Salmon en Papillote with Lime Butter Sauce

I did this recipe with my sister in mind, she’s not a fan of fish at all, she came to stay with me for a couple of weeks, just until she found a place of her own. Although she was staying with us and I knew she wasn’t a fan, I wasn’t going to change my dinner plans just because she doesn’t like the dreaded fish. She enjoyed it though, so not a bad job on the salmon really – this is one of my favourite ways to cook the fish. It pretty much guarantees a perfectly cooked piece of fish. Sometimes I wonder whether our dislike to certain foods, has more to do with the types of food and cooking methods used whilst we were growing up, and therefore just being put off. This is another reason I insist my children eat everything on their plate and I make them try several different recipes with the same ingredient, in an attempt to get them to open their palettes. That said, I won’t cook a recipe more than once if they really didn’t like it. I am diligent and I want to teach my kids good table manners by eating what’s in front of them without complaint, but neither am I cruel. Once is a fair deal I think. 

 

Salmon en Papillote with Lime Butter Sauce

75g/3oz unsalted butter

2 Limes, juice and grated rind (each separate)

4 salmon steaks

Salt and pepper

4 spring onions, trimmed

Pinch of sugar

3tbsp dry sherry

3tbsp double cream

1. Set your oven to 200˚C/400˚F, cut four rectangles out of baking paper, big enough to encase the salmon steaks. Put the salmon steaks on half of each of the pieces of baking paper, season each one with salt and pepper, sprinkle the rind and juice over the top, fold the over half of the baking paper, folding in the edges a little to seal them in, place the parcels to one side on a baking sheet.
2. Make the sauce by chopping up the spring onion, melt about 15g/ ½ oz of butter in a small saucepan. Soften the spring onions in the butter, add the juice from the other lime, add the sugar and sherry increase the heat and bring to a boil the liquid is reduced by half.
3. Place the papillote in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, the parcels will puff up.
4. Pour the cream into the sauce, allow to bubble for a couple of seconds, slowly whisk in the rest of the butter. Remove the pan off the heat every now and again. This will help prevent the sauce from splitting, the sauce will thicken and become smooth, season with salt and pepper.
5. Serve the salmon in their parcels and the sauce separately.
    
   New potatoes seasoned with salt and pepper and little butter with seasonal vegetables are a good accompaniment.

Jerk Pork - My 200th post

This pork recipe is one that I got out of a J.O book, I had to change it somewhat because the original recipe said to use ginger in the salsa but I am allergic, even the smallest amount of ginger makes my breathing laboured, and gives me a really irritating cough, but a large amount of ginger and I feel my oesophagus closing and getting tight, so I didn’t add any ginger. We don’t like coriander/cilantro – so I used parsley instead, I read somewhere that it is an acceptable substitute. I also didn’t use a bone in piece of pork, I know all the facts about it adding flavour – I have been getting better, and putting my bone “phobia” aside but there are times when I just feel ill at the thought of it. This was one of times; I have to admit it was probably because bones and pork are two things that put me off before I’ve even started. The pork though was rather tasty and I will probably use the cooking method again, as for the salsa next time I’ll make it with less lime, it was a little too citric for my liking.

Jerk Pork

                                                                                                                            For Jerk Salsa 

5kg pork, skin on                                                                                                1-2 chillies (Your preferred sort)

Salt and pepper                                                                                                  2 bunches of spring onions

Pinch of rosemary and thyme                                                                             1tsp ground cinnamon

1tsp nutmeg                                                                                                        1tsp ground cloves

Olive oil                                                                                                               2tsp ground allspice

2 x 500ml cider                                                                                                    3 limes

                                                                                                                             3 bay leaves

                                                                                                                             2 cloves garlic, peeled

                                                                                                                             1-2tbsp honey

                                                                                                                              Olive oil

                                                                                                                              Large bunch parsley

1.       Preheat your oven to 240˚C/475˚F. Using a sharp knife score the skin of your pork to about a cm deep and massage the salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme and nutmeg with a little olive oil all over the meat, and into the scores. Put the pork skin side up into a roasting pan with one of the bottles of cider, bake for 30 minutes and then reduce the heat to 130˚C/250˚F.

2.       After an hour add the remaining bottle of cider and cook for about 3 hours, cover the roasting pan with tin foil and return to the oven for a further 3-4 hours.

3.       Transfer the meat to a serving platter; discard the fat, keeping the cooking juices. Place all the salsa ingredients into a liquidizer and pulse until it has a salsa looking consistency, and then mix in with the meat juices taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.

4.       Remove the crackling from the meat, discarding the fat and place on a serving platter. Using two forks shred the pork, and then toss together with the salsa, and serve on a bed of rice.