Salmon with spinach in coconut milk and rice

A must try salmon recipe for every salmon fan! The salmon flakes are irresistibly succulent and coconut milk and sake sauce sauce just takes the dish to another level.

Ingredients:
~6oz filet of Salmon(with skin on)
Vodka/Sake
Soy sauce
Dijon Mustard
Toasted Sesame Seed oil
Salt
White Pepper
Butter (ghee)
Spinach
Coconut milk
Cooked white rice

Method:
1. Marinate the fish filet in some vodka/sake, sesame seed oil, soy sauce, dijon mustard, salt and white pepper for about 15-20 minutes.
2. In a non-stick pan, add some butter and put the filet skin side down. Cook in the pan, covered, for about 10-12 minutes over medium heat. Reserve the marinade.
3. Then take off the cooked salmon and wrap it in an aluminium foil(double wrap preferred) and set aside for 10 minutes.
4. While the fish is resting, add the reserved marinade to the pan and reduce the alcohol. Don't add any more salt or butter to the pan.
5. Add a few table spoons of  coconut milk and bring to boil.
6. Once the milk starts to boil, add spinach leaves and allow it to wilt.

For assembly of the dish, put the cooked rice at the bottom of the plate. Top that with flaked salmon and spinach with coconut milk sauce. Enjoy this dish while it's still hot!

Haaq - Palak ka shorba

This is a classic Kashmiri dish that my father used to make for me on cold days - for a quick and light meal. This recipe is one of my favourite but you can tweak it to increase or decrease the spice you like. Another important thing to note here is the use of whole spices. That gives this dish a whole new level of flavour and aroma.
The recipe below serves one with hot saffron rice or as a side to good grilled meat!

Ingredients:
Bunch of spinach
Some cinnamon
Some whole black pepper corns
Half dry red chilly
One cardamom pod
Some cumin seeds
Two cloves
Salt to taste
Pinch of sugar
1 tsp clarified butter(ghee)
1-1/2 cup water



Method:
1. In a pan, heat some ghee, then add all the whole spices and roast for some time.
2. Then add water and boil that for 1 minute.

3. Add salt and sugar.
4. Then add spinach and blanch for 4-5 minutes.

5. Serve haaq with steaming rice or grilled meat.

Fiddlehead fern and beans salad with cherries

Enjoy this refreshing and novel salad on a nice summer day!

Ingredients:

Fiddlehead fern

Crisp beans

Handful of Spinach

Some micro greens of your choice

Sweet cherries

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Salt

Pepper

Some sugar(optional)

Parmesan cheese

Method:

1. In a pan, roast fiddlehead ferns and beans with some oil until they are a bit tender and browned from outside.

2. To make the dressing, whisk olive oil, lemon juice, salt, sugar and pepper.

4. Coat the salad leaves and roasted veggies with the dressing and serve with cherries.

5. Add some grated Parmesan for extra flavour.

Spinach and radicchio salad with ginger dressing

This is a light and refreshing salad that goes well with any meat.

Ingredients:
Handfull of chopped spinach leaves
Handfull of chopped radicchio(or any other chicory leaves of your choice)
Some cilantro(not a garnish, but as salad leaves)
Olive oil
Finely chopped red chillies
Some grated ginger
Salt
Pinch of sugar - this balances the spicy and sour flavour of the dressing
Lime juice
Radishes - thinly sliced
Green beans - diagonally sliced
Spring onions - diagonally sliced

Method:
1. For the dressing - mix lime juice, olive oil, salt, sugar, grated ginger(along with its juices) and red chillies.

2. Reserve quarter of the dressing to coat the radish, beans and onions. Add the remaining dressing to the salad leaves and mix well.

3. Serve the salad leaves as base and top it with the coated radishes. Enjoy!

Spinach-n-Mushroom pasta bake

Looking for a quick and easy way to entertain... Or just want to pamper yourself for a classy Italian meal on a weeknight... Either way, this recipe is definitely worth a try! :)

Ingredients:
Handful of spinach
Button mushrooms - quartered or chopped in thick slices
Pasta
Parmesan cheese - grated
Mozzarella cheese - grated
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Minced garlic
Some dried Oregano
Some dried Thyme
~1/2 tbsp Butter
Olive oil
Some flour
Some Vegetable/mushroom stock

Method:
1. While the pasta water is kept to boil on one stove burner; heat olive oil with salt, pepper, red chilly flakes, oregano, thyme and  minced garlic in a deep saucepan on another burner.
2. Once everything starts to sizzle, add the mushrooms. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Let the mushrooms ooze their juices in to make the sauce.
3. After about another 2-3 minutes, remove the cooked mushrooms along with their juices in a bowl.
Note: At this point, put the pasta in the boiling water to start cooking.
4. In the same saucepan, add some butter and olive oil. Once butter is melted, add some flour and cook well to make a roux.
5. Add some stock to this and let it thicken. Add mushroom and it's juices to the sauce.
6. Add some roughly chopped spinach leaves to the mixture along with the drained pasta.
7. Empty this pasta mixture in a baking dish.
8. You can sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese on top OR you can skip the cheeses as well.
9. Bake this for 7-10 minutes at 400F/205C oven.

Serve hot!!

Spinach will cook in the heat of the sauce and later in the oven. That way it retains it's green color and has a bite to it.

You can substitute spinach leaves with any other sturdy greens such as arugula, water cress or chard leaves.