Salmon and feta flan with peas

If you've been following my blog or recipe posts you'll notice salmon has been somewhat of a theme lately. Not to mention my assortment of sweet tarts and pies. This recipe combines the two: smoked salmon baked in a savoury pastry shell to make this delightful flan. 

Don't let the idea of making your own pastry put you off: it's actually ridiculously easy (especially with the use of a food processor - though it can be done by rubbing the butter and flour together with your fingertips), and truely impressive. Not to mention, it is a lot healthier than store bought flaky or short pastry. 

Pastry (Serves 6 - 8 as a light meal): 

• 1 1/4 c flour 
• 90 grams cold butter, diced
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 - 6 tbsp chilled water

In a food processor, place the flour, salt and diced butter. Blitz on high till the butter is combined and it resembles breadcrumbs. 

Slowly add the iced water 1 tbsp at a time while the motor is running. The pastry will combine and become a soft sticky ball of dough. Wrap in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes. 

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius, or 180 degrees on fan bake. Grease a 22cm tart tin generously with butter, or line with greaseproof paper. 

After chilling, remove from the fridge and on a lightly floured bench or piece of greaseproof paper, roll the pastry to be about 4 cm wider in diameter than your flan or tart tin. Gently press your pastry into the tin and trim the edges. (See any of my other tart posts for tips and tricks with pastry). 

Filling:

• 4 eggs
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 green capsicum, diced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas, covered in boiling water and drained
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 150 grams smoked salmon
• 100 grams feta
• 1/2 tsp dried dill

Beat eggs with milk and salt. In the prepared pastry shell sprinkle the capsicum and peas evenly. Lay salmon over this, and then crumbled feta and red onion. 

Pour egg mixture over the top and gently press filling to ensure it is mainly submerged. 

Sprinkle with dried dill and place in the hot oven for 20 minutes. 

After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 180 degrees celsius, or 160 degrees fan bake, and bake for another 20 minutes. Once filling is set (and has most likely puffed up) and the pastry is cooked (it will be coming away from the edges of the tin) remove from the oven and set aside for 5-10 minutes to cool before slicing. 

Serve with dollops of your favourite chilli sauce.

Salmon Zucchini Fritters

Zucchini is one of those vegetables that kind of goes with everything. It's mild in flavour and still in plentiful supply due to the warm weather we've been having. The salmon makes a welcome flavourful addition, and despite the fact that it's rather expensive, a little goes a long way in this dish. 

The best thing about it is you can easily whip it up in 20 minutes, including cooking time for a delightful brunch or quick dinner solution. The recipe below serves 2 - 3 people but could easily be doubled to feed more. 

Ingredients (serves 2 - 3/6-8 fritters): 

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 small - medium zucchini, grated
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried dill 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup milk
• 100 grams flaked smoked salmon 
• oil or butter for frying
• optional: green salad, avocado, grain toast, fried eggs and salted greek yogurt to serve. 

In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs, add the zucchini, spring onion, dill, salt and pepper. Mix to combine. Stir in the flour and baking powder, mixing well, then finally add the milk and salmon. 

Heat a little oil or butter in a large frying pan, on a medium heat. Spoon the mixture into even sized fritters in the pan. Leave for 3-4 minutes, till small bubbles come to the surface. Flap the fritters and cook for another 3 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter. 

To serve, prepare a light green salad, and some buttered grain toast. A fried egg on top of the fritter stack is also a nice accompaniment. Finally dollop a spoonful of salted greek yogurt onto the side. The fritters will keep in the fridge till later, but are best eaten fresh. 

Summer Salmon Frittata

Busy summer's day, you've come home from the kids sports practice, dance lessons or running the other dozen errands life throws at you. Before you know it it's nearly 8 o'clock and you haven't eaten dinner yet, let alone thought about what you might cook. Do you duck out and grab takeaways, or do you make this summer salmon frittata. I vote frittata. I always keep a packet of smoked salmon in the fridge for occasions like this, the veggies are from the garden, or extremely cheap at the veggie shop this time of year, and best of all, it takes hardly any time to put together. Feel free to mix up the types of vegetables you use, you could even substitute the zucchini for a boiled diced potato if you wanted something more substantial. 

Ingredients (serves 4): 

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 small zucchini 
• 1/2 capsicum, diced
• 2 cups of shredded baby spinach or chard leaves
• 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley 
• 200g smoked salmon 
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• salt and pepper 
• 2 tbsp capers 
• 125g tub of cream cheese (or feta) 
• salad and toasted bread to serve. 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. 

Chop the zucchini lengthways, then slice into 2cm pieces. Heat oil in a 25cm ovenproof frying pan and saute zucchini for 3 - 5 minutes till lightly browned and softened. 

Combine eggs with milk, season with salt and pepper, and use a fork to beat lightly. 

Turn heat to low and add the capsicum, spinach leaves and parsley to the hot pan and toss together. Arrange the salmon over the top of the vegetables and pour in the egg mixture. Generously Dollop the cream cheese over the top. 

Finally, put the frying pan into the hot oven for 15-20 minutes until the egg mixture has set. 

Serve with salad and toasted bread. 

Salmon Potato Cakes

This weeks recipe inspiration was due to the fact that I had all this leftover potato. This meal is fast and healthy to whip up and best of all can be prepared in advance. Given the amazing summer weather we've been having I cooked ours on the BBQ, otherwise a heavy based frypan will do the trick. 

I think next time I have to take a plate for a BBQ, this is what I'll be taking, as a nice change from the usual skewers, steak and sausages!

Ingredients (makes 8 large cakes): 

• 500 grams of mashed potato (about 2 cups) 
• 400 gram can of salmon, drained and flaked. 
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped 
• 3 gherkins, diced
• 1 sliced chilli, optional
• 1 egg
• 1tsp each, salt and pepper 
• flour to coat
• oil for cooking
• mayonnaise or tartare sauce, to serve
• green salad, to serve

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except flour and oil. Mix well. 

Place half a cup of flour on a plate. 

Take one eighth of the mixture and shape it into a cake. Dunk it into the flour, and leave on a tray while you prepare the rest. 

On a medium heat, warm one centimetre of oil in a pan, or oil the bbq. Cook the salmon cakes for 5 - 8 minutes each side, till lightly golden. 

Serve with mayonnaise or tartare sauce and a green salad on the side. 

Kumara Rosti, Poached Eggs, Salmon and Hollandaise

The Kumara Rosti and the Hollandaise really are the star of this dish. The perfect late breakfast meal, or after one of those early morning world cup games, we've been dragging ourselves out of bed for. 
The toppings, feel free to chop and change to suit your taste, I like to alternate the smoked salmon for haloumi every now and then, and both options are delicious. 

You can get the meal started in advance, making the rosti, spinach and hollandaise early, ready to be warmed and assembled when the eggs are poached. 
The recipe serves four, but could easily be doubled or halved. 

Kumara Rosti 

• 4 medium kumara, grated
• 1 tbsp salt 
• 2 egg whites
• oil, for frying

Grate the kumara and stir through the salt. Leave to sit for 10 - 20 minutes while you prepare the hollandaise. 

After sitting, squeeze the kumara to remove excess liquid, you'll be surprised how much comes out. Stir in the egg whites. 

Heat half a cm of oil in a frying pan and use your hands to mould and flatten balls of camera, fry then in the oil, turning after 3-4 minutes. Once cooked on both sides I like to put them in a hot oven for ten more minutes to make sure they cook through, and to keep them warm while you get everything else ready. 

Hollandaise 

• 80grams butter
• 2 egg yolks 
• 3 tbsp lemon juice

Make a double boiler. Place a small saucepan of water over a low heat. Place a glass or metal bowl over the top of the saucepan so that no steam can escape. This creates a gentle heat to cook your hollandaise. 

Put the yolks and butter into the bowl and whisk constantly as the butter melts. Whisking is important, you want the butter to mix in with the yolk before it cooks. Once all butter is melted, continue whisking for a minute or two till it has thickened a little. 

Remove from heat and whisk in the lemon juice. Do this quickly, while it is still warm. Set aside, it will continue to thicken, this is ok, as when it is spooned over the warm eggs it will melt a little. 

Spinach 

• 150 grams spinach
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp oil

Pour boiling water over the spinach and drain. Heat the oil in a saucepan, and add the lightly wilted spinach. Cook, stirring, for a few minutes till wilted. 

200 grams smoked salmon 

or 200 grams Haloumi cheese, sliced and fried 

8 Eggs, poached in hot water

Everyone has their own poaching tricks. I do mine in a large saucepan on a low simmer, with a spoonful of vinegar in the water. 

To assemble

On a plate place two warm rosti. Place a small pile of spinach on top of each. Next layer smoked salmon, or a slice of fried haloumi, place the poached egg on top, then spoon over the hollandaise and watch it melt down over the egg and rosti. 

Salt. 

Pepper. 

Enjoy. 

Left: Rosti with spinach, haloumi, egg and hollandaise. Right: The Salmon variation

Salmon Yakisoba (Japanese Fried Noodles)

I love crispy skinned salmon, it’s ridiculously easy to cook, super filling, nourishing and down right delicious. I usually buy 2 large salmon fillets, and cut each in half lengthways.

However, if salmon isn’t your thing, these Japanese style fried noodles would be just as delicious with grilled chicken or beef steak thinly sliced and served on top.

The sauce for these noodles uses miso paste, a fermented soybean product which creates an earthy salty flavour, mirin, a sweet Japanese rice wine, and sesame oil which has a rich nutty flavour. These can all be found in the international section of most supermarkets, health food shops, or asian supermarkets. If you can’t find mirin, you could substitute for a sweet white wine, with an extra teaspoon of sugar.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 4 tbsp mirin
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 4 tbsp miso paste
• 4 cloves crushed garlic (2 tbsp)
• 2 tbsp crushed ginger
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 onion
• 1 large carrot
• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 400g soba noodles (any thin stick noodle will also work)
• 500g salmon fillets (skin on, boned)
• pickled ginger, to serve (optional)

Method:

Make the dressing, in a small bowl, combine mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, miso paste, garlic, ginger and lemon juice. Stir to combine and set aside.

Peel and thinly slice onions, and carrots. Cut onions from end to end along the natural lines that occur, this is the best way to slice them for a noodle stir fry. Cut carrots into matchstick thin strips if possible. Shred cabbage thinly also.

Just before cooking your vegetables, get a large pot of water on to boil for the noodles. Boil, according to packet directions then drain and rinse with cold water.

While noodles are cooking, heat oil in a large pan, add onion and cook, tossing with a pair of tongs for a couple of minutes till softened. Add carrot and cabbage and continue cooking for 3 -5 minutes till softened.

Your noodles should be cooked by now, but before adding them to the veggies, heat another pan ready for your salmon steaks. Place salmon skin side down in the dry hot pan. Cook 2-3 minutes, till skin is just crispy, before turning to cook for another 2 – 3 minutes until just cooked through. You won’t need to add any oil, as all the natural oils from the salmon come out into the pan.

While the salmon is cooking, add the drained noodles to the vegetable pan, along with the dressing, toss together for a minute or two to warm through, then divide into four serving bowls. Place cooked salmon on top, skin side up and top with a little pickled ginger if using.

You'll also find this recipe published on nzdads.co.nz