I write a lot about the food that I cook, but rarely really push it. This is one such dish which is firmly on my Dinner Party list now ... everyone should try it!
Inspired by Chef Cyrus Todiwala of Café Spice Namasté in London, who I saw on the BBC's 'Saturday Kitchen' last Saturday morning, I had a go at something similar ... his was cooked in a tandoor. Mine was under the grill/broiler.
This is a curried salmon dish, the fish marinated in yoghurt overnight and served over simple salads and some boiled and fried sweet potato.
So, last night, I made up a marinade from probiotic yoghurt, lime juice, ground coriander, turmeric, asafoetida, cayenne pepper, black pepper and some salt I have mixed with chilli (billed as 'Bloody Mary Salt'). Add some cumin if you like; I would, but my Mrs abhors the taste, so it was left out.
You don't need a lot here. For two people I used maybe a pound of salmon with only two or three good heaped tablespoons of yoghurt. The spice blend should make the marinade taste gorgeous. Don't leave out the asafoetida - it does smell odd, but is very definitely part of the overall flavour which changes everything when the fish is cooked.
For the more purist paleos, perhaps you could try a dry rub of the spices with lime juice to "cook" the flesh?
Chunks of salmon in ... marinade overnight.
Tonight, simple prep. Chopped red onion, cucumber, chilli and dill with some cider vinegar, left for about an hour; some red cabbage and beetroot in red wine vinegar left for about an hour; sweet potato, boiled, then fried off in goose fat and black mustard seeds while the salmon sat under a grill/broiler for a few minutes each side.
That's it!
Superfluous greens are wasabi greens.
The salmon was perfect! The astringent macerated parts of the dish were perfect and the sweet potato just held it all together.
Stunning! Even if I say so, myself ...
