So last weekend was August Bank Holiday weekend, the last of the year. I was on BBC Radio Leicester for my regular cooking slot with Ben Jackson on his show on the Friday and I was determined more than ever to keep summer alive for one last time at least this year. I’d met Ben for Lunch earlier on that week and already Ben was talking about Blackberries, chutneys etc… The reaction from me was just not yet, not THIS weekend.
As you know by now, all of my spices are from Spice Kitchen and they have sent me recently some extra Middle Eastern and African spices to develop with. One in the pack is Berbere which is an Ethiopian spice and is amazing! Lovely flavours with a slight kick of chilli as you’ll hear in the recording.
I used salmon as I just happened to still have more in the freezer from the Whole one I bought for only a fiver! But you could use other fish such as Loch trout, pollack, coley or even turkey or chicken. I teamed this up with a melange of colourful, garden, summer vegetables to try and keep that summer feeling alive.
Little did I know how quickly the weather would change this week. So if you aren’t ready to bring out the casserole pot out yet, this is for you.
Listen here to hear myself and Ben on the Radio:
Berbere spiced salmon with warm summer garden vegetables:
* Please excuse some of the pictures as I sometimes forget to take photos and just dive into the food! Including Ben.
Ingredients:
(2 people approximately)
Salmon:
– 2 salmon fillets
– 2 tsp of Berbere spice ( Ethiopian spice ) Or you could use, piri piri, cajun, jerk etc Mine is from Spice Kitchen
– salt and cracked black pepper to season
– a couple of slices of red chilli chopped finely
– Few sprigs of fresh coriander
– 1 slice of lemon
For the Garden Vegetables:
– 1 tbsp Rapeseed oil
– 1 red pepper sliced lengthways
– 1 orange pepper sliced lengthways
– 1 courgette sliced into ribbons
– 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
– 1 small red onion sliced
– 1 Corn on the cob ( kernels taken off when cooked )
– handful of cherry tomatoes sliced
– a couple of slices of red chilli chopped finely
– handful of fresh herbs: Oregano, lemon thyme and mint chopped finely
– Salt and cracked black pepper to season
– chopped fresh coriander to finish
Method:
– Marinate salmon fillets with berbere spice and season a little for at least an hour ( the longer you can the better)
– Preheat oven to 190c
– Pop on a pan of water to boil for your Sweetcorn and cook until tender
– Pop salmon into foil in a ceramic/metal baking tray. Pop a little water into the foil. Place lemon, coriander and chilli on top of salmon and create a little parcel. Place into the oven for approximately 10- 12 minutes
– Drain off your sweetcorn and pop aside to cool slightly
– Fry of peppers in a frying pan, stir for a couple of minutes. Add your onion and cool for a further minute or two.
– Add to your mix your Garlic and Tomatoes. Then your Courgette ribbons. Cook for a minute or two and stir.
– Take off your sweetcorn kernels with a knife and add to your vegetable mixture. You could even grill the sweetcorn or bbq.
– Add the fresh herbs and chilli, season to finish if needed.
– Take out your salmon, serve vegetables on a plate, pop on salmon and juices and finish with fresh coriander.
ChezJ9 