 pieces.

Serve with gluten free soy sauce ( Tamari ), pickled ginger and wasabi.