Salmon Teriyaki

Salmon is probably my favourite fish in the ocean or any water body in that matter. I like  so much,  I can not eat it often enough. 

I like it raw and dipped in wasabi soy sauce

I like it flambeed ,

 I liked it pouched  , grilled

fried and served with rice

I like it in my sinigang soup, in my  Pasta

  even in my Curries!

 Okey,  I guess you already get the picture.

Considering how I love to stay in bed and  hibernate during cold season , grow abundant leg hairs in my sleep, growl when angry, veering towards hostile when hungry,  I could be a reincarnated bear for I know. One things for sure though,  I definitely share their love for this fish.

So when I found another delicious looking Salmon dish  on the Internet, I went off to buy my favourite sea creature and risk Poseidon's wrath for contributing to this fish's depletion.

Salmon Teriyaki

I made a lot of salmons in my life but THIS ends my favourite! It also happens to be one of the easiest salmon recipes I made.


Ingredients:


600-1000 g salmon,
depending on how much people you're feeding
For the Teriyaki marinade:
5 tbsp. teriyaki sauce
5 tbsp. light soy sauce
3 tbsp. rice vinegar , Mirin if you have some
5 cloves of garlic, ( cause I lurve garlic😍)
1 tbsp. ginger, diced or cut thinly
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
few drops of sesame oil
1 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Now, this is the concoction that suited me best, however you are free to add or use less  any of the ingredients above to suit your palate. If it's to sweet for you, simply cut the sugar or honey. If too bland, add more teriyaki or soy sauce. You want it extra or less garlicky, again it's your choice.

First , prepare the Teriyaki sauce by mixing the ingredients in a big mixing bowl.  

Next, wash salmon , pat dry and cut it into serving pieces. 
I'm cooking for three so I got about 600 g . Then marinate salmon in teriyaki sauce for 15-20 minutes, not longer, we don't want to pickle the fish.😋

Preheat oven ( 190 ° C) , line baking try with parchment paper . Take  salmon out from the marinade, keep the marinade and transfer salmon onto the baking tray. I'm serving mine with asparagus. Bake for 14-20 minutes depending on the thickness of your fish filet.

While fish is baking, put marinade in a saucepan and cook until it thickens.  Set aside.

Brush salmon halfway through baking with the cooked teriyaki sauce and bake until fully cooked.

Salmon Teriyaki

Transfer salmon unto the serving plate, drizzle with the rest of the cooked teriyaki sauce, garnish with green onion and sesame seed. Eat it with rice or mash potatoes and grilled veggies or green salad.

Cast-Iron Apple Crumble Pie

Every year on Valentine's day, I bake my ex-boyfriend and now husband, a cake. Most of the time, I use  my heart-shape pan to mark the day of love and  decorate it as romantic as humanely possible. You know with hearts, flowers, glitters , ribbons and all. I know he tolerates appreciates my efforts, despite of  my non- existent talent when it comes to cake decorating and baking.

This year, I barely got the time to bake, least decorate a cake for Valentine's day .  My heart- shaped cake pan was left untouched  since I honestly got not clue what cake to bake in it and how to garnish it. But I still want  surprise my better-half with something sweet and sugary. So I though, why not bake his favourite cake instead? 

FF's favourite cake is actually a pie. An apple pie to be exact. With its thin and crispy crust, generous sweet filling and a mountain of crumbly goodness, I understand why.

Sometimes, the simplest of things made us the happiest. This year, FF was extremely happy with the warm apple pie waiting for him this Valentine's cake. Not only did it tasted good, there's no need to decorate it whatsoever since it looked good as it is.

Pie Crust:

1 and 1/4 cup flour

1 tbsp. salt

1/2 cup chilled butter

1 tbsp. sugar

1/3 cup ice water

1 tbsp. cider vinegar

Using a food processor, put all ingredients except for the liquids. With a metal blade attached, pulse for about 10  seconds until mixture will look like course meal.

Mix vinegar and ice water. Pour liquid on the flour and butter mixture, 3-4 tbsp at a time. 

Pulse  until the batter holds together. 

Drop pie dough on a floured working surface and knead for about 1-2 minutes .

Form into a ball and wrap dough in a cling foil. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare crumble and filling.

Crumble :

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 stick chilled butter
3-5 tbsp.melted butter

Put all crumble ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand. Refrigerate. Now work on your filling.

Apple Filling:

6-7 apples

5 tbsp white sugar

3 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon powder
2 tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. salt

Peel the apples. 

Dice or thinly slice your apples. 

Add the rest to the ingredients. Toss everything until each apple piece is coated in cinnamon sugar.

Assemble cake!

 Grease the cast iron pan. You can use a regular pie dish or cake pan, of course. 

 On a floured working surface, roll pie dough into a flat disk which is wide enough to cover the bottom and the sides of your pan .

 Transfer pie dough into your pan .

 Put apple pie filling in it and spread .

Spoon crumble over filling.

Bake at 180°c for about an hour.

The warm apple crumble makes an excellent dessert. Just serve it with your favourite ice cream and some caramel sauce and it will please anyone's palate. 

Beetroot Carpaccio with Toasted Pine Nuts, Parmesan and crispy Rocket

I finally found a vegetable dish that I could proudly serve to my visitors or bring to a party without feeling inadequate and also hopeful. Will they like? Does it taste at least, okey? I don't do salads, blame that to my humble upbringing where the only vegetables that I know are cooked to death or killed twice. That's carrots and peas, paprika and potatoes drowned in a greasy sauce or at least randomly swimming in a pot full of animal carcasses.

Last month I was watching my favourite cook show on TV when this thinly sliced vegetable carpaccio made a quick appearance. Among the good number of dishes showcased that evening, this beetroot Carpaccio  made a lasting impression.  It looked so appetising so I decided to make it at home. I was feeling all housewife-y and kind of miss the foods we had in Spain so I made few tapas for dinner. This was clearly my and FF's favourite. So I served it again once day ,when the family came over for lunch. Just as expected, it was the first dish to be wiped out. Everyone who tried it,  just loved it! 

I did not measure the ingredients. If decided to give this salad a go, just eyeball everything and it will be just as good, I promise!

 Cook beetroot and peel. You can boil it or wrap in foil and bake until it's cooked. Peeling it was quite messy though, fortunately , there are cooked and vacuumed sealed beetroot sold in our local supermarket . 

Thinly slice beetroot and lay on your serving plater.  Spread shaved parmesan over it. How much? Depends on how much you love cheese, I would day!

Heat a small skillet and toast a handful of pine nuts in it until aromatic. Spread over carpaccio.

Drizzle carpaccio with good quality olive oil. Season with a bit of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.

Up next, balsamic vinegar or acetano balsamico.

Lastly, heat a cup of vegetable oil in a pan/wok. Fry a handful of rocket leaves/arugula for 30-40 seconds or until crispy. Drain on a paper towel and scatter crispy rockets on top of your Carpaccio. Done!

So simple yet so , so goooood. The earthy beetroot, the salty parmesan, the nutty pine nuts, the sweet Balsamic vinegar and the crunchy Arugula played harmoniously in my palate like an orchestra.I know somebody who don't like beetroot who tried it and end up liking it! I got a lot of recipe request for this simple salad, so I'm sharing the love. (^_^)

Vineria San Telmo, Seville

I love Spain! The weather, the country, the people and of course the foods! I share the love for the country with my better half, FF.  Although we do try to visit places and countries we haven't been to before, we don't really mind coming back to this country again and again.

Last December,  when weather in Germany drastically drops below zero, we found ourselves boarding the plane to Andalusia, the south of Spain, with the bitter cold of Germany hot on our heels. We fled hoping for a warm, sunny welcome.

Alas, we were met by strong gush of wind and pouring rain. For 3 days, the sun was swallowed by thick clouds,  only to sneak quick peek  before hiding  and getting us all drench up again in the unforgiving rain. It was depressing. 

So we stayed indoors, most of the time. Literally going in one tapas bar and restaurant to the other. Eating our way through the streets of Seville certainly lifted our drowning spirits. 

This particular restaurant made our stay in Seville enjoyable and forgot the sloppy weather . With thousands of competition in the city, this relatively new establishment  was able to garner a place among the solid rank of well visited places in Seville. The delicious foods, fabulous wines, cool ambiance and friendly staff made us come back here 4 nights in a row.  

  Vineria San Telmo gives classic  Andalusian dishes a modern and innovative twist. We thoroughly enjoyed our meals in this place. Here are just few of the treats they offer. 

Housemade Chicken Liver Pate with Tomatoe Jam and Melted Castuera Cheese with Caramelised Onions.

Homemade Foie Gras M Cuit with Vanilla Oil and Caramelised Peanuts.

Squid Ink Spagetti with Garlic, Pesto  and Grilled Scallops

Grilled Beef Carpacio Rolls filled with Brie and served with Mango Chutney and Candied Angel Hair squash

Argentinian Beef Fillet with Sweet Mustard Sauce

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Basil and Tarragon, served with Couscous

Grilled Foie Gras with Apple Compote

Crispy Prawn in Panco with Soy Mayonnaise  served with Zucchini

Stewed Oxtail in Crispy Filo Pastry. My favourite dish!

Pan Fried Octopus with Garlic and Onion

Salmon Tatami with Leeks

The wife of the owner of Vineria San Telmo is a pastry chef and owns her own bakeshop, so we were told. Her creations are displayed in a cart  beside the door for everyone to ogle . We were blown away the each of the sweet treat we've tried. 

The cloud of Meringues on top of the tangy Lemon  Pie is a delight to the palate. 

 Seriously addictive !

FF on the other hand, loved this apple pie served with ice cream.

The Cheesecake is not overly sweet and was served with berry sauce. So yummy!

Finally, one of the best flans I had. So silky, no eggy after taste and simply delicious!

If you happen to be in Seville and wants to try some delicious, modern day tapas, check this place out! You won't regret it.

Address: Paseo de Catalina de Ribera, 4, 41004 Sevilla, Spain

Phone: +34 954 41 06 00

Menu: vineriasantelmo.com

Hours: 

Wednesday	1PM–12AM
Thursday	1PM–12AM
Friday	1PM–12AM
Saturday	1PM–12AM
Sunday	1PM–12AM
Monday	1PM–12AM
Tuesday	1PM–12AM