Spiced Salmon pasta, oven baked cherry tomatoes with asparagus, green beans and courgette
July has been a fantastic month, the weather has been superb the best I can ever remember and with this I have had to step up my cooking game but in turn keep the recipes simple as it's too bloody hot to cook!
These days I tend to eat far more fish than meat as my digestion just cannot take heaps of meat and starchy potatoes. The only thing is that you tend to find that you end up with the same meals night in night out.
With this simple salmon recipe I have turned fish dishes on their head and now given you a super dish that you can have for fridge to table in 25 minutes.
So lets have a look at the shopping list and what you'll need to have ready:
* Dried chilli flakes
* 1 lemon (Cut in half)
* Salt (I only use Himalayan pink salt)
* Cracked black pepper
* Green beans
* Asparagus
* Courgette
* 2 Salmon
* 3 Garlic cloves
* Extra Virgin Olive oil
* Balsamic vinegar
* Basil
What's the finished dish look like:
So grab your ingredients, pop that pinny on and let's get cooking:
In preparation:
* Lay out two sheets of tin foil on top of each other to double layer the, this is for your salmon.
* Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil for the veg and pasta.
* Preheat the oven to 180c fan.
1. Cut 4 thin slices off of one lemon half leaving the end for squeezing. layer them on the bottom of the tin foil. Slice two of the garlic cloves thinly and scatter them on the lemon. Now ad a few bits of basil and layer the two salmon fillets on top.
Drizzle the salmon with lemon juice and Extra Virgin olive oil and then season with salt and pepper and finally sprinkle over some chilli flakes to give the heat you want.
You will then need to seal in the salmon so that it can steam in the oven keeping the moisture in.
You can either prepare this in advance and reheat or cook real time its really your choice.
Once the Salmon is all sealed place it on a middle or upper shelf in the oven and cook for 22 minutes on 180c fan. AT the same time put your cherry tomatoes into a tray and splash with lemon juice, olive oil, balsamic and season, cook these for the same time as the salmon.
2. Add the green beans to the salted boiling water and cook for 2 minutes, then add the bottom halves of the asparagus spears for 1 minutes and then the top halves of the spears for a further 2 minutes.
Remove from the boiling water and allow to drain, the veg should be slightly under cooked as it will be finished in a pan.
3. Add extra salt to the veg water and then add your pasta with a dash of oil and cook removing 1 minute before it is fully cooked. Probably around 10 or 11 minutes.
* Portion out the veg and pasta for each person keeping them separate, slice the raw courgette about 5 or 6 thin slices per portion.
* Once the Salmon is cooked remove it from the oven and stand it to rest while you bring the dish together.
4. You will cook the dishes individually now so to start add about 5 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil to a pan and allow it to heat gently bringing it to a medium heat. Once the oil is up to temperature add in the courgette slice for about a minute and a half then flip them and add half a chopped clove of garlic and heat for a further minute.
Now add your green beans and asparagus to the pan and heat for a further minute tossing all the time and finally splash with lemon juice and add a single portion of pasta.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and toss in some fresh chopped basil. Pour the pasta onto a plate and dress with a splash of balsamic and EV olive oil.
Break the salmon fillet up and add to the dish with a few roasted tomatoes and any juices from the tomatoes.
This is a cook in real time dish and stacked with flavour and taste, it's amazing and perfect for any occasion.
If you want to pair a drink with this dish it crisp out for a fresh crisp citrus white wine maybe a Sauvignon blanc, but I just had it with an ice cold beer!
Anyone can cook this dish and I am telling you it is simply perfect in every way. Do it for a dinner party or cook it for your supper one night it that robust it works for either.
Leave me a comment and let me know what you want me to cook next.
The Sartorial Yeti xxx