6.1.2021
SALMON WITH CLEMANTINE SAUCE SERVED WITH BASMATI RICE AND SRI LANKAN OKRA CURRY
Made with Gluten and Lactose-Free products
I made this dish low fat and wrote the fat amounts in the original recipe in parenthesis. As usual these days I used my ceramic coated skillet.
I riffed this recipe off of the Bangladeshi Cod and Clementine from Nadiya's Kitchen by Great British Bake-Off winner, Nadiya Hussain. From the book: Nadiya's Kitchen by Nadiya Hussain. Nadiya says “This is one of the earliest memories I have of being absolutely astonished by flavour”.
I used ½ c of minced Clemintine peel. Peter, my husband felt that the Clemintine flavor was too strong. I am sure you will make this recipe more than once, so, make it with ¼ c of minced peel the first time.
I have only the one ceramic coated 12” skillet which is one of the reasons I used the same skillet to cook the okra, the other being I don’t like to leave too many pots and pans for Peter to clean up! You can use a separate skillet for vegetables.
Anytime, I plan to cook okra I start the process in the morning. I wash the okra and place on a drying rack covered with a kitchen towel and let the okra dry completely. About an hour before I plan to make dinner, I slice the okra diagonally. As I purchase okra that is about 2” long I don’t bother to remove the top “cap”, I cut the okra diagonally in about ½ to 1” slices and place them back on the rack and dehydrate the okra so that it is dry to the touch.
The fish can be served with rice or crusty bread and a salad. The Okra can be served with just the rice. we just liked the combination.
I think this sauce with a little extra spiciness would be great with shrimp. I know it is lovely with poached eggs. So, it is a versatile sauce. My plan is to make a whole jarful to keep on hand to use it in any way I feel like as I do with my BBQ sauce.
Serves: 3 to 4
Prep all the ingredients, clear off your counter, start the rice.
sauce:
Olive oil - 1 T (5 T)
Garlic – 1 T, minced
Ginger – 1 T, minced
Onion – ½ c diced (not red)
Tomato paste – 2 T
Cayenne pepper – ¼ t or to taste
Kosher salt - 1 or to taste
Clementine juice – ¼ to ½ c, optional broth or water (depending on how much sauce you want)
Turmeric – ½ t
Paprika - 2 t
Ground cumin - 1 t
Clementine peel – ¼ to ½ c, minced
Fish:
Salmon fillets – 1 lb skin removed and cut into 4 (cod or other white fish)
Garnish:
Fresh coriander – 2 T finely chopped
Lime – squeezed over the fish, about ¼ t per portion
To serve with:
Basmati rice: 1 c washed and cooked with water or broth
Sri Lankan okra curry* – recipe follows
Let's get cooking:
Start with the rice as it takes the longest to cook.
Basmati rice –1 c
Kosher salt – 1 t
Ollive oil – 1 t
Liquid – 1 ¼ c (water or broth)
Measure the dry rice into a sieve with holes that will not let the rice go through. Wash the rice under running water until the water runs clear. Place the sieve on the saucepan you plan to use to cook the rice and let the rice drain for a few minutes (5 for me).
Remove the sieve from the pan. Place the pan on a hot stove and add the oil to the pan, then the drained rice and stir to coat the rice with the oil. Pour in the liquid to the pan and the salt and stir. When the liquid comes to a boil stir the rice, turn the heat to the lowest you can, cover and let cook for 10 minutes. Stir the rice and check for doneness, sprinkle 2 to 4 T of hot water on the rice, if it is not completely done. Stir, cover, turn off the heat and leave it alone until you are ready to use the rice.
While rice is cooking prep the rest of the ingredients.
Heat a medium sized skillet over a medium to low heat for 5 minutes.
Add 1 T oil to skillet then add the onion and stir, after about 2 minutes add the garlic and ginger and stir for 1 minute.
Add the turmeric, paprika and cumin, and cook on low for 5 minutes.
Add the tomato paste, salt and liquid of choice and cook for 5 more minutes.
Add the clementine peel cover and cook for 10 minutes until the peel is soft.
(I prep the vegetables I plan to cook or make a salad at this time) *okra recipe is below.
Using a silicone spatula, scrape the sauce into a blender or food processor and whir till slightly rough in texture, scrape the sauce into a bowl, add the fish and turn to coat. Set aside while you cook the vegetable. I cleaned off the skillet and used it to cook, in my case it was Sri Lankan okra curry.
Once the okra was cooked, transferred the okra to a serving platter, then I wiped off the pan and finished cooking the fish.
Heat the skillet on medium low for 5 minutes, add the fish and the sauce to the skillet, cover and cook for 10 minutes over a low heat. Once the fish is cooked, take the pan off the heat and transfer to a serving platter.
Serve with hot basmati rice.
A lime popsicle is great for dessert.
*Sri Lankan Okra Curry
Made with gluten and lactose free products
Prep the ingredients:
Okra – 8 oz
Oil – 1 T oil
Onion – ½ c
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs (optional)*
Pandan leaves – 2" fresh piece or 4 to 5 ½ “pieces dried (if dried, rehydrate first) (optional)*
Garlic – 1 T minced
Ginger – 1 T minced
Crushed red pepper flakes – ¼ to ½ t
Curry powder – 1 T
Coconut milk – ½ c
Let's cook the okra:
Wash and let the okra dry on a clean kitchen towel till dry to the touch.
Slice the okra in ½ “diagonals. Place on a sheet pan in a single layer and put in a low heated oven for an hour or so for the okra to be dry to the touch. This is the best way to make sure that you don’t have slimy okra! (I do the washing and drying of the okra first thing in the morning, cut and dehydrate in the afternoon.)
Pour 1 T oil to a large skillet, heated to medium till hot, add the onion, curry leaves and pandan leaves and stir for about 30 seconds, add garlic and ginger and stir fry for 30 seconds or till fragrant, add the curry powder and crushed red pepper and stir for another 30 seconds.
Add the okra and stir till coated with oil and cook till bright green. Add the coconut milk and stir to coat, then cover and cook for 5 minutes or so till the okra is cooked.
Enjoy!