Last time I made salmon, I really hated it. It was so awful - it wasn't cooked through completely, which started to freak me out. Yes, I know that doesn't make any sense, as I am fine with eating salmon that is completely raw (aka sushi). Something about the fact that it was supposed to be cooked and it wasn't was quite unsettling. I also cooked it along with bok choy that turned out incredibly slimy. All in all, a terrible meal that I couldn't even finish eating.
This time, I decided if I was going to eat salmon, I would have to ensure it was super delicious so none of the nasty taste from last time got in my head. And that brings us to Salmon with Pea and Mushroom Sauce courtesy of Bon Appetit May 2012. DELICIOUS!
Ingredients
1 cup white wine
1 can sweet peas
1 8oz container sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 salmon fillets
2-4 tablespoons butter
chives
Directions
1) In a large saucepan with high sides, place salmon fillets. Add white wine and fill with cold water to cover salmon by about half an inch. Cover the pan and heat over medium heat until water comes to a simmer. I heated mine for about 20 minutes because I was so paranoid I would undercook it. The beauty of poaching is nothing really burns and turns dry, so cook as long as you want. Then once the water is simmering, remove lid and cook on medium low for about 6 minutes (to be clear, I did the 20 minutes PLUS the six). Reserve some poaching liquid.
2) While the salmon is cooking, you can make the sauce. Heat some butter in a saucepan. The recipe called for 4 tablespoons, I used 2 and you could probably get away with a few squirts of cooking spray if that is what you prefer. After butter melts, add mushrooms and cook for approximately three minutes.
3) Add half a cup of poaching liquid and peas, then simmer for another two or three minutes. Add heavy cream and bring sauce back to a simmer. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken up a bit more when removed from heat.
4) Season to taste with salt and pepper. I used no salt but tons of pepper - pepper, cream and peas go wonderful together.
5) To serve, flip salmon onto a plate, top with sauce, and garnish with chives.
Yesterday, someone asked me what I usually eat, and it took me awhile to respond. It threw me off, because I cook almost every day but I didn't have an immediate answer. I began by telling them "vegetables mostly." Then I realized that might sound weird, so I tried to throw out other options - "Oh you know, pasta, rice, that kind of thing." In reality, I rarely eat either. I try not to eat rice and instead use quinoa, and I typically save pasta for when my boyfriend makes it for me. My main staple is a lot of vegetables, olive oil, vinaigrettes, eggs and soup.
I am in love with vegetables, and this isn't anything new. I was always the one, even at a young age, hovering over the vegetable tray at Christmas and other holidays. I begged my Mom to buy me heads of red cabbage to snack on. I ate canned asparagus and sweet pickles with my Dad. I was ecstatic when Grandma brought kohlrabi from the garden. I ate peas from the freezer.
Meals mean a lot to me. I sometimes agonize over what I am going to buy at the grocery store. It is a process for me. I plan out each of my meals and I research, decide, and then go on a mission. In fact, I am even a bit sad when I get invited out to dinner with friends, because that means I miss the opportunity to cook something. When I was younger, I would look up recipes and then try to figure out ways to get my mom to buy the ingredients (not always to high success).
This morning, I woke up naturally early at 7:45 am which I think is one of the first times that has ever happened and I was VERY excited! Waking up so early had my stomach grumbling around 8:30 and I wanted to eat something that wouldn't take too long to cook but I also wanted something healthy to offset all the sugar I ate yesterday. I decided on Orangette's Peas and Proscuitto.
I have never had proscuitto before. I have always associated it with fancy - appetizers wrapped in proscuitto? You know that must have been a fancy party. It is usually really expensive at the store, and not being a big fan of meat, I haven't been able to justify the purchase. However, yesterday I was at Fred Meyer and proscuitto was on sale for $5 for 3.53 ounces. Still not cheap, but affordable. Also, you get very little meat for your money, so at least I didn't have to worry about wasting it.
So on to the recipe. See the link for the original recipe - I changed things a little bit (biggest change: olive oil, not butter).
Here is what I made.
Ingredients:
1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil
Garlic, to taste
3 green onions
1 pound peas
4 slices proscuitto
pepper, salt, turmeric to taste
1) Turn the stove to medium. Add olive oil to the pan - enough to swirl it around and cover the whole pan. Let the oil heat up, and add one diced green onion and about a teaspoon of garlic. Let cook for thirty seconds or so - I let mine brown a bit because I love browned crispy garlic.
2) Add the peas, salt and pepper to taste, and cook for ten minutes. You can add the peas frozen if you didn't have a chance to defrost. About halfway through, add two more diced green onions and more garlic, to taste. I found that the original cooked onions/garlic weren't as flavorful as fresh, which is why I added more. After ten minutes, some of my peas were nicely browned.
3) Cut the proscuitto into little pieces. I tried to make things easier and stack the four slices on top of each other, then cut them. Don't do this - it was really hard to separate the little pieces. Instead, cut each slice separately. Turn off the heat, but leave the pan on the same burner, and add the proscuitto. Cover and let sit for five minutes.
To eat mine, I added salt (I didn't add salt during cooking) and turmeric. SO TASTY!
My mom would be so proud of me this week! I have been trying to take a week long break from the grocery store (my favorite place) and make food using what I have around the kitchen to use up any leftovers. This has meant lots of eggs and tuna fish, which has been tasty, but I made an even tastier dinner tonight and it was so easy, not to mention essentially free.
I had about half a box of linguine, so I boiled a pot of water and put the noodles on for 11 minutes. I checked in the freezer for frozen veggies and found a bag of peas and a bag of chopped broccoli.
When the noodles had cooked for seven minutes, I added the frozen vegetables to cook for four minutes. I emptied the peas, and used about half a bag of broccoli.
Once everything was done cooking, I strained it in the colander and returned it to the pot. I had a half brick of cream cheese in the fridge, and melted it into the noodle/veggies mixture. I drizzled a bit of my Brianna's Salad Dressing, Champagne Caper, over the noodles to add a bit more flavor. I also added a tablespoon of garlic and my Italian seasoning spice which is FANTASTIC over anything (particularly buttered sourdough toast).
My mom got me this Italian seasoning. BEST STUFF EVER.
This was a perfect meal and could be made with whatever you have in your fridge.
Here is a generic formula I think would work:
Use whatever pasta you have
Throw in at least two kinds of vegetables (frozen or fresh)
Add whatever cheese is in your fridge...if it is shredded, make sure you turn the heat back on and let it melt
Drizzle with your favorite salad dressing if you want more flavor (ranch or caesar would be good)
Add garlic
Add your favorite herbs (recommend: Italian seasoning)
I keep going back to eat more! Mine was a lot like a pasta carbonara. Surprisingly, it is actually fairly healthy too. Add more veggies and less noodles/cheese depending on how healthy you want yours to be.
In other news, here is a picture of my birthday cupcakes, courtesy of my sweet friend. I think they unintentionally look like cute little Mickey Mouses.
