Asparagus season is upon us!
I LOVE asparagus but I to try to stick to when it’s in season here, which it is at the moment. I like to put some in a simple green salad with avocados. It’s also lovely with some balsamic vinegar and shaved parmesan. But one of my favourite dishes, which is a great one when you have limited time and guests who don’t eat meat, is this roast salmon with dill sauce. The recipe is for four people. And when asparagus isn’t around, it’s great with green beans, tender stem broccoli, mange tout etc. Anything green really.
Salmon with dill sauce
small new potatoes (as many as you think you’ll eat…)
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp dill, finely chopped
asparagus spears or other green vegetable (but they must be green for this dish, I’m not sure why)
4 salmon fillets
salt and pepper
1 lemon, quartered
Heat the over to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6.
Cook the potatoes in simmering lightly salted water.
Whisk the honey, mustard, vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil and chopped dill until thick and runny.
Drain the potatoes and toss in a little of the sauce.
While the potatoes are cooking, line an oven tray with baking paper, brush the salmon fillets with olive oil and season well. Place them on the tray with the lemon quarters. Bake for 8 minutes or until cooked.
Cook the asparagus or your other chosen green vegetables.
Serve the fish with the potatoes, asparagus and the rest of the sauce.
Sometimes I crush the potatoes with a little olive oil and some chopped chives. Just saying.
Fregola with salmon, leeks and lemon
And if you have some salmon leftover you can make this fregola with salmon, leeks and lemon. Missy B and I both adore this and it’s really easy to do. As long as you can find some fregola – it’s a type of pasta from Sardinia, apparently similar to North African Berkoukes (?) and Israeli couscous. Thank you Wikipedia. I have never measured the ingredients for this one, but it’s more or less this:
fregola
leek, finely chopped
olive oil
leftover salmon or hot smoked salmon flakes
a lemon
salt and pepper
Cook the fregola according to the instructions on the packet (around 12 minutes in boiling water). In the meantime, gently fry the leek in a little olive oil until soft and starting to brown. Drain the fregola and stir in the leeks. When this has cooled to around room temperature, add the salmon, lemon and season to taste.
It’s lovely and you should try it.
