The Grouse Season, A Birthday & Roasted Salmon Wrapped In Parma Ham

Tags

baby potatoes, Butter, Butternut, Chefs, Country Living, food and drink, Food and Wine, Food Blogs, Gourmet, Grouse Season, Lime Jelly, Lime marmalade, limes, Norwegian Salmon, Olive oil, Parma Ham, Rocket, South African Food Blogs, Stock, Watercress

It is the 12^th of August, the start of the grouse season in the U.K and for some a prompt reminder of my birthday. My day has been flooded with telephone calls, emails and sms’ from friends and family scattered all over the world, to wish me a lovely day, and some messages from people that I have not heard from in ages.

It’s raining like mad in Cape Town, so I am rather pleased not to be going out for dinner, instead we are celebrating at Clifton House and on Sunday we have booked a table for lunch at Terroir in the Cape wine-lands.

The meal for this evening is Roasted Norwegian salmon wrapped in Parma ham served with creamed butternut, baby potatoes, a seasonal salad and a garnish of lime jelly.

Roasted Norwegian Salmon wrapped in Parma ham served with a lime Jelly

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 portions of Norwegian salmon

Parma ham, sufficient to wrap each portion of salmon

Salt and pepper

8 Baby potatoes

1 medium butternut peeled and diced

Sage leaves. A small bunch finely chopped

Olive oil

15 ml of butter

125 ml stock or water

Salt and pepper

Garnish: lime jelly, slices of lime wedges or a dash of lime marmalade

For the salad

Watercress

Rocket

Vinaigrette

Method

Set the oven to 175C

Season each portion of salmon and wrap in Parma ham, place on a baking tray and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Pop into pre-heated oven and roast for about 25-30 minutes.

Place the potatoes in a pot with sufficient water to cover, add salt and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until done.

In a large pan heat some oil and a blob of butter, add the butternut together with the sage and sauté for a few minutes, season and add a little stock or water to just cover the butternut, place the lid on the pan and cook until done, about 20-25 minutes. Once cooked, blend to a nice creamy consistency with a hand blender. Check for seasoning.

Serve the salmon with the creamy butternut, potatoes, the garnish and a side salad of watercress and rocket tossed in vinaigrette.

A Palate of Innovative Dining

Tags

avocado, baby potatoes, Berries, Biscuits, Cape Town, cooking, Cream Yoghurt, Dessert, Entertaining, food and drink, Food Blogs, Lemon Creams, Lemon rind, lemons, recipe, S.A. Food Blogs, Salads

 

Clifton kitchen was booked for Friday and Saturday evening. It was dinner for four on Friday and dinner for six the following evening, nothing unusual about that except for the consideration in the menu planning for a vegetarian guest who eats fish but not eggs.

On the menu were;  rich roasted tomato soup, followed by fish slowly poached in olive oil infused with thyme, black olives, garlic, bay leaf and ginger. The accompaniments were boiled new baby potatoes, a large salad of mixed leaves gently tossed with pears, avocado, onion rings, and toasted walnuts; drizzled with a blue cheese dressing. A loaf of fresh crisp country bread, followed by a lemon cream dessert served with a ginger snap biscuit.

Each course was well received and by the time every one was ready to take their leave of the evening, it was done with requests and a promise to supply the recipe for each of the meals served, with particular emphasis on the lemon cream which I include in this blog.

Lemon Creams

Ingredients

1 ½ cups whipping cream

1 ½ cups thick yoghurt

¾ cup castor sugar

1 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind

80 ml lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method

Place the cream, yoghurt and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently whilst stirring to dissolve the sugar. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes to remove the ‘rawness’ from the cream, then bring to the boil and remove from heat.

Stir in the lemon rind, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Pour into 6 small ramekins or pretty containers of your choice. Refrigerate for about 4 hours or until set. I usually make them the day before.

Serving options

Top with berries or whipped cream and serve with a biscuit such as ginger, digestive, wafer or tuile biscuit.