Pan Seared Salmon with Creamy Leeks

Wasn't it just a moment ago that I extolled the virtues of whole fish? Hadn’t I declared my love for whole fish over fillets? I am no inconstant lover to be sure, but every girl needs variety don’t you think? :) Especially when buying a whole salmon on these shores would cost one very pretty penny! We also can’t discount the fact that fillets are definitely more convenient. And let’s face it; most of us do need a little convenience once in a while – especially when juggling baby, work, and a household…plus a life outside of that (some quality alone time with the hubby, time with friends, ME time…blogging!)!

Having a few fish fillets in your freezer (ooh, say that 10 times, fast!) means a quick supper is never far away, even on days when you don’t have the time or the energy to think past finishing that last report. They are especially handy when the only time you can make it to the market (because really, some of the “fresh fish” that is in the supermarket these days are a tad worrying) is on the weekends.

So, anyway, this is all to say that, yes, there is a space for fish fillets in my heart and on my table.

Pan Seared Salmon with Creamy Leeks

• 2 x 160-180 gram fillets of salmon
• Olive oil
• 6-5 leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced diagonally (about 2 cups sliced)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 cup cream
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

- Heat a swirl of olive oil in a pan. When the oil is hot add the leeks and sauté until they start to soften. Add the cream and let it bubble a bit until the leeks are tender, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add the dill, toss, and take off the heat. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and stir. Taste and adjust seasoning. Set aside.
- In another skillet heat a couple of glugs of oil. Sprinkle salmon fillets with salt and pepper. When the oil is hot add salmon to the pan skin side down (my fillets here were already skinned but I still cook the side where the skin was first). Cook for a couple of minutes and flip to cook the other side. Cook for a couple of minutes more until done to your liking.
- Place each fillet on a plate and divide the creamy leeks between the two.
- Serves two.

Salmon is nice when it’s a little rare in the middle, but cook it all the way through if that’s how you like it. The great thing about fillets, as opposed to steak cuts, is that you can actually see the fish cooking on the sides (as the fish grows opaque from the bottom up). This makes is easier to predict when the fish is done.

Since neither salmon nor creamy sauces make it to C’s list of favorites this is something I often enjoy when he is not around. I actually love these little meals made solely for my enjoyment. Brings me back to the early days of my cooking --- when I cooked only for myself, and ultimately fell in love with it. Which brings me to another nice attribute of the fillet…it lends itself perfectly to the single serving!

Note: I am trying to groom little C to be a creamy-salmon-dish-eater just like her mama. To make a baby friendly version just steam the salmon and leeks, cut up/mash when cooked (leeks should be soft and salmon cooked through), and mix with a dollop of yogurt (instead of cream). I’ve also done a version with the salmon steamed with cilantro and onions, then mashed with yogurt when cool. Definitely thing I would eat myself!

Tuhod y Batoc Ragu (Knee and Neck Ragu)

I am a pack rat. I save everything from old credit card receipts to sappy poems written by boys of summers long gone. I hardly ever throw anything away. I have my paid and validated phone bills from years back tucked away in dark corners of my office. Random scraps of paper, scrawled with hurried to-do lists, litter the nether regions of my purses. Proof of this “endearing” habit currently lay in boxes that block our front door and most of our new foyer.

It’s also evident in our fridge and freezer – much to C’s frustration (as if the unpacked boxes of stuff isn’t frustrating enough right?). I keep every drop of bacon dripping, the end slices of sliced bread, every last bit of leftover food. I can’t abide by food waste so all this gets stashed for future use. To my credit, they do, in fact, get used, and for the most part quite successfully.

This dish came together one slow day when I was in the middle of the contemplative work of stock-making. Beef stock making to be specific. I had scored a gorgeous shin bone which I had cut down to kneecaps and marrow pieces (did that sound too serial killer-ish?). To add more meatiness to the stock I threw in a hunk of beef neck. There was quite a bit of neck meat there, which slowly cooked down to a melting softness, and I thought it would shame it to let it go to waste. So I took it, along with the now tender kneecap tendon, and did this.

Tuhod y Batoc Ragu (Knee and Neck Ragu)

• Olive oil
• 2 small white onions, chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon Italian mix seasoning
• 1 chorizo, chopped
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 1 800-gram can chopped tomatoes
• 1 clove
• Dash cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups cooked, deboned beef neck (shredded) and kneecap (the soft, gelatinous tendon part, chopped)
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup beef stock
• Sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper

- Heat a couple of generous glugs of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot. When the oil is hot, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaf and sauté until onions are soft and translucent. Add Italian mix seasoning and stir well, letting the dried herbs release their scent.
- Add the chorizo and cook until it releases its oils. Deglaze the pot with red wine, scraping all the brown bits stuck to the pan as you go. Cook until you can’t smell the alcohol anymore.
- Add the tomatoes, clove, cinnamon, and paprika. Let this simmer until the water has evaporated a bit.
- Add the beef and beef stock and simmer again until it all melds together into a thick and pulpy sauce.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.

You would think that something that had been cooked for hours would have lost a lot of its flavor but the neck meat, which has a lot of flavor to begin with, held up pretty well. The aromatics and spices (and the chorizo) then added whatever was missing. All in all, pretty savory and not at all a dish you would think came from the leavings of something else. It is rich and hearty and stick-to-your bones comforting. You could of course make this with neck and kneecap directly simmered in the tomato sauce until tender, without waiting for a beef stock making session. We had it with a scalloped, shell-like pasta touted as gnocchi on that package. In any case, it worked a charm, catching the hearty sauce in its crevices. It would also go wonderfully with a good thick pasta noodle like a papardelle.

I feel unashamedly smug when I put every last bit of something to good use. Especially when something great comes of it. I only wish it was that easy for those boxes.

Note: It's a bit late to announce but I have some dishes in this month's (September) issue of Yummy magazine :) All made with local cheeses! This isssue is a great one -- chock-full of Filipino recipes, or dishes with local ingredients. There is a spread of different adobo recipes that I know I am going to be trying soon!

Yogurt with Stewed Plums

I told myself I would not feed little C something I would not also eat myself. So far I have been able to, for the most part, stick to that (just adding a little seasoning for me until she is old enough to have more for herself). Her vegetable soup gets some sea salt and a slick of olive oil and it is ready for mama. Her spinach and leek risotto get a shower of grated Manchego cheese for me. Her malunggay and rice ends up in my bowl with just a dash of fish sauce. I am hoping that this path will lead to her enjoy the same things we do --- ultimately to healthier eating habits and (also very important) me never having to make special “kid-friendly” dishes in addition to what is already on the table.

That term, “kid-friendly dishes”, confuses me. Most of the things I see touted as “kid-friendly” are not in fact very friendly, especially not if that is all they get served. Chicken nuggets, mini hotdogs (!!), and all kinds of sweetened and flavored snacks. Now, don’t get me wrong, I will eat all the aforementioned foods, but I am over 30 and have already grown to appreciate the world’s many wonderful (and healthier) flavors. I’m not in danger of being spoilt for the more delicate flavors like those of vegetables and fruits. I can eat a hotdog today and know that it’s not that good for me and I won’t be eating another one in a while. But for a child whose palate is just being formed, whose tastes are just beginning to take shape, wouldn’t it better, and truly more “kid-friendly”, to give them foods for which we hope they will develop an undying affection? Like broccoli? And yogurt?

Yogurt with Stewed Plums
(feeds baby and mum!)

• 1 plum
• 1 tablespoon water (approximate)
• 1/3 cup natural unflavored Greek yogurt

- Peel, de-seed, and slice the plum into eight wedges.
- Place plum wedges in a pan where they all fit snugly in one layer. Add about a tablespoon of water. You want the water to just barely cover the bottom of the pan, no more (there is liquid enough in the fruit).
- Place pan over low heat, cover, and cook until plums soften and start to collapse. Set aside to cool.
- Place yogurt in a bowl. Take about 1-2 tablespoons of yogurt out of that and into a smaller bowl for baby. Top baby’s portion with about a teaspoon and a half of stewed plums and place the rest on mum’s yogurt.
- Enjoy!

Fruits are a fantastic way to add a bit of sweetness to your baby's yogurt or cereal (I only did this though after she had tasted yogurt without any embellishment -- so she could first appreciate its natural flavor). I think if you start off this way you can try this for as long you can to avoid extra sugar. We will see :)

As a person at the beginning of her gastronomic journey, little C is like a blank slate, ready to be filled with every taste and flavor and aroma she can get in her toothy grin. As much as I am capable, I’d like those first tastes to be ones that are good for her, and ones that C and I enjoy as well.