Salmon a la banrock – a taste of Australia meets England with 9ja somewhere in between

I got this recipe from a fellow member of my favourite Facebook Group – So  you think you can cook. If you are not a member of that group yet, I suggest you join. Lots of helpful information about cooking, and you will always find something new to learn. I am guessing Emeka named it a la paripaso because of the choice of white wine that he cooked this dish with. Salmon and white wine are like bread and butter. Fish in general, works beautifully when cooked with white wine. If you have never cooked with wine before, this is a great dish to test the waters. White wine especially Chardonnay’s, and oaky Chardonnay’s for that matter are top choices. Paripaso is one of the brands of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay from the Daou vineyards. I prepared my version using Banrock station, so technically this dish has to be named Salmon a la banrock station. Lol. If you ever come across this wine on the Australian wines section, do pick it up, especially the Chardonnay. You are not going to regret it, I promise you.

Emeka’s recipe contains, salmon, onions, garlic, ginger, shrimp, tomatoes, mushrooms, white wine, sea salt, black pepper, flour, seafood stock and olive oil. I have taken out the black pepper and mushrooms out of personal choice. You can keep them in, if you wish. I had also run out of shrimp. It still tasted great without it. I need to taste some crunch when eating fish that is not fried, so I added toasted pine nuts to create that effect. I enjoyed making this dish because it is very similar to my other recipe of pan-fried swordfish without the flour. Recipe HERE. This dish is perfect for dinner, very light and relaxing. You can serve with toasted bread, a small portion of boiled yam or potatoes. If the thought of carbs for dinner scares you off, you can eat this on its own. It won’t be particularly filling, but hey you are on a diet, something has to give. You also don’t have to be turned away from this recipe because you can’t source Salmon. Any delicate white fish like Crocker or even Tilapia will work very well. Cooking this meal takes less than 10 minutesm so it is a great choice for dinner. Here’s to you Emeka Ozonah, thanks for sharing.

You will need

1/4 red onion

2 large tomatoes

1 small stump of ginger

1 red chilli – you can substitute with ata rodo (scotch bonnet/habanero pepper)

1 green chilli 

1 clove of garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 tablespoon of flour

1 teaspoon fish sauce – optional

1 pinch of curry

1/2 cup white wine – use any brand that you enjoy drinking

1/2 cup seafood stock – you can season and boil 1 – 2 pieces of fish to create some stock

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper – dry pepper

Olive oil

How To

1. Chop all the ingredients, sprinkle over a pinch of curry and 1 tsp of fish sauce. Sauté in a hot frying pan coated with 1 tablespoon of Olive oil. Salmon is an oily fish, so to stay on the healthy eating side of things, 1 tablespoon of olive oil is enough.

let this sauté for 2 minutes on high heat to allow all the contents soften.

2. Mix the stock with 1 tablespoon of flour and add to the pan. Stir and let this cook for 2 minutes on high heat till you can see a creamy sauce. Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: the stock should not be hot or very cold, otherwise the flour will create lumps immediately. Add the salmon skin side up and lower the heat. I have always advised that you cook fish on low heat in order to retain its flavour.

Let the fish cook in the thick creamy paste for 2 -3 minutes, to absorb all the flavour of the vegetables, curry and fish sauce. This also allows it to cook in its own juices before you add the wine. Taste and re-season with salt and half a seasoning cube if you wish. I had gotten salt from the fish sauce, and also from the seafood stock which I got from boiling mussels in champagne, and other spices, which I mentioned in my post HERE. So, I didn’t need to add any salt or seasoning cube

3. Add the white wine to the pan, which will dilute the creamy sauce

let this cook still on low heat for another 3 – 5 minutes, to reduce the sauce and boil off the alcohol leaving you with the flavour of the wine. Which is why I stated that you should cook with a brand you already enjoy. Never make the mistake of trying out a new brand of wine when cooking.

while the sauce is reducing, toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over high heat for 1 minute. Remember to shake the pan gently every 10 – 15 seconds.

……………..and that’s it. In 3 simple steps you have this gorgeous simple dinner.

If you are pairing this with a starchy addition, it would be wise to to boil it just before you start on the salmon, so that your dinner is ready right about the same time. If you are serving it with a baguette, you can toast it while the sauce is reducing.

Bon Appetite………………..