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Quinoa is becoming popular and much easier to find. It is lovely in a salad with some goat’s cheese. We serve it in the restaurant with duck and it works very well. This glaze is one that I use a lot. It is a very versatile marinade that is delicious with chicken, turkey or pork. You could even use it with kebabs on the barbecue. For honey, you won’t find better than Mileeven from Co Kilkenny. This recipe is also good with either monkfish or trout.
This crab recipe will impress any shellfish lover. It is a bit of a treat. Crab is not cheap but it is delicious. It is great to see the quality of Irish shellfish being recognised now all over the world. At the restaurant we get our lobster, prawns and crab from Daithi O’Dowd at the Mullaghmore Sea Farm. There are a lot of interesting spices and flavours in this recipe and you could substitute the crab with chicken if you prefer.
Happy cooking,
Neven
Serves four
Ingredients
300g macaroni (try to find the long variety)
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
a knob of butter
2 large shallots, finely chopped
100g fennel, finely chopped
½ tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp tomato purée
½ tsp smoked paprika
450ml milk
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
a pinch of ground nutmeg
150g mature Cheddar cheese, finely grated
50g Gruyère cheese, finely grated
1 small lemon
1 heaped tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 x 250g packet of crabmeat (mixture of white and brown if possible)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
Buttered steamed samphire
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°c (350°F/gas mark 4).
2. Cook the macaroni in a large pan of boiling salted water for seven to eight minutes, until tender but still with a little bite (al dente).
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat. Tip in the butter and allow to sizzle, then sauté the shallots, fennel and chilli flakes for four to five minutes, until softened but not coloured.
4. Sprinkle over the flour and cook for another minute, stirring. Stir in the tomato purée and paprika, then gradually add the milk, whisking continuously until the sauce is smooth.
5. Simmer for two to three minutes, until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Then add the Worcestershire sauce and nutmeg.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheddar and most of the gruyère.
7. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze in enough juice to taste. Then cut the rest into small wedges.
8. Take a small cupful of water from the macaroni, then drain. Add the macaroni and reserved cooking water to the sauce along with the parsley, stirring until evenly combined. Then fold in the crab.
9. Divide between individual enamel baking dishes. Sprinkle over the rest of the gruyère. Once cool, portions can be covered in cling film and kept in the fridge or frozen.
10. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until bubbling. Serve with the buttered samphire and lemon wedges on the side.
Serves four
Ingredients
100ml soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
Good pinch of chilli flakes
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tsp sesame oil
4 x 125g salmon fillets, skin on (scaled)
For the quinoa:
150g quinoa
300ml vegetable stock 100g curly kale
100g baby spinach leaves
100g shelled pistachios, toasted and chopped
75g watercress
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 avocado, halved, stoned and diced
½ cucumber, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To garnish
Lime wedges
Method
1. Rinse the quinoa and put it in a pan with the stock. Bring to the boil, then cover with a lid and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is just tender. Place in a bowl. This can be kept in the fridge.
2. Put the soy sauce, honey and chilli flakes into a small bowl or use a jar if you plan to keep it. Whisk or shake until combined.
3. Take the quinoa out of the fridge 20 minutes before serving to bring it up to room temperature. Meanwhile, prep the rest of the ingredients and fold them into the quinoa, then season to taste.
4. When you’re ready to cook the salmon, season the fillets and heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the rapeseed and sesame oil, swirling them around to combine.
5. Fry the salmon fillets, skin-side up, for two to three minutes, until lightly golden. Turn them over and cook for another four minutes.
6. Increase the heat to high and pour in the honey and soy mixture. Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes, spooning the sauce over the fillets as it thickens to a syrupy glaze.
7. To serve, put the green quinoa on a serving platter and sit the salmon fillets on top. Drizzle over the syrupy sauce and garnish with lime wedges.
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