Pan-fried salmon in Thai salsa verde on a bed of quinoa and lentil served with roasted beetroots.
A plate full of super food does not have to be bland and boring. When simple ingredients are given natural flavouring from herbs and spice and cooked properly, they are delicious and nutritious.
The actual cooking time of this wonderful plate takes less than 10 minutes. There are some easy steps that need to be done in advance.
Lentils and quinoa can be batch cooked so that they are ready to eat with a meal during the week. Here I used red lentils mixed with quinoa. Generally, cook them in vegetable stock using a ratio of 1 cup of lentil or quinoa to 3 cups of stock. I like to flavour them with a pitch of cumin, turmeric and a crushed garlic. Bring it to boil and simmer with the lid ajar until all the liquid has been absorbed. Drain to get rid of any excess liquid and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
Beetroots. If using raw beetroots, cook them in boiling water with skin on for 20-30 minutes. When cool, peel them and keep them in the fridge. Here I sliced them in quarters. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in 180 C fan oven for 45 minutes or until cooked through.
fKThai Salsa Verde
A versatile flavour that goes very well with EVERYTHING; beef, lamb, chicken, halloumi, tofu and fish. This is a Thai fusion green sauce. Olive oil doesn't exist in Thai cuisine. But it is wonderful in developing a well blended Thai salsa verde for marinating meat or fish. It is easy and quick to make in a food processor. Keep in a jam jar in the fridge and the tastes get better as it gets a few days older.
Ingredients
1/2 red onion ( preferably 2 red round Thai shallots)
1-2 red chillis
4 garlics
1 tsp sea salt
A large handful of coriander
A large handful of parsley
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of vinegar ( red wine for red meat, white wine vinegar for fish and tofu)
2 tbsp of Thai holy basil or normal basil
For salmon, I usually marinade them in the morning and it is more than long enough by dinner time.
For red meat, marinade overnight gives better flavours.
To get a perfect charred criss-cross salmon skin while the centre is cook through, I use a combination of frying and steaming, which get the fish cook through in a couple of minutes whilst achieving the right level of a golden brown crispy skin. A non stick griddle pan is a must. A little vdo clip below is self explained.
Once the salmon is cooked, remove and keep warm. In the same pan, add cooked lentil and quinoa and saute until warm and slightly crispy. Serve the salmon on a bed of quinoa and roasted beet roots.