Easy Baked Haddock

Fish is something I learned to love. My Chinese mother only makes fish the Asian way; steamed with ginger and green onions. Although a classic recipe that I still like, I think trying out different fish recipes from the internet has helped me discover my love for cooked fish.

I went through this crazy salmon phase. It was the only fresh fish i'd buy since moving out. Sometimes i'd mistakenly take salmon trout, but that was it. I started looking at easy fish recipes to make during weekdays and found a baked haddock recipe. It required very little ingredients and it was quick to have on the table. My store didn't have fresh haddock, so I had to subtitute with the frozen kind.

3/4 cup of milk

2tsp salt

3/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp dried thyme

4 haddock fillets

1/4 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 500F.
2. In a small bowl, combine milk and salt. In a seperate bowl, mix breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and thyme. Dip haddock in the milk and then press into crumbs to coat. Place haddock in a glass baking dish, and drizzle with melted butter.
3. Bake on top rack for about 15min, or until it flakes with a fork.

This was a good fish recipe. I love everything in the recipe. The buttery taste and the parm cheese...I'd make this again. Online reviews complained about the soggy bottoms and some suggested putting the fish on wire rack. I decided against it because I wanted the fish to absorb the sauce. It gives the fish more flavor. The bottom was a tad soggy, but the top was perfectly crispy.

Japanese Style Simmered Mackerel

My first attempt at making mackerel didn't turn out the way I thought it would. I had made Mackerel with Sweet Soy a few months ago and it ended up being way too salty. So i continued to look in the recipe book and found a Japanese style simmered fish recipe. So I decided to try it.

6 medium-small mackerel fillets

2 Tbsp oil

1 Tbsp minced garlic

5 slices fresh ginger

2 Tbs mirin (sweet cooking wine) or 1 Tbsp honey thinned with water

1/4 tsp cayenne

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup water

1. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to the skillet, when hot, add garlic. Stir once or twice and add fillets. Raise the heat to high and sear about a minute each side.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Turn the fish once or twice in the liquid, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook until done, about 6 minutes.
3. Serve on white rice and drizzle remaining sauce on top.

This turned out really well. Much better than the sweet soy sauce from the other mackerel dish I made. The sauce in this one is sweet and savory. I drizzled some of the sauce on my rice as well. It was delicious. My only complaint for this is that I didn't make enough. Kevin liked this a lot and has requested I make it again. :) I added a some chopped green onions to the sauce and a sprinkle of sesame seeds to garnish.

Thai Green Curry Salmon

Salmon is possibly my favorite fish to eat...with Mackerel a close second. I used to only like eating salmon raw; sashimi. I usually don't like cooked salmon because I don't like the texture...I know...usually people don't like the texture of raw fish. lol Cooked salmon is often overcooked in restaurants and I hate that, especially when it's grilled.

New Years Eve 2007, Kev and I were invited to a dinner/ count down party at a friend's place. They served salmon and it was delicious!!! I couldn't believe it. The salmon was baked in this mavrelous Thai green curry sauce. It was a bit spicy. We emailed our hosts the nest day and also to ask for the recipe. I'm always looking for shortcuts and we found canned Thai green curry, instead of buying everything seperately. This also ended up being cheaper. I will also post my shortcut version of the recipe.

1 Salmon, filletted
3 Cans coconut milk
1 Tin green thai curry paste
1/4 cup clear maple syrup
pinch salt

1. Heat coconut milk, fold in green paste, maple syrup and salt. Cool sauce in fridge for 30 minutes or until cold.
2. Cut fillets into person-sized pieces and marinate in sauce for 9 hrs in fridge or 3 on table.
3. Preheat oven to 450 F.
4. When ready to cook, drain off sauce into saucepan, bring to a boil and reduce for 30 minutes on medium heat.
5. Place filet strips on cookie sheets, sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 minutes approx. Serve with sauce on the side.

Shortcut Version

1 can of Thai green curry (make sure it is green curry and contains coconut milk/cream in it)

Salmon filets

1. Cut Salmon into individual portions. Rinse with cold water and pat dry with a napkin.
2. Preheat oven to 450F. Place fish in a baking dish. Open the can of green curry and pour on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until done.

The canned green curry we buy had bamboo pieces and basil leaf in it. We used to buy another brand that did not have bamboo pieces and basil, it was good, but I think the extra stuff is better. You can always buy your own and add it if you want. I usually serve this with boiled vegetables and white rice to soak up the sauce.

Potato, Spinach, and Salmon Patties with Garlic Dill Cream

I can't remember who sent me the recipe for this, but it was a recipe in the NY Times. I've never made any type of patties before, but the potato, salmon, and spinach mixture sounded great and the sauce sounded even better. I love dill! So when Rachelle came over to our place for dinner, I decided to try it. The last couple of times she came over I made salmon fillets, since she doesn't eat red meat. I wanted to make somethign different. I had to alter the original recipe because I didn't like having to fry it in oil. I wanted to bake it for a healthier version. So here's the recipe and the changes I made.






FOR THE POTATO SALMON PATTIES:
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 cups mashed potatoes, chilled
8 ounces cooked salmon fillet, flaked To save time, I used canned salmon
2 1/2 cups 1 cup panko or bread crumbs to put in patties, and more for coating
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Note: For the first 3 ingredients, you don't have to use the amounts exactly. You can use whatever amounts you like.

FOR THE GARLICKY DILL CREAM:
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Olive or vegetable oil for frying.

1. Preheat oven to 350. Squeeze as much water from spinach as possible. Place in a bowl and add potatoes, salmon, 1 cup panko, 2 eggs, salt and pepper; mix well to combine.
2. Place remaining bread crumbs in a wide, shallow bowl. Place remaining eggs in a second bowl and beat lightly. Place flour in a third bowl.
3. Form spinach mixture into 3-inch patties, about 3/4-inch thick. Dip each patty into flour, tapping off excess, then the egg, letting excess drip into bowl. Coat evenly with panko crumbs. Transfer patties to a large baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours. Bake in oven for 15 min or until browned.
4. Meanwhile, make dill cream: In a mortar and pestle or with the back of a knife, mash garlic and salt together to make a paste. Stir it into the sour cream or yogurt. Add dill and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Chill until ready to serve.
5. Heat 1/4-inch oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; if using olive oil, you don’t need to use good extra virgin oil. Cook patties in batches, turning once halfway through, until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes a side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Serve hot, with a dollop of dill cream.

Rachelle and I enjoyed this a lot. The recipe made about 18 patties. Kev was a bit indifferent about it since he's not crazy about dill. These patties may be small, but they sure are filling. I froze half of it because I didn't want them to go bad and it was just too much. I think a person can eat maybe 3 patties + a sidedish. 4 patties if eaten alone. When I made the frozen leftovers, the defrosted patties were a mess. They tasted fine, but were much harder to handle. I'd suggest making these as appetizers if you're having a lot of guests.

Mackerel with Sweet Soy

I've been learning to cook and bake a lot more things in the last couple of months. I'm still a beginner cook and I still panick a bit when i'm trying something new. During this time, Kevin is also learning to take risks and be my guinea pig. I'm sure my friends now know that I like to cook, because I received 2 dictionnary-sized cookbooks for X'mas/birthday. I've already mentioned the one I received from Rachelle for X'mas. The second one I received was from Anh Thu for my Birthday; How to cook Everything by Mark Bittman. I usually like my cookbooks with food porn, but after studying the book a little, this is a pretty impressive cookbook. One fo the things I like is how they give you a recipe and then follow it with variations of the same recipe. This mackerel recipe is an Asian twist to a basic grilled mackerel in the book.


4 Mackerel Fillet or any fish Fillet
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1/4 soy sauce
1 tbs minced garlic
1/4 scallion, minced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbs white wine or water
1 tbs honey or sugar

1. Mix all ingrdients, except fish. Marinate the fish for 5 minutes or more.
2. Cook in a skillet for 5-10 minutes on medium-high heat or until fish is cooked. The sauce will reduce and caramelize.
3. Serve with white rice.
   

I think the brand of soy sauce i have is way too salty for the measurements given in this recipe. My mackerel dish ended up being too salty, but I could really see the potential of the recipe if only I had tasted my sauce before reducing it to a glaze, which probably enhanced the saltiness. Next time i'll cut the soy sauce in half and dilute with water and/or add more sugar/honey. I love mackerel, so i'd definitely try this recipe again. This took no time to cook. When I was done with the fish, my rice cooker was still working hard at cooking our rice.

Tom Kha Talay

I had about a cup of coconut milk in my fridge and I didn't know what to do with it. I thought about making coconut rice to serve with pork chops, or maybe make Sai Mai Lo ( a Chinese coconut tapioca dessert)...while browsing food blogs, i fell upon Noob Cook's Tom Yum Seafood recipe. I remembered I had Tom Yum Paste in the fridge as well and some frozen shrimp. All I needed was French green beans and some kind of white fish. I finally decided on mackerel. I love mackerel. During my search online, i found that the recipe with coconut milk, lemon grass, and seafood is not Tom Yum, but Tom Kha Talay. Tom Yum is usually a clear broth with no coconut milk.


2Tbs Tom Yum Paste (or more if needed)
2 cups + 1/4 cup (575ml) Vegetable broth
1 cup coconut milk
12-14 large shrimps/prawns
2 Mackerel fillets
Approx 15 green beans, ends trimmed, cut to about 2" lengths
1/3 hot chili pepper (green and very spicy)
1/2 Onion, chopped

1. Boil Vegetable broth and Tom Yum Paste.
2. Add mackerel, beans, hot chili pepper, and onions. Simmer 5 minutes.
3. Add shrimps. When boiling, add coconut milk. Remove from stove when it starts boiling again.

Unless you like your Tom Yum soup to be spicy, i think i'd omit the chili pepper. The soup tasted just right when I had just made it, but I guess overnight, it got really spicy. Not so spicy that you won't feel your tongue or anything crazy like that, but enough to make your nose runny. I also think I want to put some bamboo shoots and basil leaf in it next time. The shrimps were a little overcooked and chewy. I have to find out how restaurants always have their shrimp so good in the soup. hey probably only add the shrimp right before serving. I'd make this soup again with those changes. It was really tasty and a great winter soup. Not a soup for sissies.

Part III: Rainbow Trout with Coconut Curry Beurre Blanc

The star of our Indian-inspired dinner was the main course. With Rachelle as my guest, I couldn't cook meat, she's a vegetarian who eats fish. So I searched for an Indian-inspired fish recipe. I have been in love with cooked salmon/fish ever since I had the fish dish my friends served at their New Year's Eve dinner party in 2007. They served Maple-Green-Curry Salmon. So I knew curry would taste yum on fish.



3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
kosher salt to taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil
8 (6 ounce) fillets Alaskan king salmon (we used Rainbow trout)
2 tablespoons garam masala
kosher salt to taste

1. Pour white wine, cream, and coconut milk into a saucepan; season with curry powder. Bring to a light boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the liquid has reduced to 1/2 cup, about 10-20 minutes.
2. When the liquid has reduced, turn heat to low, and whisk in the butter, a few cubes at a time, until all of the butter has incorporated. Do not allow the mixture to boil or else it will separate. When the butter has incorporated, season to taste with salt and set aside to keep warm.
3. Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke. While the oil is heating, lightly season both sides of the salmon with garam masala and salt.
4. Sear the salmon in the hot oil for 3 to 4 minutes on one side, then turn over, and continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes until done. Briefly drain on paper towels to absorb excess oil, then serve immediately with the curry butter sauce.
   

I actually forgot to season my fish before cooking. We also skipped searing the fish with oil...I always prefer baking my fish...less oily. Once baked, I poured some of the sauce on top of the fish. I also did not have unsalted butter. I had semi-salted. I had to add some sugar in the sauce to balance the taste. The sauce took a long time to prepare, but it was absolutely sinful, and worth the prep time.

Rachelle tip: The leftover sauce seperates. When heated, discard the oily film on top and you're left with yummy thick sauce that you can have on fish, meat, vegetables, or with bread.

New Year's Eve Dinner: Honey-Ginger Salmon with Japanese-Style Sesame Green Beans and and Roasted Sweet Peppers & Potatoes *phew*

For New Years Eve, Kev and I decided to stay home for dinner. We've just been busy with friends and family for Christmas that we feel tired and neglected. I know we're physically together all the time, but it's not the same. For NYE, I really wanted to make something new, but still simple. I didn't want to slave in the kitchen all evening. With all the turkey we've been having, I was craving fish or seafood...and of course, a lot of veggies. So I looked up recipes on my favorite recipe site; allrecipes.com. I love it because I like reading the reviews. There's always tips on how to improve recipes. I'm constantly on that website, even when i'm not really looking for something to make within the week. I took a look at my recipe book today and found a salmon recipe that I had never tried, but saved. I really liked using honey as a marinade on the chicken I had made before, so why not on salmon?




1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1 green onion, chopped
1 (1 1/2-pound) salmon fillet

1. In a large self-closing plastic bag, combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, orange juice, honey, and green onion; mix well. Place salmon in bag and seal tightly. Turn bag gently to distribute marinade. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes (I marinated overnight).
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and lightly oil grate.
3. Remove salmon from marinade, shake off excess, and discard remaining marinade. Grill for 12 to 15 minutes per inch of thickness, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

I'll admit, I wasn't too sure aboutt he salmon, but it came out nicely. It tasted very nice. However, I think I might use a bit less orange juice the next time I make it. I also added some dehydrated garlic slices, along with the garlic powder. I forgot to buy fresh garlic, I thought I had some in the fridge. Reviews recommended using fresh garlic.

For the side dish, I really wanted vegetables. Not just for me, but for Kevin too. He refuses to eat veggies. It's impossible! In one of the reviews from the salmon recipe, someone said they served their salmon with Japanese-Style Sesame Green Beans. I'm not quite sure why they are Japanese style...just because of the sesame? Really?!? Well...anyway...I decided to give it a try. This is the original recipe.

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 pound fresh green beans, washed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1. Warm a large skillet or wok over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, pour in canola and sesame oils, then place whole green beans into the skillet. Stir the beans to coat with oil. Cook until the beans are bright green and slightly browned in spots, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in soy sauce; cover, and let sit about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

I didn't have any sesame seeds at home, so I just omitted it. I want to say that the recipeis asking for a lot of oil. I'd cut down on it. I also added a bit of sugar and probably cooked it longer, which is why it looks burned, but it might just be the suagr caramelizing. These were reallly good, despite their appearance.

In addition to the green beans, I had a craving for some sweet potato. So I just roasted them with the sad looking orange pepper in my fridge and some onions. Originally I wanted to make it the same way as I did with the roasted regular potatoes & carrots from previous post, but wasn't sure if Thyme and Rosemary spice would be too strong. I wanted the salmon to be center stage. So I kept the roasted dish simple.

• 1 1/2 Orange sweet Pepper, chopped
• 1 Yellow Onion, chopped
• 2 Sweet Potatoes, cubed
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper

1. Preheat to 400F. Mix all ingredients. Pour everything on a baking sheet (with foil or parchment paper) or greased casserole dish. Bake for 20 min. Take out, move them around. Add a bit more olive oil if needed. Bake for another 20 min. Peppers and onions will shrivel, but don't let it burn.

These were yummy, except i used a little too much olive oil. Next time i'll be careful.

The dinner didn't turn out 100% like I wanted it to, but it was still quite good. We had enough salmon and roasted sweet pepper & potatoes for lunch the next day.

Salmon with a Lemon and Herb top crust

Two Fridays ago, Rachelle and I had both taken the day off. So she trekked over to the West Island in the cold to join me at the day spa. We both got a massage, then had a nice hearty brunch. I had originally planned on making Curried Honey Dijon Chicken, a recipe I found on Closet Cooking, which I posted about previously (i know my blogs are all over the place). But Rachelle doesn't eat meat, except fish. So we went to the grocery store and bought a piece of salmon. I decided to try out a recipe I had seen online. I made it without the recipe, I vaguely remembered what went into it. Now I remember where I saw the recipe. It's from Soy and Pepper .


Since I was making it without a recipe, I didn't really pay attention to the measurements, but it's pretty foolproof.



Salmon Fillet
Panko breadcrumbs (japanese breadcrumbs, or regular breadcrumbs)
dried chives
dried parsley
dehydrated onion
garlic powder
salt & Pepper
Lemon juice
Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix breadcrumbs and all other dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix in Olive oil and lemon juices to just moisten the dry mixture. Place the mixture on top of the salmon fillets, press to make sure it stays on the salmon. Cook the salmon in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the breadcrumbs are crisp and golden.

In the original recipe, the temperature was lower and baked longer. I don't quite know how long or what temperature is ideal for cooking salmon. When I took my salmon out, the middle was a medium rare, but the fish continues to cook a bit after you take it out. So by the time it got to the table the salmon was just perfect for me. I hate overcooked salmon. I served this with roasted potatoes and carrots, which I will post later on.

Creamy Cajun Risotto and Smoked Salmon

Since we had half a pack of smoked salmon left in the fridge from the other day, we wanted to use it up before it dries out. I looked up online for a recipe with smoked salmon, but I kept coming up with pasta, chowder, or hors d'oeuvres. On the train ride home, I remembered I have one of those fast sidekick-type risotto mix in my cupboard. So I ditched the parmesan seasoning mix (with dehydrated milk products) and used the aborio rice that came in it. I used whatever I had in the fridge to make it. Here's my improv meal:



1 cup of cream
3/4 cup of milk
1 cup water
1tbsp of cajun spice*
1 cup of aborio rice (approx)
dehydrated garlic or 1 garlic bulb
1 tsp of butter

* Make your own cajun spice (makes 1 tbsp)

1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Dried basil
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper

1. On medium heat, melt butter in a pan, add aborio rice and coat with butter.
2. Add liquids (cream, milk, water), stir.
3. Add Cajun spice and garlic. Turn up to high heat until it boils.
4. Once boiling, lower to low-medium on a slow simmer. Let it simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. If liquids evaporate before rice is done, add more liquids (I added water). Stir constantly.
5. once done, let it sit for 5 minutes and serve with smoked salmon on the side.

The amount of liquids you use really depends on how much rice you have. I based my liquid on how much was required on the box. It asked for 2 1/2 cups of liquid, but I guess cream counts a bit less. I had to add 1/2 cup of water midway through. I made my own cajun spice and I think i'll use less cayenne pepper next time. It was quite spicy. Other than that, i think it went well. Kev had no comment because he didn't have any. He thinks it's too fancy and weird, so he had cream cheese and smoked salmon on bread. lol

Risotto is actually a lot easier to make than i thought. The only thing is that it requires a lot of attention. You need to constantly stir it.

Sushi

This post is actually quite late.
About a month or two ago, I came accross a class catalogue at our local Loblaws. It seems that Loblaws offered one-night cooking classes. Prices range from $20-30. I looked through the catalogue and expressed interest in a couple of classes. As September passed, so did some of the classes. Kev finally agreed to listen to which classes I wanted to attend and he'd consider attending one with me to make me happy. So I chose to take Basic Sushi with him. (note: I took this class before the pastry class i took with Rachelle)



The class was 2 hours long (7-9pm). We were only 8 students, so it was intimate. Kev was the only male student. The first hour was observation and taking down the tips and advice the chef gave us about sushi and its garnish. He showed us how to make the rice, although we never made any ourselves due to time. All the garnishes for the maki were already prepared and laid out on the counter. So we all went through the buffet line of ingredients and picked out what we wanted to put in our maki. I can't quite remember everything I put in it, but rest assured that there was raw salmon in all of mine. I think I tried to be daring and used dill weed, coriander, basil leaves in some of mine. At the end of the class, we each had made 3 full rolls (8 makis per roll). He even showed us how to make "reversed maki", the actual japanese name escapes me at the moment.

The class was a lot of fun. We both ate one roll each and took the rest home for lunch the next day. I loved the classes so much that I ended up taking a baking class with Rachelle a few weeks after (which I already blogged about: Hazelnut Chocolate Orange Biscotti).

Salmon Tartare

I've been an avid raw fish eater for many years. Whenever I go to AYCE sushi places, I always attack the sashimi list first. One of my favorite fish to eat raw is salmon. It's delicious. At several places, they sometimes offer spicy salmon sashimi, which is chopped up salmon mixed in the deliciously spicy mayo sauce and roe. I just never realized that this is pretty much tartare. For many years, i've sampled a few beef tartare (sliced raw beef). Although good, I have never had a huge craving for them.


Last year, my friend Marilyn took Rachelle and I to Holders restaurant. She kept going on and on about the delicious salty fries. I was ready to order the beef tartare, but then Marilyn said she was ordering the same thing, so I decided to try the salmon tartare with yogurt and Mujjol caviar (entrée $9.50, meal $17.50 comes with fries). That night, i fell in love. Ever since that night, i kept having cravings for the tartare. I took my friend Anh Thu there and she liked it as well. But now, it's not just an obsession with Holder's Tartare, but all tartares. Whenever I see the words "Salmon Tartare", I jump to it.


I've also had the Salmon Tartare at a japanese restaurant in the Old port, called Tatami. It's a cute little restaurant where your table is an aquarium with tropical fishes. Their Salmon Tartare has that spicy mayo sauce mixed in with tempura batter bits. The bottom is a layer of rice, the top layer is nicely decorated into a ying yang sign with 2 colors of roe and two pieces of fruit for the dots (raspberry or blackberry) for $14. I recommend this restaurant for a quiet romantic dinner and for their beautiful presentation of their dishes, they are always accompanied by flowers and fruits.

I recently tried the Salmon Tartare at Vallier Restaurant with Anh thu. The portion was smaller, but it was not meant to be a meal. The Salmon Tartare was $9. The waitress asked us if we wanted it spicy. We ordered it medium. The Tartare was pretty standard, nothing too special about it. It had bits of shallots and celery in it with some cream sauce (could be mayo, yogurt, or sour cream).


With my obsession in full swing, I was craving for more. But it can get a little expensive. On Tuesday night, Kevin had plans to meet with his friend for a very meaty dinner at Milsa's. knowing that we had half a pack of smoked salmon in the fridge, I looked up a recipe for salmon tartare. I have never had salmon tartare made with smoked salmon before, so I wasn't sure if i'd find such a recipe online. The only recipe I found for salmon tartare that used smoke salmon was a recipe by Emeril Lagasse. BAM! So I decided to try it. I had most of the ingredients at home.

• 4 ounces smoked salmon, julienned
• 1 teaspoon capers chopped
• 1 tablespoon homemade or prepared mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon chopped dill
• 1 teaspoon minced shallots
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• Salt and pepper
• 2 slices pumpernickel slices, squared of and cut into4 triangles each, toasted
• 8 small dill sprigs
  

1. Combine salmon, capers, mayonnaise, dill and shallots. Taste, and adjust seasonings with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Divide among croutons and top each with a dill sprig.

Instead of using pumpernickel slices, I had bought Swedish toasts by President's Choice at Loblaws. Of course, this tartare wasn't as great as the ones i get at the restaurants, but it was good. However, I found the smoked salmon to be too strong. I could barely taste anything else.

Restaurant Holders / 407 McGill street (Metro Square Victoria)/ 514.849.0333
http://restaurantholder.com/

Tatami Sushi Bar Restaurant / 140 Notre-Dame street / 514.845.5864

Restaurant Vallier Licencié/ 425 McGill street (Metro Square Victoria)/ 514.842.2905
http://www.restaurantvallier.com/

Fried Haddock Filet on a Bed of Spring Greens with Mandarins

On Saturday,after running errands and going to the gym, Kev and I went to Loblaws to buy the ingredients I needed to make this new recipe my co-worker recommended, Ratatouille. But today's entry is not about the Ratatouille, that will come later ( also because I haven't made it yet). We didn't really know what to make for supper Saturday night and I knew we had most of the ingredients to make Fajitas. But we couldn't agree on steak fajitas or chicken fajitas. lol On the weekends, Loblaws often have a tasting kiosk where a chef makes a dish that always looks like too much trouble to make. They always give handouts of the recipe and we never end up making them. We liked what we sampled. The chef told us "The haddock is on sale." SOLD!
This is, by far, my favorite fish dish.

• 600g Haddock Filet
• 150g Ground Hazelnuts
• 300g Breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp Cajun Spices
• 2 eaggs beaten
• 2 Tbsp Milk 2%
• Salt and pepper to taste
• spring greens

Make your own cajun spice:

• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
  

Dressing

• 1 can of Mandarin segments
• 4 Tbsp chopped coriander
• 125ml Olive Oil
• 40ml Seasoned rice Vinegar
• 30ml Orange Juice

1. Mix Hazelnut with breadcrumbs, spices and season to taste. Set aside.


2. In a large bowl, mix beaten eggs and milk. Dip fish in the mixture , then coat with seasoned breadcrumbs.


3. Mix coriander, olive oil, vinegar in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Blend in Orange juice and set aside.


4. Drain Mandarins and set aside.


5. Heat oil in a wok and cook fish fillets for 3-4 minutes (or until cooked). Place on paper towel to absorb excess oil then serve on a bed of spring greens. Drizzle the dressing from step 3 and garnish with mandarin segments

Due to a stomachache, we had to gather all the ingredients for the ratatouille and for the haddock dish as fast as possible. It almost felt like an Amazing Race episode. lol We decided to skip the hazelnut, because we thought it was too much trouble buying a whole container of hazelnut and then have to grind them at home. We also forgot to buy the canned mandarins... Kev thought I didn't like them and that I purposely omitted them. We also didn't bother buying Cajun spices, because we had all the ingredients to make our own. Except, I used garlic salt and onion powder instead.

When we got home, it was only 4pm...too early for supper. So we went to take a nap...a 3 hour nap. Since it was the first time making this, i wasn't sure how long it would take. Well...it passed one of Kev's crucial rules...it was on the table in 30 minutes.

The fish was delicious and not dry. The Cajun breadcrumbs was nice, but what i really liked was the dressing. It was just delicious. I used to hate coriander, but now i like it. Kev didn't like the coriander, so I ended up with more. Yay. :) I would definitely make this again.