When I'm not at Work: smoked salmon

Showing posts with label smoked salmon. Show all posts

Smoked Salmon... Pasta for Guests

We actually didn't have any guests but this dish would definitely be guest appropriate. Something I've discovered recently is that there just aren't a whole lot of recipes out there which include smoked salmon.

It's a strange thing, I think. I really like smoked salmon. It's delicate but can totally change a dish, which is really cool. I got a whole lot of it sitting in the frigo slowly dying - now that our Montreal Bagels are officially finished :-( So, I've gotta get some creative and think something up myself. This poses a problem however because I'm feeling totally UNcreative of late. Burnt out maybe. It's a complete drag though because I was really looking forward to cooking all kinds of crap over the summer. You know, no time restrictions, great weather, sleeping in therefore lots of energy and farmer's market bounty. And yet - here I am feeling dry, tired and thoughtless. Truth be told, I've been living on these Montreal bagels for the past week and a half (which ain't a half bad life, I won't lie) and avoiding the kitchen like nobody's business.

I guess that it's all gotta change though. Can't keep this listlessness in the kitchen up forever. We have to eat and I need to find some energy.

My food box helped just a little bit this week by bringing me a whole big batch of fresh basil. So, after a quick pesto was whipped up in the blender the rest of the dish took shape. Pasta, Cream Fraiche (sounds hard but it's easy and worth it), green beans, smoked salmon. Do what you like with the green beans. If they're not your thing then try fresh peas or just add more spinach. Totally tasty AND, after a nice plateful, I feel just a little bit more inspired.

Smoked Salmon and Creamy Pesto Pasta

Serves 6 - 8

Penne or Rotini Pasta, boiled in salted water to al dente

1 large bunch of basil (about 2 1/2 cups)

1 cup of walnuts or pine nuts

1/2 cup of parmesan

1/2 cup olive oil (I used half olive oil and half water though)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 red onion sliced thin (green onion, leek or chive would work well too)

3 cups of green beans, cut in half

3 cups of spinach, cut up small

2 cups creme fraiche (literally mix 1 cup of heavy cream with 1 cup of sour cream and let it sit for a bit)

For the pesto:

Place the basil leaves, walnuts and olive oil in a blender and blend until pureed. Add the parmesan and salt and blend until mixed. Should make almost 2 cups or so.

In a large pot saute the onion and green beans just until soft and pliable. Add in the spinach and let it wilt. Turn the stove to low heat and add in the pesto. Mix well. Add in the creme fraiche little by little mixing well. That way you can decide how thick you want the sauce. Once it's at the thickness you like mix it in a large bowl with the cooked pasta and serve.

A little bit of heaven

We've just returned from a fantastic time in Montreal. We used to live there and it still remains one of my favourite cities (I'm lying actually - it is my favourite). Kid #1 and Kids #2 were fantastic. We were so proud of our kids this weekend. Well behaved and easy going... exactly what a parent needs when you take kids on a vacation.

We stayed in a couple of different places and saw a lot of people and they were great. They got some nice treats for their efforts though. I got some nice treats for my efforts too.

The best things about being in Montreal. Let's see... old friends, great clothes shopping, beautifully walkable city, GREAT FOOD...

Where to start: Bagels. The Best. Bar None. I don't even buy bagels in Toronto because they are, in a word, Gross! Either too gooey or too bready/cakey. Blech. Montreal has fab bagels. The best known bagel makers are at Fairmont or St Viateur and they've pretty much set the bar. Having a Montreal bagel with lox and cream cheese... well, there really is nothing better. It has something to do with the cooking/baking process. The bagel dough is first shaped and then boiled. After boiling they are dipped in the seed of choice (poppy seed or - my fav - sesame) and baked in a wood oven. Terrible places to work in the summer. Anyway, I'm convinced that it must have something to do with the dough itself though. It can't just be the baking. Either way, we came home with 2 dozen to put in our freezer and enjoy for a little while here in T.O.

We also visited our favourite pizza joint with our great friend Celine! We didn't get a shot of the pizza unfortunately because we ate it too fast. However, I highly recommend their 5 cheese pizza, the vegetarian and the hawaiian - you won't be disappointed, especially if you love gooey cheese pizza.

I finally managed to squeeze in a visit to my favourite bakery - patisserie- Duc de Lorraine where I could finally introduce the rest of my family to the infamous 'macaron'. We bought a box of assorted flavours and they were fantastic. My favourite was the Moka and the Citron (lemon).

We did some sight seeing,

went to a friends wedding (congrats you two!),

and saw some old friends and family (thanks so much) ... Generally we just had a great time!

A Not-so-Tart Tart

Ahhhhh (long sigh). This is what I love. I quiet day, the smells of baking through the house. The sound of the washing machine getting the clothing ready for the week. Kids getting ready for bed. And something lovely (hopefully) ready to be eaten when the kids are in bed and Derek and I can have a few quiet moments before the flurry of the week (which reminds me... I have to send out an email pronto!)

I've been eyeing a Rustic Vegetable Tart recipe for a while now but when Sweet Mary posted this gem yesterday I knew I had to give it a go. I've worked with puff pastry before (although, I've never made my own and as long as Tenderflake is out there I don't intend to) so I know that it's easy and yields impressive results.

I'll admit that given the other stuff on my 'to-do' list today I was rushing through this a bit and I would give it more time in future and take a little more care. However, I made sure that I used ingredients that wouldn't need much TLC to taste good.

I think that this little gem would make great appetizers if friends were coming for dinner or you were hosting a party. There are endless possibilities for this recipe. Heck, I might even try a pastry puff pizza - why not. I went a little uptown with this one today and made Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese the star of this show although there are plenty of grilled veggies to balance out the richness. At the end of the day, Derek and I enjoyed nibbling on this while quietly gearing up for our crazy week ahead.

Wanda's version of the Savoury Tart:

Tart with Goat cheese and Smoked Salmon

1 pkg of puff pastry (I used Tenderflake)

1 sm. pkg of goat cheese

6 or so slices of smoked salmon (I cut each big slice down to small pieces)

1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

5 thin slices of Havarti (got some at the market yesterday and I had to sneak it in)

1/2 - 3/4 of a zucchini (depending of the size), sliced on the thin side

1/2 - 3/4 of an eggplant also sliced on the thin side

1/2 an onion, sliced thinly

1 - 2 cloves of garlic, crushed

olive oil and butter as needed

salt and pepper to taste

handful or two of julienned basil leaves (slice them nice and thin) to sprinkle on at the end

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Prepare two cookie sheets (or any flat surface) with a little bit of cornmeal sprinkled so that the pastry doesn't stick.

Heat a large pan (I used a large caste iron frying pan). Once heated, add the olive oil and/or butter (I used a mixture of both - butter tastes really good in this recipe) and add the zucchini and eggplant, lying each flat so that they can grill. Watch closely for when they are ready to turn over.

Once both sides of each veggie slice is grilled well (honestly, if you just sauteed the stuff it would probably work just as well and possibly not be as tedious) remove from the pan and add the onions, add more oil if needed. After a couple of minutes add the garlic. Once limp and looking a little caramelized remove from the pan and take the pan off the heat.

Roll out the puff pastry until it's about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch thick. place on prepared oven sheet. I made two separate tarts (because the pastry was divided in two - no other reason) but you could easily make it into one big tart. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese leaving an edge of about an inch. Add the veggies on top, spreading things out nicely. Add the smoked salmon, spreading the pieces around generously and repeat with the Goat cheese and the Havarti. Finish with salt if needed and the basil sprinkled over the top.

Here you have a choice. You can leave the edges flat as is or fold them up (as I have done in the pictures) to get a bit of a walled edge. Completely depends on how you're feeling that day and makes no difference to the recipe at all! (Nice eh?!)

Bake for about 20 min (if it doesn't look done give it a few more minutes but keep an eye on it. Don't despair if it looks like it's getting a big bump in it, that will settle back down once it's out of the oven. Once baked, let it cool slightly before cutting and then dig into this flakey crust and enjoy each morsel!