Fresh wild salmon fillets were on sale at our local grocery store few of weeks ago, so we decided to buy a couple of lbs. The fillets were really fresh and nice, not to mention, huge too. One fillet could be made into three portions. I searched the net for some salmon recipes and found this lovely recipe from Food Network's Giada De Laurentiis's website. I just love Giada's Italian recipes. They are always so simple to make, yet so yummy to eat. Here's how you make Baked Salmon with Plum Tomatoes, Giada style. Check it out.
Start off by flipping the salmon fillet over on it's back. Then, drizzle some olive oil on the salmon fillet. Next, crack on some black pepper followed by some sea salt. Giada cut her salmon fillets to individual serving sizes but I decided to bake my whole.
Then, slowly lift the salmon fillet and place it on some aluminium foil, marinated side down. You can pre spray the aluminium foil with some non stick cooking oil if you like. This will help prevent the salmon from sticking to the foil when it's in the oven. Once you have done that, set the salmon aside.
Now it's time to prep the plum tomatoes. Clean a few plum tomatoes under cool running water. Using a sharp knife, cut the plum tomatoes into small bite sized chunks.
Once you have chopped up all the tomatoes, place them in a small bowl. Marinate the tomatoes with some freshly cracked black pepper, dried oregano, dried thyme and a tiny bit of sea salt. If you have fresh herbs, you could use fresh herbs too. Then, add in about two tablespoons of lemon juice and mix everything together. Your plum tomatoes topping is done! Wasn't that easy?
Now, gently scoop the tomatoes and place them on top of the salmon fillet. This can be a little bit tricky, cos the tomatoes tend to slide down from the salmon. It just requires a little balancing act :P Make sure that you also pour whatever that's left of the lemon juice from the bowl onto the salmon.
Next, seal the aluminium foil tightly on all three edges. It should look like a little pouch once you are done. Remember to poke some holes at the top before popping it into the oven. This is to allow the steam to escape while cooking. Then, pop it into a 400F preheated oven for about 25 - 30 minutes (until the salmon is cooked through).
There you go. It's done! Doesn't it look yummy? Not only does it look yummy, it taste really awesome too. Just be careful when you peel open the foil. The sudden gush of steam might scald you if you are not careful. This portion is enough for 3-4 servings. After allowing it to 'rest' for a few minutes, gently cut the salmon into individual portions and serve. I served this up with a side of stir fried spinach with garlic and some brown rice. Yummy yummy stuff!
It's been a while since I shared any recipes with all of you, so I figured I'll just share something really quick and easy to make. This is the perfect summer time salad, when fresh tomatoes are in season. Insalata Caprese (or better known as Caprese Salad here in the States) originated from the region of Campania in Italy. An interesting fact that I found from Wikipedia is that this salad is sometimes called Insalata Tricolore, referring to the three colors of the Italian flag. Interesting. Anyways, I simply love this salad because it's really yummy to eat and really simple to make. It takes less than 10 minutes to put everything together. Here's how you make it.
Start off by washing a few large tomatoes. It's always good to choose the juicy ripe ones. Slice up the tomatoes and set them aside.
Next, you would need some fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese. Remove the cheese from it's packaging (it's usually sold, soaked in water) and slice it into pieces.
Then, it's time to put it all together. Arrange the tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves on a plate. Just alternate the tomatoes and cheese, with random basil leaves all over. Now, traditionally, one would just drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top and you are set to go. I changed it up a little and combined 1 part extra virgin olive oil to 1 part balsamic vinaigrette. Drizzle that over the salad and top it up with some freshly cracked black pepper and some salt. All done! Now, wasn't that easy? =)
