Baked Salmon with Lemon Caper Butter

Tags

Baked, Butter, Caper, Cooking, Fish, Lemon, Recipes, Salmon

I’ve made salmon several ways but this has to be by far the easiest to get a perfectly moist, fully cooked salmon, every time and it’s ready in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 2 (5 ounce) salmon fillets
• Salt and pepper
• 4 lemon slices
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 2 tablespoons of capers drained and rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick spray (optional).
3. Place salmon fillets on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle fillets with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper, then place 2 lemon slices on top of each fillet.
4. Bake for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from oven, tent the foil and leave to steam outside the oven for 10 more minutes.
6. In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.
7. Once butter has melted add garlic, capers, lemon zest and lemon juice, then cook for 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Remove lemon slices from the fish and discard. Gently slide a turner or serving spatula between the skin and the flesh of the fillet to remove the skin, it should separate very easily. Transfer fillet to a serving platter and spoon lemon caper butter over the top.

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Cauliflower Cheese.

Tags

Baked, Cauliflower, Cheese, Vegetarian

1 Large Cauliflower.
300ml Milk.
220g Strong Cheddar cheese.
3 Tblsp Plain flour.
50g Butter.
½ Tsp Dried English mustard.
Pinch of Nutmeg.
Salt.
Black pepper.

1. Pre-heat oven to 450F.

2. Trim the cauliflower and break into small florets.

3. Boil in salted water for 10-15 minutes, or until just tender.

4. Drain in a colander and then place in a buttered ovenproof baking dish.

5. Heat the milk, flour and butter in a saucepan, whisking with a wire whisk continuously until the sauce thickens, boils and is smooth. Allow to simmer for a further two minutes.

6. Add three-quarters of the grated cheese, mustard, a pinch of nutmeg and seasoning. Cook for a further minute, stirring well.

7. Pour the sauce over the cauliflower and sprinkle the remaining cheese, over the top.

8. Bake for about twenty minutes, until golden brown and bubbling.

Cauliflower Cheese

Brandied Baked Pears

Tags

Baked, Brandy, Pears

3 firm Bosc or Bartlett pears.
¼ cup Light brown sugar.
2 Tblsps Unsalted butter.
½ cup Water.
¼ cup Brandy.

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat the oven to 450°F.

2. Peel and halve the pears, then core with a melon-ball cutter, spoon, or knive, and toss with brown sugar, in a large bowl.

3. Melt the butter in a 3-quart shallow baking dish, in the oven for about one minute, then add the pears, turning to coat with the butter.

4. Add water to the dish and bake pears, turning over occasionally, until tender and edges are caramelized – approximately 30 to 50 minutes, depending on ripeness of pears.

5. Transfer pears with a slotted spoon to a plate, then add ¼ cup of brandy, to the baking dish and stir with a heatproof spatula, to dissolve any caramelized juices.

6. Serve the pears with the sauce from the baking dish.

Reference:Epicurious online.

This one is a breeze to cook, but can be fairly expensive, if you don’t already have the brandy on hand.  Fortunately for me, I had it in the larder but recall the small bottle, being around $10 to buy.  The pears themselves were $2 for the 3, which was a special offer, so be prepared to pay a little more.  The original recipe serves the dish with cream and this is certainly an option; I opted for a Danish vanilla bean ice-cream instead, which offset the pears quite nicely.  The dish can be pretty potent, and is best served as a small dessert, using just one half of the pear – this would give you six portions and no heartburn 🙂