Showing posts with label salmon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salmon. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Recipe of the Day: Perfectly Roasted Salmon Steaks

We all love Salmon. That’s that. If any of you comment saying that you don’t, you can just go right ahead and kill yourself, because you’re a waste of oxygen and resources.

As I’ve come to learn in recent months, perfecting any recipe - and ensuring it stays that way every time - is all about timing. Once you nail down the timing, you will never botch your soft boiled eggs, your pasta will never overcook, your rice won’t come out half-cooked, and more importantly, your salmon will come out tasting like chocolate sauce covered boobs (In this context, this is a great metaphor, just go with it)

So what’s the trick? Let’s get to it!

Goes without saying, you need to buy a legit salmon steak - Gourmet in Cairo actually sells 150-gram chunks in packs of two’s which go for under 85 EGP which is quite cheap if you consider the alternative in fish sections in Alfa or Metro for instance. Gourmet also sells a large salmon steak which weighs anywhere between 1.2 and 1.4 kgs for a price ranging between 270 and 310 EGP depending on the weight so you can buy that, chop it up into blocks in your size of preference and chuck in the freezer.

First of you need to make sure your salmon’s been taken out of the freezer and that it’s thawed out and currently sits at room temperature - albeit a tad cold in the center. At this point when your salmon is thawed out - and it should have been taken out early in the morning if you’re planning on having it for lunch - you should pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Second, you need to lightly coat the pan or pyrex container you will use for baking the salmon steak with coconut or olive oil. Don’t go overboard, you just want to coat it enough where the salmon steak will rest to avoid it sticking to the pan. You should also lightly grease the salmon steak itself from all four sides. Lay it down in the pan, skin facing the pan.


I personally like to whip up a dash of mixed herbs to really bring out my salmon, your herbs of choice ought to be Basil, Parsley, Rosemary, Oregano and cruched Mint. Sprinkle a dash of each across the fleshy top. You can also grind some black pepper and throw in a dash of ginger powder to taste.

Now that you’ve got this bad boy spiced up and ready to rock and roll - and now that your oven’s been pre-heated - you can tuck it in for EXACTLY 12 minutes on the motherfucking clock. Do this, and you will be treated to the most exquisite slab of fish meat ever to end up on a plate. I guarantee it. Make sure you’ve set an alarm doing a 12-minute countdown and click “Start” the moment you shut the oven door. When that thing beeps, take it out and serve immediately. None of this “Let it rest shit”. This ain’t a steak you classless fucks.

I usually have my salmon steaks with a side of mixed roased vegetables but you can pretty much have it with anything else. It doesn’t matter, the salmon is the center piece of the action.

That’s it for today, short and sweet! Hopefully more coming soon!

Let me know how yours turns out!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Dala3 O'Clock: Grilled Salmon Salad For Pros

Is there anything better than grilled salmon? Don't answer that. It's a rhetorical question. To which there is an answer. And that answer is probably not.

It's easily one of the best foods in any fitness freak's arsenal for both workout recovery, muscle building, as well as adding a dose of healthy Omega-3 fats into your system. 100 grams of salmon can easily pack more than 20 grams of high quality grams of muscle-building protein and clocks under 200 calories for those 100 grams.

In Cairo, your best bet for "fresh" salmon is Gourmet who usually have nice chunky slices which come in a pack of two pieces running at around EGP 80 or you can opt for the big chunk running around the margin of EGP 240. (They deliver!) You can of course go to Metro or Alfa market's seafood sections but I can't promise that what you'll get is a fresh piece. Grilling can be done using an outdoor charcoal grill or an indoor electric grill (the charcoal one produces a more notable flavor but setup and post-cleanups are rarely worth the hassle unless you're throwing a BBQ)

Below is my personal grilled salmon salad (Most of the salad ingredients from Makar Farms - you can order to your doorstep by messaging their Facebook page!)

Ingredients:

  • Frisee lettuce
  • Lola Rosa lettuce
  • Red cabbage
  • Olive rocket arugula
  • Cucumbers
  • Tomatoes
  • Grilled colored bell peppers
  • Steamed Pak Choi
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Chives

Process:

  • Wash all vegetables thoroughly
  • Chop lettuce, Pak Choi, cabbage, arugula, tomatoes and cucumbers into small slices
  • Throw on the chives and brussels sprouts
  • Toss well
  • Add the grilled salmon (usually grilling unfrozen salmon between 6 - 8 minutes is more than enough depending on the thickness of the slice)
  • Time to spice it up!
Spicing:
  • Two tablespoons of Mustard (my favorite brand is Maille)
  • One tablespoon of Balsamic vinegar OR apple cider vinegar (Both from Wadi)
  • One tablespoon of Extra virgin olive oil (Wadi)
  • One teaspoon of Paprika powder
  • One teaspoon of Cumin powder
  • One teaspoon of Black pepper
  • One teaspoon of Ginger powder
  • One teaspoon of Black seeds
You can easily twist around your choice of vegetables (you can even add some roasted sweet potato, avocados, onions or anything else you fancy in that nice little combo)



Give it a try and let me know how it works out for you. It might be a bit on the spicy end but I love me some hot food.

Bonne appétit