Friday 12 September 2008

Spicy Marinated Salmon with Raw Bean Salad

Guess what???

I'm moving house soon, having finally managed to lease my place out! I'm happy in some ways, but sad in others - I've had many good times in my wee flat and am sorry to leave it. Even worse, I will no longer be Kittens in the Kitchen... as the cats can't come with me to my new place.* So I guess I'll just need to be Kittie in a Different Kitchen...

But on the positive side, I'm moving for a very good reason (which I'll tell you all about very soon) - and now that I'm moving out, I know that my plans are actually starting to come together!

Anyway, less of the cryptic ramblings and onto the food!

I have about 3 weeks left in my flat - which means three weeks to run down the store cupboard and freezer - I won't be able to take much with me. So I think it is time for another Store Cupboard Challenge! It is something I had been thinking about doing anyway, and seems to be a bit of a theme in the food blogosphere at the minute, what with Judy's clean out, and Heather's purge...

I quite like raiding the pantry and freezer - it makes me feel like I'm on an extended episode of Ready, Steady, Cook! So I started off with this dish - using up some beans and tomatoes from the fridge, 2 almost empty packs of cous cous from the cupboard, and a couple fillets of salmon that I got for a end of day bargain price of £1.20!

The beans and tomatoes are deliberately all but raw. If you don't fancy raw beans feel free to give them a bit of a steam before adding them - I really fancied the crunch factor of keeping them raw though.

Try eating it hot from the pan - or cold the next day for lunch!


Spicy Marinated Salmon with Raw Bean Cous Cous

I haven't really put specific quantities - add more or less cous cous to pad it out - or more veg to up the health factor!
  • 150g salmon fillet
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp hot sauce
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 clove crushed garlic
  • 12 grated ginger
  • cous cous
  • stock
  • 3 large tomatoes, diced
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • Various beans, I used dwarf and sugar snap, cut into bitesize pieces!
Prepare the Salmon...
Chop the salmon into bite size pieces and place in a bowl. Mix together the sesame oil, hot sauce, soy sauce, lime juice and honey and pour over the salmon. Mix well, cover and refridgerate for an hour or two.

Prepare the Cous Cous...
Toast the cous cous for a couple of minutes in a dry pan, until it turns golden. Remove into a bowl and drizzle over about a tablespoonful of olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Remember the stock is saltly too, don't over season! Use your fingers to mix the olive oil into the cous cous - get it all covered and make sure there are no lumps! Add hot stock onto the cous cous, until it is just covered. Cover the bowl and leave for 10 minutes.

This won't actually cook the cous cous thoroughly - we're going to add more stock in a bit if we need to. I find doing it this way helps make it fluffy - not soggy!

After the 10 minutes are up, fluff the cous cous well and add the tomatoes and beans.

Cook...
Heat some olive oil in a hot wok. Drain off the excess marinade from the salmon and add the fish to the pan. Cook quickly over a hot heat so the outside gets a bit of a crust, leaving the inside not quite cooked. Don't worry if some of the chunks break up, it's all part of the charm!

Remove the salmon to a bowl.

In the same wok heat a spot more oil add the ginger and garlic and cook out for a couple of minute. Throw in the cous cous mix and fry for a couple of minutes, letting the cous cous pick up all the flavours from the salmon. If the cous cous is still al dente, add a bit more stock (remember the tomatoes will release some juices which will continue to soften the cous cous!)

Return the salmon to the wok and combine with the cous cous.



Serve with a smug grin safe in the knowledge that this is delicious and good for you! And maybe a glass of crisp white wine - it is Friday after all!



Left over tip!
I had some leftovers, so mixed them up with a bit of whisked egg to form a pliable mixture. Formed it into a couple of patties and rolled in panko before doing a shallow fry. I forgot to take pictures - so you'll have to take my word for it, but these were fab!!! Which I ended up having for breakfast the next day as I was out of bread!



* Don't worry, they are being looked after by a friend of mine until I'm in a position to get them back...




This recipe is all mine, so I'm sending it over to Lore's Original Recipes event.

I had to double check, but cous cous is a pasta - so it's one for Presto Pasta Night - this week being hosted by Psychgrad and Giz over at Equal Opportunity Kitchen!

Because I got the salmon so cheaply, this worked out to be a very cheap dinner - costing about £2.70 for 2 large portions, plus leftovers! Scale it up to 4 and we're still under £5, so this is my submission to this week's Frugal Friday!


Culinarty Original Recipe RoundupPresto Pasta NightsFrugal Fridays

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21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yum! I love salmon and couscous! This looks wonderful.

Lore said...

Using raw beans for the crunch factor sounds like a good idea and something I should try soon. Also, love how you ended up using leftovers, yum!
Congrats on the moving part, it's always nice to see a plan working out :D

CECIL said...

I have never though of cutting up salmon and mix it with couscous! This just looks so delicious! Happy packing and moving!

Mallory Elise said...

soft boiled eggs are definitely zeee best, but i can't eat gluten so no toast for me.

you have kittens in your kitchen? my house mates and i just got a kitten 2 weeks ago--she is crazy!! if you can cook with cats around then much bravo to you!

Peter M said...

SO, what ya doing with the kitties?

I like how you pay attention to sweet, sour, savory and spicy in your dishes...classy kittie.

Sam said...

Wow that salmon was a bargain! This looks delicious to, cous cous is one of my favourite foods.

Michele said...

fantastic results for using bits from the pantry! I should do the same. I have so many partially used items cluttering up my pantry and fridge. Congrats on moving house. I hope it goes well for you Kittie!

giz said...

Wow...what a loaded post. You're moving, you're purging, you're letting the cats go, you're mysterious about moving. Whew...I'm exhausted...so feed me that salmon now - I need strength.

You can count me into the purging - I call it cleansing. My pantry is ridiculous.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Great way to raid the pantry Kittie:D

Anonymous said...

This looks great and healthy, too ... I surely agree with the white wine ... !

Denise
http://WineFoodPairing.blogspot.com

Dee said...

Very nice, Kittie! Haven't bothered with cous cous for a while because I always end up with the same ole vaguely Moroccan concoction. Yes, I'm that creative.

Dee said...

So I hit publish before finishing.

I'm intrigued ;) Good luck with the move, and I'm glad the kitties have found a home.

Núria said...

It's nearly lunch time for me and I'm drooling over the computer's table. I could eat two bowls of your Salmon cous cous :D

What will happen to the kittens?

Heather said...

I love beans when they're still al dente. The only way to eat them, I think. Nice recipe!

Laura Paterson said...

Hey Candy, thanks for stopping by!

Hi Lore! Crunch is good - keeps it healthy too :D

Thanks Cecil - I'll keep you all updated!

Cheers ben!

Hi Mallory! The cats keep out of the way most of the time... though are occasionally an issue if they catch a whiff of chicken ;)

Hey Peter :) They are staying with a friend of mine (though she has a cat already - so we'll give them a trial month to see how they go!)

Sam, I love how versatile it is! (Believe it or not I have a cous cous cake recipe I'll post up soon!)

Thanks michele - me too!

I'm exhausted just thinking about everything I have to do in the next couple of weeks Giz! Luckily there is plenty of chocolate in the pantry to keep me going ;)

Cheers Val!

Had to add the wine Denise - it would just have been too healthy otherwise ;)

I got a bit bored of it a year or two ago too Dee, but I think it's about time for it to make a comeback!

Hey Núria :) I'm hoping they'll be staying with my friend for a few months - but if they don't get along with her cat then I'm going to have to take them to live with my parents in Scotland...

Cheers Heather - I agree!

Ruth Daniels said...

Sorry about the kitties.

As for using up what's in the larder...always a good idea to occasionally pretend your moving ;-)

When we moved from Toronto to Halifax, I had to give away a ton of stuff.

Anyhoo...the salmon & beet salad looks awesome.

Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

Thistlemoon said...

I am so glad the kittens will be able to stay with a friend and you will be re-united! :)

Good luck with the move, can't wait to hear the big news

AND

this dish looks great! I would love some! I love salmon and couscous together!

Laura Paterson said...

Hi Ruth! I'm going to try to use as much up as possible - so beware of possible wacky combinations heading this way soon ;)

Hey Jenn! All in good time m'dear! ;) Glad you like it!

glamah16 said...

Conmgrats on the move. Its always exciting. This dish screams tasty yet healthy. And you could even make a patty of it, so it went a long way.

Anonymous said...

Fish with cous cous - great idea! Looks fantastic

Jeff said...

I love raw beans! One of my favorite joys is just grabbing them off the vine and munching on them.

Good luck on the move!!