Confit Salmon - Sous Vide

Had confit salmon in a fancy restaurant and fancy having a go yourself?

Well, it's disgracefully easy, so get on in there and have a go! The usual disclaimers apply as do for consuming raw salmon (fresh, sush-grade fish etc.) if you want to make this at home.

I'd recommend that this is most appropriate served as a starter rather than a main - it's rather rich! Also because in this case, the confit method and temperature doesn't actually 'cook' the salmon, but more 'changes its texture' slightly; it is quite a soft consistency, so you will want contrasting textures with it (i.e. vegetables with a bit of a crunch, whether fresh, or cooked until crisp), and because of its richness, maybe something with a bit of acidity, i.e. lemon juice, or fresh, lightly 'pickled' vegetables to counteract this. For the record, we had it with Anya potatoes, and a mixture of sliced baby courgettes, petit pois and a little samphire tossed in a pan with some butter and a squeeze of lemon juice... it was a nice combination, but as I said, best in starter portions!

Feel free to throw in your own fresh herbs and spices with the dry brine, I'll be interested to hear whether you think you can taste them after cooking!

Serves four as a starter (or two as a main, if you think you can take it on!).

Hummus - with Tips for Perfectionists

Well, I wouldn't dare to claim to have perfected hummus itself - that's far too subjective!

However, everyone's taste is different and I hope that here many people will find either a great recipe for fantastic-tasting hummus (100% of home tasters preferred it to Sainsbury's organic hummus in a blind test!), or you will find some tips to improve your own home-made hummus to something approaching perfection, as I did, when researching it. Certainly, having the olive oil drizzled over the top, rather than an ingredient of the hummus was a real eye-opener!

I think one of the best tips (when making your own hummus) as far as flavour is concerned, is to cook your own chickpeas, rather than using tinned. If that really is too much trouble, then search out chickpeas in jars rather than tins, and ones which don't contain any chemicals, for a better flavour (I find tinned chick peas deeply unpleasant in flavour, tinny and slightly fishy, and I've only ever tried making hummus with them the once! However that's my taste, and not everyone else's, so I've scaled my recipe to a quantity which will be compatible with one tin of drained chickpeas).

This recipe makes a quantity of 410 grams (400 by the time you've had a few tastes to get the seasoning right!), which gives you eight 50g servings of 86 calories each (78 calories if you don't add sesame or extra virgin olive oil to the hummus; then add an extra 41 calories for each 5ml teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil you drizzle on top of your serving), perfect to serve as a dip with crudites (raw vegetable sticks) and pitta bread oven-baked sticks / crisps etc.- see here for my spiced Pitta Crisps recipe, and maybe treat yourself and have some Tzatziki / Cacik to dip into as well...

Let's be realistic though - who's going to stop at 50g! [Calories in square brackets]

If you fancy putting together a nice Turkish feast, with a shopping list and preparation plan, then have a look here!

Easy Thai Pork in Chilli Sauce (Nam Prik Ong)

Another one to use up that red curry paste (that you might have made or bought by now!)

Well, I can't have people making up a job lot of curry paste, and running out of ideas of things to do with it! (There's a Thai Green Bean and Bork dish to come too, and some Thai fish / crab cakes as well, just in case my Thai Red Duck Curry and Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce and Cucumber Salad haven't convinced you to have a go at my recipe for Thai Red Curry Paste...)

This is a dish from Northern Thailand, often sold on the street with deep-fried pork rind – can be eaten as a ‘dip’ with raw vegetables (baby gem lettuce leaves and chicory leaves are good to serve it in/on – would look nice in a small bowl on a large plate surrounded by individual leaves etc. for people to help themselves to), Thai crispy rice cakes, or sticky rice – you could even serve it with (zero or glass/rice) noodles mixed in to make a main meal, or on top of steamed Jasmine or cauliflower rice, for a low carb, light meal.

To make eating it easier, and just a little less messy, you could serve up the pork in a separate bowl, and put your chosen toppings already in the lettuce cups! You could substitute minced chicken or turkey if preferred, but pork is traditional.

The Thai Pork in Chilli Sauce is to the bottom right of the photo, the top left is my Chinese Lettuce Wrapped Chicken (or Pork) – San Choy Bau.

This will serve up to four as a main (257 calories per portion) or up to eight as part of a sharing platter or starter at 129 calories each.

Spicy Mirliton and Shrimp Soup

So, I bought these 'chayotes' a week ago, and had never cooked or eaten one before...

Turns out I've been missing out! They're very versatile, and can be eaten raw (they have a taste a little like a combination of raw courgette and melon, and a crisp texture a bit like an asian pear - more here in my blog about chayotes) or cooked, and they're low in calories too (only 19 calories per 100g).

So anyway, moving on from the ingredients, to the soup - this is a delicious, spicy Louisiana soup which tastes far more indulgent than it really is - blending half of the chayotes after cooking (but before adding the shrimp/prawns) gives it a nice rich thickness, a bit like when you blend potato into a soup. This gives you a nice hearty portion too, which is delicious on its own!

Serves two, 134 calories per serving (including maximum amounts of all ingredients).

Octopus, Chorizo and Red Peppers, with Cauliflower Two Ways

Also delightful with scallops, or fresh squid rings...

Finally, I've pulled together the blog for this relatively simple to make, but delicious dish, after three other blogs which were necessary for the components (honest, it is simple and quick once you've cooked the octopus)!

Slow-braised octopus is tossed in a pan with crispy chorizo and red peppers, and served with a silky-smooth, garlicky cauliflower puree, which contrasts with a scattering of sautéed mini-cauliflower florets, cumin and almond crunch.

Serves two as a light lunch, or generous starter, easily doubled.  351 calories per serving.

Octopus - preparation and slow-cooking for use in salads, sautées, on the barbecue and other dishes

Some tips on preparing and cooking octopus:

Firstly, you can use the old fashioned / traditional method of flinging it against a rock to tenderise it, or beating it lightly with a meat mallet (remove insides first!), or (if you've bought it fresh, rather than pre-frozen) you can just clean it up, preferably remove the insides first, then freeze for at least 48 hours up to a week (obviously it will keep in the freezer for much longer than this, until you wish to use it) to tenderise it.

Silky-Smooth Cauliflower Purée

Thought purées were for babies?

Then this could change your mind. It's silky smooth texture has a very pleasant mouth-feel, and the flavour is delicate and creamy. You could get all 'chef-y' and put a generous swirl, or a swoosh of cauliflower purée across a plate (maybe even with a scattering of my crunchy Sauteed Cauliflower with Cumin and Almonds for a contrast of textures).

This is delicious with the above (Octopus with Peppers and Chorizo) with added garlic, and also makes a delicious change in a little curved deep swipe on the side of your sunday lunch, with a little of the gravy/jus creeping into the groove and a few peas scattered over it, or with a starter of plump, juicy scallops as a base for each scallop, with either some crisp pancetta, or diced crispy chorizo, or even a few small slices of pan-fried black pudding and some curling tendrils of pea shoots scattered around. It freezes exceptionally well, and is easy to re-heat and serve - tastes just like the day it was made!

This quantity will make more than enough for eight portions (56 calories each) to serve with a starter, or a garnish / side to a main meal (I don't think you'd want too much of it by itself, however delicious it is) with other vegetables, and you can put any you don't use into the freezer for the next time (a re-sealable sandwich bag is great for this, squeeze out the air and it will keep for months, and you can just break off what you want).

Sautéed Cauliflower, Cumin and Almond Crunch

Sometimes, it's the littlest things...

This was a little whim of mine, when cooking some seafood (octopus). I say whim, but I spent nigh on a week trying to think of flavours which would go with it! I still hadn't quite decided what to do with it on the day of cooking, so I looked in the fridge and I thought the cauliflower flavour would really complement it (because it works so well with scallops, which have a sweet, delicate flavour), along with having the delicious savoury maillard edge from caramelising the florets in a pan, together with extra crunch and nuttiness from the flaked almonds and coconut oil and some heady, earthy flavours from the cumin seeds, with a final sprinkling of sea salt.


 

That is almost directly how my thought process works, in written form! Thinking about which flavours go well together, then how I can get contrasting textures, and then add different dimensions on top of that. My mouth is just watering thinking about it!!!

It's very simple to make, and only 142 calories per portion as a side. And, it's really, seriously tasty and delicious!

Octopus (or Squid) Sautéed with Garlic, Lemon, Capers and Parsley

A quick and tasty way to cook and serve your favourite cephalopod (or maybe some scallops!)...

...either fresh (raw) squid, or octopus which you've gently braised the night before, or during the day (this takes 1 to 2 hours to simmer, see my method on preparing octopus). This is also extremely good with pan-seared scallops if you're not a fan of octopus or squid (optional garlic and capers with the scallops!).

So, you've cooked your octopus (or have your squid prepared and ready to go), now what?

This serves two people as a starter, 185 calories per portion (see serving suggestions for making this more of a meal) and used half of an octopus (400-500g, weight after preparation).

Century Egg with Spicy Green Peppers - aka The 'Thousand Year Old Egg' Blog (with first tasting Video and serving suggestion!)

Ever heard of these, also known as 'Century Eggs'?

You might have done. You might not. It's probable that if you're a 'Westerner' you haven't tried them, unless you're in a very small minority. They are also known as 'Pei Dan', should you happen to be in oriental lands afar and wish to request one. Basically it's a duck (or chicken or quail) egg, preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, and quicklime for a matter of weeks or months, until it looks a bit like this!

If you're curious, I can promise you that this is actually a very nice way to try them, with some delicious flavours and textures. Especially if you've never tried them before and are a little nervous! And if you don't like the egg you can always stir this tasty pepper accompaniment into some rice, perhaps with a little stir fried  chicken and vegetables and have a tasty meal! But you might just surprise yourself...

Serves two to four as an appetiser or snack, 83 to 166 calories per serving (depending on whether between four or two).

Speedy Spiced Sweet Potato and Tomato Soup

Here is a working example of that saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention"...

You know, when you get in, everyone's hungry, you haven't got much time and you throw together the nearest things with a vague idea of what it's going to taste like at the end?

And then it turns out... DELICIOUS, so you have to quickly jot it down so you can make it again?

Well, this comes from one of those times - and you can make it one of two ways - by blitzing the veg in your food processor, cooking in a pan, then blending with a stick blender, or in a food blender (you can even chop by hand, if you have more time), or if you're lucky enough to own a wonderful gadget which will do all three for you (yes, I'm talking Thermomix! Or I'm guessing one of those new-fangled soup-maker machines will do the same job, but I can't really comment on those), then you can do it that way, with less pots. Happy times!

When I posted it in a popular recipe group I run, I was delighted with the response to it so that's why I've chosen to share it here - it's also the first recipe where I've specifically written up instructions to make in a Thermomix, as although I'm always using mine, the majority of people in my group don't own one (they haven't caught on in the UK as much as in some other countries yet). 

Serves four, 141 calories per person – a deliciously warming spicy soup ideal for colder weather!
Ready in under 20 minutes [Calories in square brackets].

Seared, Marinated Tuna with Daikon Dressing and Mizuna

Although the title sounds a bit fancy...

This is actually a really easy dish to make. What's a daikon? It's just a big ole' white radish that looks like an overgrown fat carrot. Also known as a mooli. If you cant get hold of one you could actually just use your favourite radishes instead, because the flavours are quite similar.

Mizuna? You can just use your favourite salad leaves - watercress, wild rocket, whatever you fancy.

And the best thing is, you're just literally searing the outside of the tuna, so as long as you get the pan nice and hot, and don't mess about with the tuna, you really can't go wrong with cooking it.

See, it's deceptively simple!

And extremely tasty, too! And if you're entertaining you can make it look all fancy by serving with rice put in a little oiled mould with a strip of Nori (seaweed) in it, to go around the rice and give you some contrast (I served it with sushi rice, I'll be posting up my sushi guide which contains my recipe for sushi rice dressing, which I'll link here). And that's some 'Sunomono' you can see up top, which is basically just a really simple Japanese cucumber and wakame seaweed salad. You could even just serve it on it's own in half-portions, or with a tiny little sushi rice package as a sophisticated starter.

Right, what are you waiting for...

Tea-infused Wok-smoked Chicken Breasts

Smoking in a wok (or large pan) is surprisingly easy!

Inspired by the Sichuan method of smoking duck, and having used the tea/sugar/raw rice method of smoking with delicious results with my Tea-smoked Teriyaki Trout in an outdoor, lidded barbeque, I thought I'd have a go indoors, with poultry. Except...

I thought I'd have a go at infusing the tea into the chicken using brine first, to give it extra flavour and moistness and add a different kind of 'tea' dimension. As Earl Grey is one of my favourite teas, I used this and added some fresh orange and zest to the brine, to accentuate the bergamot flavour.

Which was good - really good! If you've never had a go at smoking your own food before, and don't want to invest in additional equipment of any kind, I'd highly recommend giving this a go (just remember to have your extractor fan on, and maybe open a window or two if your fan isn't that strong!). You don't have to brine the meat first, you can just smoke it plain if you'd prefer.

Hokkaido Salmon Hotpot (Ishikari Nabe)

If you're wary of trying Japanese food, this could be for you. A really homely, comforting hotpot, with mild and delicate flavours, from the island of Hokkaido. Feel free to substitute other vegetables in it, or add tofu for extra protein.

And if you cook this and like it, you'll have the miso paste, you'll have the dashi stock (or you can make my simple dashi stock substitute)... so there's no reason not to have a go at the other Japanese soups below - trust me, if you like this, you'll love them too!

Hokkaido Salmon Hotpot (Ishikari Nabe)

This is a lovely, hearty, comforting soup/hotpot originating from the island of Hokkaido. It has a mild and delicate flavour, so if you’re unaccustomed to Japanese food, it’s a great place to start. Feel free to substitute vegetables, or add extra vegetables (such as mushrooms, squash, broccoli etc.) and if you want to up the protein content, you could also add 150g cubed tofu  (add 57 calories per serving).

If you want to make it into a meal, add 2 servings of shirataki (magic/zero) noodles – rinsed, snipped up and added to the soup for 2 minutes (an extra 4 calories each), or on a non-fasting day serve with a bowl of rice or add cubed potatoes to the soup, or ladle over a bowl with your favourite cooked noodles in it.

Serves two (easily doubled), 241 calories per serving

Shiitake Mushroom and Egg Soup

Another delicious soup using dashi stock (or dashi stock substitute!). A nice hit of protein from the egg, and the lovely hit of umami from the shiitake and dashi, this is a fantastic low calorie soup, quick to make, and also a nice starter or side dish for a Japanese meal or sushi.

Shiitake Mushroom and Egg Soup

Serves two, 93 calories per serving.

A great fast day soup, which also goes well with sushi, and simple dishes due to its delicate flavour. If you wanted to bulk it out, you could add extra sliced mushrooms, for 16 calories per 100g

Aubergine, Pork and Ginger Miso Soup

Another light soup. If you like miso soup, then here's a tasty variation. It doesn't require much introduction, as there's not much too it - it's just a light variant on miso soup.

                      Aubergine, Pork and Ginger Miso Soup

Serves 4, easily halved. 72 calories per serving. A tasty, light broth ideal for fast days, as a light starter, or an accompaniment to simple Japanese dishes or sushi. If you fancy a bit of a kick, just give it a shake of Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese 7 pepper spice mix) after you’ve served it, and if you want to bulk it out, add some rinsed, snipped up Shirataki (Zero/Miracle) noodles for the last two minutes.

Miso Soup

There's no question about this. Miso soup was one of the discoveries of last year for us. Something so simple, and yet so pleasurable. And versatile too.

I'm not going to pretend that everyone will like miso soup, because if you're Western, these ingredients are going to be pretty alien to you! Dried, fermented smoked tuna, seaweed, fermented soy beans, and that 'tofu stuff'? What is that all about? OK, there's spring onion in there, you'll know that one, but the rest... well, keep an open mind, because you might just decide it's rather delicious. So don't let that put you off! (And you can always make my dashi stock substitute as a base, which doesn't contain fermented tuna or seaweed - and the vegetarian version of dashi stock has dried shiitake mushrooms in it).

It's also incredibly healthy. Miso (paste) is a bit like the mythical 'apple a day'. It's very good for you. And very tasty too - if I say it's a bit like marmite, it's not because you'll necessarily love it or hate it, but it's full on umami flavour which gives a real depth to dishes. There are various different coloured miso pastes - the lighter, the milder and sweeter; the darker the more savoury and stronger. With miso soup, it's somewhat down to personal taste. I'd recommend a medium/red miso paste. Something between the colour of a cheap milk chocolate, and David Dickinson's mahogany tan (red miso). If you're trying to avoid gluten or soy, there's a little information here which might help you in what you select to cook with, and/or Clearspring make organic (white) miso which is gluten free - see here.

So here's my basic miso soup recipe (with tofu and wakame in it). I also like to add mushrooms to this, in fact, you can add in any vegetables. If you don't fancy wakame (give it a go first, it's amazing stuff! Plus it's amazing in this Wakame and Shaved Vegetable Salad in a Soy-Ginger Dressing with Toasted Seeds, too!) then wilt some spinach into it, instead. Oh, and if you like your spice, shake some 'Shichimi Togarashi' over the top, a Japanese spicy seasoning containing chilli and sesame seeds amongst other things. But beware, it likes to lurk at the bottom of your soup, waiting to burn your throat on the last mouthful!

                                              Miso Soup

Serves two, 79 calories per portion (with home made dashi stock)