Salmon with cabbage parcel & stuffed onion

So I combined a number of different ingredients tonight with a surprisingly sophisticated result. I had salmon, cabbage, onions, and some leftover home made sun dried tomato pesto in the fridge. I did come across lovely stuffed onions in a classic Italian cookbook the other day with a mixture of mince, vegetables and herbs being stuffed int an onion and baked. I didn’t have these ingredients so I had to alter the recipe…….. How about a nice mackerel pâté? That would go well with onion wouldn’t it? I was, after all, serving it along with salmon??

So I blitzed some mackerel wit a good bit of extra virgin olive oil to make a pâté whilst I peeled and halved 2 large white onions. I scooped out several inner layers and filled with a tbsp of the mackerel pâté and into the oven at 190degrees.
I also thought I would make some cabbage parcels as well. I par boiled some Savoy cabbage leaves in boiling water for a few minutes, filled with some leftover tomato pesto and folded into nice little parcels. These 2 sideshows will surround the main events, some delicious fresh salmon.

I placed the cabbage parcels into the oven whilst I turned my attention to the salmon. Seasoned well with salt and pepper, I cook salmon for 3 minutes on each side (starting with the skin side down) and then for 2 minutes on each end and finally 1 last minute skin side down. The result is a deliciously crispy skin with a nice pink interior, bellissimo.

So here you have it folks, delicious Salmon with a pesto stuffed cabbage parcel and a mackerel ate stuffed onion. The salmon was divine, the pesto really complimented the heartiness of the cabbage and the baked onion was just sensational, matching the fishy stuffing spectacularly. It is just great to throw so many different ideas together, I recommend you all try it yourself!

Happy eating folks

J

Hug in a Bowl

Emily has been under the weather today, it has been very cold here! So for dinner, there was only one thing for it, French Onion Soup. This is a simple yet delicious soup, silky smooth and a good defence against the cold.

Add a large knob of butter to a large sauce pan and once melted, add the onion. Toss over 2 tbsps of sugar and cook the onions until they are soft. Pour over enough beef stock to cover the onions and simmer for an hour.
You can also aff lovely, light and fluffy dumplings. Simply add 100g of flour with 50g of Suet. Add a pinch of salt and, if you want, 50g of fresh herbs. Add 5 tbsps of water to the dry mix and stir well to form a dough. Once combined, roll the dough into balls and add to the soup to cook for 25 minutes, they will double in size and will be deliciously fluffy.
I have also sliced and toasted some read, rubbed with garlic and topped with some melted cheese. Out this at the bottom of the dish if using, and pour the soup over.

This really is a favourite of mine, and one of my mums many soups I remember eating when I was a little boy. The onions melt in the mouth and the sweetness combines really well with the fresh, fluffy dumplings. 2 clean dishes later, and Emily is a happy girl, so job well done!

French Onion Soup with dumplings