Bengali Mustard Fish

This is my new favorite fast-to-cook recipe. Cooking time 7 mins in the microwave...can't beat that!

From here with some minor substitutions

2-3 Steaks of Salmon, cleaned
2 tbsp mustard oil
3 tablespoons yogurt
2.5 tablespoons grated coconut
1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
few green chili, slit for garnish

For the mustard Paste:
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
3-4 hot green chillies
Salt to taste

To make Mustard Paste:
Soak the paste ingredients together in about 1/2 cup water for 30 minutes. Grind this mix into a thick paste in a blender/ mixer. The finer the paste, the better.

Now, add this mustard paste to the coconut, turmeric, chilli powder, mustard oil and yoghurt and mix well. the paste will be thickish, don't add water to thin out.

In a microwave safe glass bowl, coat the dish with mustard oil, and then arrange the pieces of salmon in the bowl. Now, pour the mixture above to cover and immerse the salmon completely. Add a few slit green chillies on top. Cover the bowl with cling wrap, and cook for 3 mins on high in the microwave. The cling wrap will create steam which will slowly steam the fish. After 3 mins, remove and gently stir the fish sauce, without disturbing the fish. Re-cover and put for another 3 mins and repeat till done. It took about 10 mins to cook the fish through.

Enjoy with rice!

Smoked salmon pasta

Serves 2

3 cups pasta, I mixed two kinds

4 oz. smoked salmon, cut into bite size pieces

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 - 1/2 red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup cream

1 tbsp lemon juice

Fresh ground black pepper

1. Throw the pasta into a pot of salted, boiling water until cooked al dente. Reserve a cup of the pasta water.
2. Meanwhile, dry roast pine nuts in a skillet until light brown. Set aside.
3. Heat olive oil in the skillet (large enough to hold the pasta later). Add onions and garlic with salt and cook until onions are soft and translucent.
4. Add wine and lemon juice and let cook until sauce boils down by half. Add cream and boil for an additional minute.
5. Toss in the cooked pasta, smoked pasta and pine nuts. Add a couple of tbsps of the pasta water if the sauce is too dry.
6. Garnish with capers or parsley.

Tina's smoked salmon chowder

Tina made a delicious pot of smoked salmon chowder for dinner one blustery night. I haven't made it yet but I intend to very soon - it was perfect! Tina grayed out items she omitted in her recipe but can be used otherwise.

Serves 6

6 slices bacon, chopped

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

4 stalks celery, finely chopped

5 green onions, finely chopped

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

1/2 cup water

6 cups fish stock

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp dried dill weed

8 red potatoes, cubed

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

3/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 lb flaked or chopped smoked salmon

1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels

1. Place the bacon into a large pot set over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes to release some of the drippings, about 10 mins. Then add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook and stir until veggies are tender, about 15 mins.
2. Stir in green onions, then pour in the water and fish stock. Season the soup with salt, pepper and dill. Cover and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and simmer for another 20 mins or until tender.
3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir in the flour until smooth. Cotinue to cook and stir until the mixture is light brown, about 3 minutes. Pour in a little bit of the milk to thin the roux. Stir the roux into the pot with the veggies. Pour the rest of the milk into the pot and heat through, stirring constantly.
4. When the soup had thickened slightly, stir in the white wine. Mix in the lemon juice, smoked salmon and corn. Cook over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Ladle into soup bowls to serve. Sprinkle chopped parsley or cilantro on top.

Supper club theme: Pacific NorthWest

In lieu of going to restaurants to try new foods, a bunch of us (4 couples) meet once a month, pick a cuisine and do a potluck dinner. This is our 4th round already and it has been wildly successful. Good food, good friends and wine without paying a bucket - can't get any better..

V and I did starters this time round. Our dishes were Cream of Mushroom soup, Arugula-Apple salad and Smoked salmon with cream.

Cream of Mushroom soup
This soup turned out to be quite hearty and very earthy. I loved it - its comfort food.


Ready to serve
This is right before pureeing the soup.


Dried mushrooms soaking in sherry - isn't it beautiful to look at!

Serves 8
1 oz. dried mushrooms (morels, porcini, shitakes, etc)
1 lb cremini mushrooms, stemmed, cleaned and sliced
1 lb shitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
4 tbsps olive oil
2 sprigs of rosemary
5-6 springs of thyme
3 springs of sage
1 large yellow onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, chopped
6 cups of chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsps unsalted butter
1/2 cup dry sherry

Soak dried mushrooms in sherry for about 30 mins until the mushrooms plump up. Heat olive oil in a pot and throw in the herbs. Let cook for 5-6 mins until you can smell the herbs. Now add onion. garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until onions are translicent but not brown.

Increase the heat and add the fresh mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms cook down significantly and the water released is cooked off. Add chicken stock with the plumped mushrooms and sherry. Simmer for 30 mins.

Remove the herbs, add cream and butter. Cook for 2 mins. Turn off the heat and puree the mushroom soup in batches. Return the soup back into the pot and simmer for another minute before serving.





Arugula-Apple salad



Serves 8

2 bundles arugula, washed and stemmed
1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
2 tbsps white wine vinegar
1 tbsp pear-apple juice (or just apple juice) - you can substite both white wine vinger and this juice by using 2 tbsps of cider vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp sour cream (or heavy cream)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 apples - should be firm and crisp
2 tbsp crumbled goat cheese

Toast the walnuts in the oven at 375 deg for 30-35 mins. Core and slice apples into thin biteable pieces. Sprinkle some lime juice on them to prevent browning.

Dressing: Mix the vinegar with apple and lemon juices. Add salt and lots of ground black pepper. Whisk in olive oil and then sour cream. Whisk. Taste to adjust salt and acidity to your preference.

Toss the arugula with apples and walnuts. Add the dressing and garnish with a generous helping of crumbled goat cheese.





Smoked Salmon with cream

1 packet of presliced smoked salmon
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped dill
2 shallots, chopped

Combine sour cream, dijon mustard, dill, salt to taste. Keep aside for about a hour or so. Take thinly sliced toasts and layer with smoked salmon, a small dollop of the cream mixture and sliced shallots.