I was asked recently for more supper recipes, easy, quick, everyday numbers to resolve that daily dilemma, what are we going to eat tonight? Several ideas came to mind but this is the one I was cooking that night for supper and in itself presented me with a problem. Could I actually offer this up as a recipe? As you will see it contains very few ingredients and furthermore part of it is from a recipe I created last year, the Herby Ricotta with Pickled Cucumber (September 2014). Surely no one needs the suggestion of salmon for supper but maybe the pickled cucumber is a bit of a departure? Indeed the crunchy, sweet and sour elements of this go splendidly with the rich, oily salmon, quite a partnership. Anyway I dithered for a bit before realising how mad I sound. Get ahold of yourself I said. This is not a dilemma, choosing names for your children, deciding which house to buy, what career to pursue – these could all be considered dilemmas but not whether this can be justified as a recipe or not.
That it is unbelievably quick and easy is hardly a problem; nor that it requires a shopping list you could probably fit on a stamp; most crucially it is extremely good and of course, good for you. If you aren’t a carbo phobe it goes perfectly with glorious, fudgy Jersey royals and a big green salad, heavy on the fresh mint, would also be just the ticket, a fab supper.
Salmon with Pickled Cucumber
I made extra of this last week and had it cold for my lunch the next day. I ate it with a salad but couldn’t help thinking it would also make a stellar filling for a sandwich.
2 salmon fillets
1 teaspoon olive oil
A couple of chives, finely chopped
Half a cucumber
1 tablespoon caster sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt
Put the sugar and vinegar into a shallow bowl with a pinch of salt and leave to dissolve. Using a vegetable peeler, take long slices of cucumber avoiding the watery seeds in the middle and add to the bowl. Leave for half an hour, stirring occasionally, for the cucumber to “pickle”. Meanwhile brush the salmon fillets with the oil on both sides and put skin side down in a hot pan. Leave for 5 minutes before turning and cooking on the other side for a further 5 minutes – this should be just right but cook a little longer if you prefer or your fillets are huge. Sprinkle with the chives and serve with the pickled cucumber. Enough for 2 but easily doubled, tripled….