Seafood Kebabs

My face is broken right now.  Well, not my entire face, just my jaw.  I woke up one day last week and the back left side was stiff and sore.  At first I thought it was a dentistry related problem, then I thought that my wisdom teeth may finally be coming through but it doesn't appear to be related to either of those.  After a bit of digging on the internet it seems like I may have temporomandibular joint disorder which sounds very impressive but basically just means I have a sore jaw.

I'll wait while you go 'Duh' in a style reminiscent of Homer Simpson. 

It also means that there is not a lot I can do about it except grin and bear it or (my favourite) moan about it to Steve.  Saint that he is, he has born all my moaning with good grace and also cooked me a beautiful dinner conjured from necessity to make me feel better.  It is basically a medley of soft things that don't require too much chewing, but are healthy and full of flavour. 

He decided to cook me seafood kebabs served with a seared salmon steak and fluffy cous cous.  As a light, fresh (easy on the jaw) summer meal, this was just delectable, and so quick and easy!

You need:

10-20 small prawns
8-10 scallops, corals removed.
Pack of small chorizo sausages, cut into 1.5 inch segments
Red pepper
Green pepper
Punnet of cherry tomatoes
2 salmon fillets
Packet of cous cous.

Drizzle a griddle pan with a little olive oil and turn it up until it is hot.  Chop and deseed the peppers and lightly griddle them with the chopped chorizo sausages and tomatoes until seared and starting to colour.  Remove from the heat.

Put your cous cous onto cook by pouring the required amount into a pan, adding a sprinkling of sea salt flakes and pouring boiling water over the top so that the cous cous is just covered.  Stick a lid on the pan, make sure the heat is off and leave it for 10 minutes.

Season and lightly oil your salmon, add it to the the hot griddle pan and let it sear, flipping it halfway through cooking.  If you have some leftover prawns as we did, you can quickly cook them off as a sneaky cook's perk before serving!

Thread your vegetables, scallops, sausages and prawns onto skewers.  If you are using wooden ones, you may wish to soak them in some cold water first so that they don't catch fire.  Add them to another griddle pan and allow them to sear.  They are cooked when the seafood is done and this depends on how flat you can get your kebabs to lay!  Turn the skewers over at least once to allow them to cook evenly.  (This is also fab on the BBQ if you are planning one this weekend...)

Fluff up the cous cous with a fork and melt some butter through it.  Serve the cous cous with the salmon on the top and the skewers perched over the top of that.

You may notice that, unusually for me, this dish has absolutely no herbs or spices in it apart from olive oil and a little salt in the cous cous.  Trust me, the flavours are light;  the seafood is fresh, the vegetables are packed full of sweet juices and the sausage adds a smokey depth that as a meal it really doesn't need anything else added to it!  However, if you are desperate for some additional flavour, you can always use my pumpkin seed dressing for the salmon, or a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime over the fish or a little bit of sweet chilli sauce also works incredibly well!

Tuck in and enjoy!

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Salmon Pepita

I'm always looking for ways to jazz up fish a little.  We probably don't eat enough of it in our house, mainly because it can be a bit dull.  I came across this recipe in my wanderings on the internet and thought with a little tweaking to suit our tastes it could be worth a go for an easy weeknight supper.

The flavours are fresh and punchy so I combined the salmon with seared asparagus tips and smoked sea salt and garlic new potatoes.  Perfect for a summers evening out in the garden with a cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc and some jazz playing softly in the background.  Or in front of the TV while the kids argue about bath-time.  Whichever.

Ingredients:
3 fillets of fresh salmon
1 packet new potatoes
1 packet asparagus tips
20g pumpkin seeds
Butter
1 red birdseye chili
1 lime
2 cloves garlic
Oak smoked sea salt

Lightly toast the pumpkin seeds in a hot pan until fragrant.  Tip into a cold bowl and grate the lime over the top.  Add the juice of the lime, the chili (finely chopped) and a slither of butter.  Set aside.

In another pot combine another slither of butter with the crushed garlic and oak smoked sea salt and mash well.  Set aside.

Season the flesh of the salmon with pepper and the skin with salt.

Sear the salmon skin side down in a hot skillet lightly brushed with oil until it turns golden and crisp then turn the heat down, flip the fillets and continue to cook until the dark pink turns light all the way through.

In a separate pan boil the new potatoes and the asparagus tips.  After 2 minutes whip the asparagus tips out and add them to the skillet.

When the salmon is cooked, set it on a plate with the asparagus and tip the pumpkin seed mix into the hot skillet.  Cook for 10 seconds until all the butter has melted, remove and top the salmon with the sauce.  Add the garlic and salt butter to the new potatoes and serve.

PS.  This little number ticks all sorts of health diversity boxes.  It's low in fat, low in calories, diabetes appropriate, gluten free, low in saturated fats, low in carbohydrate and high in omega 3.

Clever fishy.