Salmon in a lemon sauce

A visit from a friend made me think of the times back at uni in England and that's how I came up with this recipe. Salmon with spring potatoes would be often served on official occasions back in College. Add to that a creamy lemon sauce, and in my mind forms sth which I deeply associate with England, even if falsely so. It takes only minutes to make, so it's a perfect dinner to make after work when you're too tired to spend hours in the kitchen.

You'll need:
salmon fillet
red pepper
fennel seeds
shallot
juice from 1 lemon
4 spoons of white wine
4 spoons of broth
4 spoons of cream freche
2 spoons of butter
to serve with:
fresh fennel
pomegranate
olive oil
spring potatoes

1. Put the potatoes to the boil, they take the longest to make.

2. To prepare the lemon sauce: chop the shallot and fry it together with a generous dose of butter in a small pot. Add white wine, broth, lemon juice and simmer. Add the cream and simmer a minute more. Allow to reduce and then blend.

3. Sprinkle the salmon fillet with a bit of olive oil, season with salt, red pepper and fennel seeds, and put in the oven, pre-heated to 200 degrees and set to a grill option. It should take around 10 minutes for it to be ready.

4. Finely slice the fennel and serve as a light salad together with pomegranate seeds and a bit of olive oil.

4. Assemble the ingredients together, et voila!

Buon appetito!

Peanut butter chicken with ginger pear and grilled pineapple

The magic of this recipe is in how well the flavours work together. On its own, peanut sauce could be a bit heavy, but ginger pear and grilled pineappe add freshness to the dish. I created this dish for a Vietnamese themed competition.

You'll need:

chicken breast

3 spoons of peanut butter

Lime juice

Dark soya sauce

200ml coconut milk

Powdered cumin

Coriander (seeds)

Smoked sweet paprika

Smoked hot paprika

Pear

3cm fresh ginger

cinammon cane

4-5 cloves

Organge zest

1/3 glass of sugar

Pineapple slices

Cashew nuts

Jasmin rice

Salt & pepper

1. To prepare the peanut sauce, add peanut butter, coconut milk, cumin, coriander, a bit of lime juice, a pinch of hot somked paprika and soy sauce into a pot and mix over a low heat until the sauce gets dense.

2. In a second pot boil around 1/2 litre of water. While the water is warming up, peel the pear (or two, a pear prepared this way goes well with many dishes, so it might be worthwile making a bit more) and cut it into quarters. Add sugar into the boiling water, followed by slices of peeled ginger, cloves, cinammon cane and a bit of orange zest. Put the pear in and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes. Liquid should completely cover the pears. Leave the pear in the liquid until it cools down. You can further reduce the liquid and use it as syrup from drinks and cocktails.

3. Boil the rice. In the meantime, warm up a grill pan with a bit of oil. season the chicken breast with salt, pepper and sweet smoked paprika. Grill on a hot pan. 

4. Use the same grillpan to grill the pineapples.

5. Crush the cashew nuts and roast them ona separate (dry) pan.

6. Assemble all the ingredients together, et voila!

Buon appetito!