California Rolls & Salmon Nigiri

You will need:

California Rolls

• Sushi rice
• Japanese wine vinegar
• Avocado
• Nori 
• Sesame seeds
• Mayonaise
• Crab meat

Nigri

• Very fresh salmon
• Wasabi
• Sushi rice
• Japanese wine vinegar

1. Cook the rice, once ready, mix with the vinegar and keep refrigerated until cool
2. Slice the avocado in long thick strips
3. Use a rolling mat and cover it in seran wrap before lightly sprinkling sesame seeds over it
4. Place a layer of rice over the rolling mat and place down the nori sheet
5. On the side closest to you put down the avocado, crab meat and some mayonaise
6. Roll it up and slice it with a sharp knife

1. To make the nori, with wet hands ball the rice
2. With a very sharp knife finely slice the salmon
3. Place a small amount of wasabi between the samlon and rice before you lay the salmon on the rice

Beer Battered Fish & Chips with Homemade Tartar Sauce

A recipe borrowed from my extremely close, personal friend, Jamie Oliver :) 

*Due to being a moron and getting burned with hot oil, I feel the need to remind you of what you already know - never put water on burning oil. Whenever cooking with hot oil, always have a fire extinguisher handy or, if your oil should catch fire, cover the pot or pan with a damp cloth, turn the heat off and let the fire go out by itself. 

1 cup of plain flour

1 cup of beer

2 egg whites whipped

Salt

4 250 gram fillets of haddock or cod (I used skinless)

Enough cooking oil (canola, sunflower, etc) for your fish to be at least half submerged

And all you need for my potato wedges 

For the tartar sauce, mix together everything in a food processor:

3/4 a cup of mayonaise

1 teaspoon of dijon mustard

1 spring onion

2 small pickles

A few sprigs of dill

2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Since the chips take longer to make, I suggest doing them first and only cooking the fish when your potatoes are about 75% done. 
2. Begin heating the oil while you wash the fish and dap off all the moisture with a paper towel. 
3. Combine the whipped egg whites, beer and flour and mix well before dipping the fish in the batter and dropping the fillets into the oil. 
4. You want the oil to be hot enough to brown the batter but not burn it and not cook the fish enough. 
5. Once the batter is golden and the fish seems cooked inside, take the fish out and let it cool on paper towel. 
6. Enjoy!

Coconut Garlic Shrimp

About 200 grams of shrimp

1-2 eggs

1/4 a cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 a cup of bread crumbs

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 stalk of parsley

2 - 3 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon of onion powder

Butter

Sunflower oil (or any generic cooking oil)

1. Wash the shrimp well (make sure they are shelled...if not, shell them) and put them aside
2. In a small bowl, beat the eggs
3. Fill another bowl with the flower
4. Finely dice your garlic and parsley
5. And fill a third bowl with the garlic, parsley, coconut, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and onion powder - mix well
6. Pour oil into a shallow saucepan and turn it to a high heat
7. Dip the shrimp one by one first into flower, then into the egg, and then into the bowl with the garlic, parsley and bread crumbs before dropping them in the pan
8. Cook the shrimp until golden and then lay them on paper towel

Tip: They taste pretty awesome with freshly squeezed lemon
 

Teriyaki Glazed Salmon

• Salmon fillets
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 tablespoons of tamari
• 6 tablespoons of squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon of freshly minced ginger
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil

1. Wash the salmon
2. Mince the garlic and ginger
3. Marinate the fish in a ziplock bag with all the ingredients for at least an hour in the fridge
4. Grill the salmon on a high heat until it is almost fully cooked, then on a very high heat grill it on either side before serving. 

Tempura

• 1 egg
• 1 cup of flower
• 1 cup of ice water
• Tiger shrimp
• 1 zucchini 
• Mushrooms
• An eggplant (aubergine)
• Carrots
• Oil for frying

For the tempura dipping sauce:

• 1 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon of dashi 
• 1/4 cup of mirin
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1. Wash the shrimp and vegetables
2. Prepare the tempura batter by mixing together the water, flour and egg and for the dipping sauce, simply mix together all the ingredients listed
3. Slice the mushrooms in half and the other vegetables in long thick strips
4. Heat the oil
5. Dip the veggies and shrimp in the batter before dropping them in the oil. Allow them to cook until the outsides are crispy and golden
6. Lay them on a sheet of paper towel before serving

Creamy Salmon Pasta

You will need:

• All the ingredients to make a cream sauce
• A fillet of fresh salmon
• Chives

1. Marinate the salmon in olive oil, white wine, salt, pepper, chives and garlic and leave in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour
2. Once the sauce is nearly ready, cook the fish in a separate frying pan and cook the pasta. Continue stirring the sauce frequently with a whisk. 
3. When the salmon is done, break it into chunks gently, pour the white wine, garlic and olive oil remaining in the pan where the salmon was cooked into the sauce and mix int he chunks of salmon
4. Combine with pasta and garnish with chives

Light Tuna Salad

You will need:

A tin of tuna (preferably in water and not oil)
Half a stalk of spring onion
A tablespoon of chopped red capsicum (bell pepper)
1 1/2 tablespoons of chopped celery
A teaspoon of light mayonaise
A tablespoon of low fat plain yogurt
Half a teaspoon of dijon mustard

1. Finely chop the capsicum, celery and spring onion
2. Remove the liquid from the tuna and mix the fish well with the mayo, yogurt and mustard
3. Add the veggies and voila :)

A song from Thoraya :)

Panfried Dijon Mustard & Dill Salmon

Easy, quick and delicious

• You will need:
• A small-medium piece of fresh salmon
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil (or olive oil if you prefer)
• 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
• 2 stalks of fresh dill
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large lemon

1. Wash the salmon and lay it in a ziplock bag
2. Crush the garlic and wash and very finely chop the dill
3. Squeeze the lemon into the bag along with all the other ingredients and shake the bag well before leaving in the fridge to marinate for about an hour
4. In a pan on a medium-high heat, cook the salmon with a lid for about 7 minutes on each side
5. Once the fish is cooked to your liking, turn up the heat to add a slight char to the outside of your fish
6. Serve with lemon :)

Garlic and Dill Shrimp

Probably the easiest seafood dish you will ever make!

This recipe is really vague and useless and has no measurements, useful isn't it?

• Fresh shrimp (mine were already cooked)
• Fresh dill
• Spring onion
• Garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Some olive oil
• Freshly squeezed lemon
• Chives
• A pinch of paprika

If the shrimp are uncooked and shelled:

1. Wash and deshell them, marinate them in crushed garlic, chives, diced dill, spring onion, lemon, paprika, olive oil
2. Leave the shrimp in the fridge to marinate for about an hour
3. In a heated pan, cook them until the shrimp are pink in colour

If the shrimp are cooked:

1. Wash them, marinate them in dill, the onions, some live oil and lemon
2. Meanwhile, heat a pan and cook the crushed garlic on medium heat for a few minutes in some lemon and olive oil
3. Toss marinated shrimp in and let them cook very slightly. Be sure to not overcook them and make them too bouncy.

Tom Yum Goong - Spicy Thai Soup with Shrimp and Lemongrass

Ok so, I must admit I did cheat and use a cube of stock with tom yum goong flavouring because I didn't want to use pork or chicken stock. I am also not a huge fan of an overly fishy taste, so I didn't add fish sauce, but if you want a more authentic tom yum goong, add some fish sauce. 

You will need:

• A handfull of fresh and shelled shrimp
• A stalk of lemongrass
• One full lime
• A spring onion
• One red chili 
• A few stems of fresh coriander
• 1 cube of tom yum goong flavouring
• 2 table spoons of ginger
• Sea salt
• 4 cups of water
• 1-2 teaspoons of fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon of chili paste
• 1 tomato

1. Prepare all the ingredients: remove the outer layer of the lemongrass, cut it into 2 inch pieces and crush it with a knife. Wash the fresh coriander leaves. Slice the spring onion. Finely chop and crush the chili, cut the tomato in very thin slices, peel the ginger and slice it thinly
2. Pour the water and cube of flavouring in a pot with fish sauce and chili paste on a moderately high heat
3. Wash and deshell the shrimp and add them the pot aside from the coriander 
4. Toss in all the prepped ingredients and let simmer on a medium-high heat for 10 minutes
5. Squeeze in the lime juice, add the fresh coriander leaves
6. Be sure to taste your soup and add more salt, chili or limes as desired

Shrimp Tempura Maki

You will need:

• 1 avocado
• 1 carrot
• 1 cucumber
• Nori (seaweed sheets)
• 1 & 1/2 cups Sushi rice
• 2 cups of water
• Ginger
• Japanese soy sauce
• Wasabi
• A bamboo rolling mat
• 3 tablespoons of Japanese rice vinegar
• Sesame seeds
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of flower
• 1 cup of ice water
• A full handful of tiger shrimp
• Mayonaise (optional)
• Canola or sunflower oil (any generic cooking oil really)

Steps:

1. Wash and cook the rice either in a pot or rice cooker
2. When the rice is cooked, mix the rice vinegar throughout it and leave the rice in the fridge to cool
3. Deshell and wash the shrimp
4. Slice the spines of the shrimp so they are straight, only remove the tails if you want to
5. To make the tempura, whisk together the egg, flower and water in a bowl
6. In a pan, heat the oil
7. Be sure your shrimp are dry and then dip them in the tempura batter holding the tails and drop them in the oil
8. Cook them until the outsides of the shrimp are golden brown, then lay them on a place with paper towel to get rid of any excess oil
9. While the rice cools, peel the cucumber and finely slice it along with the avocado
10. Grate the carrot
11. Once the rice has cooled, lay  down the rolling mat and place the nori over it
12. Spread the rice all over of the way over the nori, leaving half an ich on either edge without rice
13. Sprinkle the sesame seeds lightly over the rice
14. Place your grated carrots, avocado and cucumber slices on the rice near to the edge of the mat and very lightly top it with mayonaise
15. Place the shrimp on top of the vegetables and mayonaise. If you have kept the tails, leave the them so they will be outside your roll on either end, slice off a tail of an additional piece of shrimp and place it in the middle
16. Lift the mat and tightly roll it up, shaping it into a square if you would like to
17. Brush water with your finger over the outside edge of the nori without rice and press it against the roll so it sticks
18. With a sharp knife, cut the roll into pieces and serve with wasabi, ginger and soy sauce

Seafood or Vegetarian Paella

If you are a fan of seafood, don't let this pass you by. I was always under the impression paella was difficult to make, and yeah... there are a lot of steps involved. However, it is more than worth it. 

One crucial aspect of any good paella is sofrito sauce.

I found an amazing recipe for it on FinestChef:

Sofrito Sauce: 
2 cups diced tomatoes,
1 cup of my basic tomato sauce
1 cup chopped onion,
2 Tbsp. olive oil,
3 Tbsp. paprika,
3 oz. saffron extract,
50 ml. dry white wine.




You will need:

• Ideally, a Valencian dish or skillet
• 2 cups of Calasparra rice
• 2 vegetable (or chicken) stock cubes in a cup of hot water
• 1 1/4 cups of sofrito sauce
• A splash of olive oil 
• 2 and and a half cups of steamed vegetables - I used peas, baby carrots and capsicum (bell peppers) but any other vegetables you would like to add, go ahead.
• 1/3 of a cup of white wine (Albarino or Verdejo)
• 1 finely diced onion
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• lemon for garnish
• 1/4 of a teaspoon of saffron threads

For Seafood Paella:

• Add any seafood you like: gambas, lobster, crab, shrimp, crayfish, mussels, etc

1. Steam your vegetables
2. Deshell the gambas
3. Wash all of your seafood well
4. Toast the saffron in a saucepan for 30 seconds and crush the threads
5. Make a seafood broth by placing the shelled shrimp in 2 & 1/2 cups of boiling water. After 10 minutes, remove the shells and stir in the saffron and salt, add your chicken or vegetable stock blocks
6. Pour olive oil in your Valencian dish or large skillet and let your onions and garlic simmer
7.  Cover the dish with rice
8. Add the seafood broth and mix
9. Let simmer with a cover for 10 minutes
10. Add the sofrito sauce and place your vegetables and seafood on the pan. Do not stir from here. 
11. Let simmer until your seafood and rice are fully cooked
12. Serve with lemon

For Vegetarian Paella

1. Steam the vegetables and set aside
2. Toast the saffron in a saucepan for 30 seconds and crush the threads
3. Mix the saffron with your vegetable stock cubes
4. Pour olive oil in your Valencian dish or large skillet and let your onions and garlic simmer
5. Cover the dish with rice
6. Pour over the saffron and stock water and let the rice cook for about 10 minutes
7. Add the sofrito sauce and add your vegetables
8. Let the rice cook 
9. Serve with lemon

Shrimp and Rucola Linguine

• Fresh or dry linguine (or any pasta you like)
• 2 small onions
• Cherry tomatoes
• 4 stems of fresh basil
• 2 handfuls of rucola (arugula)
• Red and yellow bell peppers
• 2 teaspoons of paprika (I prefer mild)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons of dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• Plenty of sundried tomatoes (less than the amount of cherry tomatoes... that isn't vague at all)
•  3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• A handful of fresh shrimp
• Fresh parmesan

For the shrimp:

1. Wash and de-shell the shrimp well and place them in a ziplock bag
2. Finely chop a clove of garlic and add it to the bag
3. Add salt and pepper, the tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 a tablespoon of oregano
4. Put aside to let marinate

For the sauce:

1.  Finely chop the onions, remaining garlic and 1 & 1/2 bell peppers.
2. Using the about 2 table spoons of the oil in the bottle of sundried tomatoes, heat up a frying pan and drop in your chopped ingredients
3. Sprinkle the sugar, oregano, paprika and salt and pepper over the pan and add the tomato paste
4. While the ingredients cook, halve the cherry tomatoes and put them aside
5. Wash the rucola, spin-dry and put it aside with the tomatoes
6. Wash and coarsely chop the basil leaves, put aside
7. Coarsely shop the sundried tomatoes and aaaalso put them aside (lots of side putting, yay!)

To finish off:

1. Boil and cook the pasta
2. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook until pink
3. Once the pasta is cooked, strain it, toss it into the pan and mix, throw in all the ingredients you have put aside, mix quickly and serve immediately so the rucola doesn't wilt.
4. Garnish with freshly grated parmesan

Salmon Slow-Baked in Maple Syrup

You will need:

• 10 ounces of salmon
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 knob of butter
• 1 full spring onion
• 1 lemon

 Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius

1. Wash the salmon well and place it in a baking pan lined with foil
2. Finely dice the garlic & spring onion
3. Place the salmon in the foil and rub it with the onion and garlic
4. Pour on the maple syrup and add the salt and pepper, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over your fish
5. Melt the butter in the microwave or in a saucepan and pour it over the salmon

6. Make sure the foil also covers the top of the salmon
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until salmon is cooked throughout

Whiskey Glazed Salmon

You will need:

• About 10 ounces of salmon
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 a large orange
• 1 large lemon
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 1 shot of whiskey
• 2 & 1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon of sesame seeds
• Chives
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash your salmon and place it in a ziplock bag
2. Toast the sesame seeds in a saucepan until golden
3. Finely chop or crush the garlic and add it to the bag
4. Squeeze the juice of the orange and lemon into the bag
5. Add the all remaining ingredients except for the chives and sesame seeds to the ziplock bag and shake it
6. Leave the bag in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to marinate (about an hour is ideal)
7. Cook the fish in a saucepan or grill pan until the fish becomes lighter in colour and is no longer bright pink in the middle
8. Garish the fish with the sauce, sesame seeds and chives