food hits and misses

I'm not a big fan of Sundays. Never have been. When I was small, they were all about having my hair washed and detangled, which trust me, hurts a lot when you're a little girl with long hair. When I was at uni, Sundays were for recovering from Saturday night, followed by a mad sprint to get work done for Monday classes. For a while there, Sunday was brunch day, which I have to admit, is the way things ought to be. Whenever there was no brunch, there were lazy afternoons spent at a bar at the beach listening to jazz. Sadly, I don't live near that beach or bar any more, and family arrangements mean there's no time for brunch unless it starts at quarter to lunch. Now, Sunday is all about Bunnings and outdoor stores and feeling restless.

Anyway, the last thing I want after a hard day of fidgeting and buying hardware is to make an elaborate meal. A fast meal is an absolute must on a Sunday night. This dish is quick, simple and pretty yummy. As always, using the best olive oil you can afford will give the best results.

Pasta with smoked salmon, preserved lemon and capers

2 serves fettuccine, linguine or penne
1-2 cups broccoli florets
1 tbspn olive oil
4 tbspn capers in vinegar, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tspn fresh dill, chopped
1/4 preserved lemon
150g smoked salmon
olive oil to serve

Method

Cook pasta until al dente. Add broccoli during last four minutes. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a small frying pan. Saute capers until slightly crisp. Add garlic and continue to saute until aromatic. Remove from heat and add dill. Remove flesh and pith from preserved lemon. Rinse well and chop finely. Add to caper mix. Drain pasta and broccoli. Tear the salmon into small pieces. Toss through caper mix and shredded smoked salmon. Drizzle with extra oil and serve with black pepper.

The first time I tried making this, it was nice, but not all that exciting. Mostly it was an experiment in reducing the amount of salmon the breadwinner eats in a single sitting. The second time, I tweaked the recipe quite a bit. We both agreed I got it right.

Salmon risotto

400g fresh salmon

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. Place the salmon on aluminium foil. Drizzle with lemon juice and season with black pepper if desired. Wrap tightly in foil and place in the oven for around 10 minutes. Wash the leek thoroughly, then thinly slice the white section. Melt butter and oil together in a heavy based saucepan. Add the leek and saute until tender. Add the rice, and stir until coated. Meanwhile, bring the stock and wine to simmering point. Add around one third of the stock to the rice and stir well until absorbed. Continue adding small amounts of stock to the rice, stirring continuously. Add the dill and capers, stirring well. Zest the lemon, then add zest and juice to the rice. Finally add the remaining stock, stirring until absorbed. Remove from heat. Remove the salmon from the oven. Flake the salmon in to the rice mixture and stir through. The salmon will finish cooking from the heat of the risotto. Season with black pepper and serve.