A FRESH RECIPE FOR SPRING...

ALL PICTURES: SOPHIA HOME

After the comfort food of winter, Spring signals the need for something lighter. 

I adore the fresh, vibrant flavours of Vietnamese cooking, so when I came across this recipe in a new Easter 'Waitrose' supplement, I had to give it a try last weekend.  

Vietnamese-style Salmon…..marinaded in a delicious mix including chilli, garlic, ginger and coriander….it is also easy and therefore perfect for entertaining as well as for an everyday treat.  Accompanied by a Vietnamese noodle salad, packed with herbs and crunchy raw vegetables, it is a healthy, zingy dish to awaken the tastebuds!

Vietnamese-Style Salmon

1kg side of salmon

For the marinade

1 red chilli, finely sliced 

a thumb-sized piece of ginger grated

a few springs of coriander, chopped

1 small shallot, finely chopped

1 small clove of garlic, minced

1 tbsp groundnut oil or vegetable oil

1 tbsp fish sauce

For the sauce

100g sugar

1 tbsp water

3 tbsp fish sauce

zest and juice of one lime

For the salad

6 shallots, sliced very finely

4 tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil

150g dry fine rice noodles, cooked to packet instructions

2 medium carrots, cut into fine matchsticks

1/2 a small cucumber, deseeded and cut into fine matchsticks

a decent bunch of coriander picked from the stalk

a decent bunch of mint picked from the stalk

juice of one lime

1 tbsp fish sauce

a handful of peanuts crushed

a few sliced chillies to serve on the side (!)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180c then gently mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.  Place the salmon skin-side down on a foil-lined roasting tray and spread the mixture over its flesh.  Leave marinating for at least one hour.

Make the sticky caramelised sauce by melting the sugar and water together in a heavy-bottomed pan.  Heat but don't stir as the sugar caramelises to a light golden colour, then quickly as the sugar is likely to burn, add the fish sauce and lime juice.  Set aside to cool a little, and then pour over the marinated salmon.

Pop into the oven for 20-25 minutes until the fish is cooked.

In a small frying pan, fry the shallots for the salad in the oil until they turn deep golden.  Fish out with a slotted spoon and set to cool on a piece of kitchen paper.

Assemble the salad by placing all the other ingredients (bar the peanuts) together in a large bowl.  Squeeze over the lime, drizzle with fish sauce, top with a scattering of peanuts and crispy shallots then serve next to the hot, sticky salmon.

Bon appétit!

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Hope you are having a lovely week!

Sophia xx