Salmon and sardines.....

[alisonb]

I have invited a couple of friends over for lunch on Saterday and will be grilling salmon and sardines. I was thinking about serving it with couscous, grilled asparagus or roasted baby veggies, a green salad, a lemon and herb sauce and a homemade ciabatta bread. We will have lunch out in the garden if the weather is pleasant.
Has anybody perhaps got some great suggestions? Now where is HD when I need her .

 

[MO_cows]

Sounds like a nice "hot weather" lunch. I'd go with the asparagus, it should marry well with salmon and the sauce you described. You must be able to get fresh sardines there, and bigger than the tiny things they sell in cans here.

I guess the only question is, what's for dessert??

 

[Jogeephus]

We had some visitors from Italy a while back and I smoked salmon and also prepared a smoked salmon dip to snack on before the meal. The bulk of the meal prep was fairly involved but the dip was simple as pie and everyone enjoyed it and thought I had gone over the top with it. Its simple and cool. If you need some finger food I'd recommend this alongside salmon. All you gotta do is bring a block of cream cheese to room temp and place in a bowl. Take a can of salmon and drain it. Add contents to bowl and mix thoroughly. Once mixed add a some liquid smoke to taste. Its easy and delicious. Have fun!

 

[alisonb]

Thanks Mo and Jo .
I was thinking stawberries and ice cream with liqueur or rice pudding?

 

[Jogeephus]

Can't beat strawberries and ice cream

 

[MO_cows]

Actually, Jo, you can beat strawberries and ice cream........


















But then you would have a strawberry shake! :banana:

 

[Jogeephus]

A strawberry daiquiri

 

[alisonb]

Wow! The day was a huge success. We had our meal around lunch time and then made a massive fire outside. Nobody was inclined to leave at that 'early' hour so we ended up nibbling on leftovers well into the evening. A mixed bunch- a doctor, 2 sculptors, 2 painters, a micro biologist ,a goverment official :shock: , a conservationist and me (Jack of all trades, master of none ).

The homemade ciabatta was a huge hit so I thought I would post the recipe on CT sometime. It's realy quick, takes an hour and a half to make.

One of the visitors brought some Steak Tartare along (no,I could not even taste it :shock: ) and I was wondering how popular it is in your neck of the woods and how one prepares it?

 

[Jogeephus]

Never tried steak tartare. I think that's a dish the rich folks eat with the caviar.

 

[john250]

Never tried steak tartare. I think that's a dish the rich folks eat with the caviar.

Rare-yes.
Tartare-no thanks.

I dated a woman who had some Lebanese families in her childhood circle of friends. They had some sort of traditional food which was raw hamburger. Yuck.

 

[iowa hawkeyes]

looking forward to the ciabatta recipe.

 

[hillsdown]

Alison that menu sounds unbelievable. :clap: :clap: The only thing I may have added was margaritas.. ;-)

I would love to know how you do your sardines and the size of them etc. That is something we cannot get here fresh so I have never thought of even trying them. I really want to try more varieties of fish, especially now that the new BBQ has a searing burner.

I am doing blackened salmon steaks with a spice rub and then topped with a generous dollop of lemon/herb whipped butter served on a bed of asparagus with a caesar salad , and grilled ciabatta bread (love love love that bread) with melted garlic Gouda for dinner tonight if hubby finishes his job tonight .

I did beef tongue a few weeks ago, the same as I do my pulled pork and it is was one of the best things I have ever tasted. Marbled perfect and the flavor was out of this world.

 

[alisonb]

Well hubby better finish up with what he is doing quickly or else he's gonna miss out, sounds really good HD. What do you serve the tongue with by the way?

Sardines are readily available in SA, we have just had the well known 'sardine run' off the South Coast. If anyone wants to see some awesome pics Google 'sardine run SA'.
I get my fish (sardines, salmon, snoek) from a friend that stays at the coast and even though they arrive here frozen I know they are fresh. Sizewise, between 15-20cm (head 2 tail). The preparation is very simple-

The sardines that I get have already been gutted and cleaned
Leave the head and tail on
Lay sardines next to each other in a baking dish
Dribble with olive oil and a little lemon juice
Sprinkle with salt and ground black pepper
Flip them over and repeat salt and pepper
Pop them under the grill for 5min (depending on size)
Flip them over and grill for a further 5 min
And serve.... with some more lemon juice .

Yuck.

Yuck alright - Steak tartare, apart from being raw meat, even has a raw egg in it :shock:.

 

[hillsdown]

Those ingredients sound like they meld together fabulously, delicious for sure.

Alison I first put the tongue in a rolling boil of water for 20 minutes to try an loosen the skin to make it easier to skin. Which by the way made no difference, but I did not want it boiled so it took me about half an hour to skin it completely. I then did my spice rub and let it sit refrigerated in sealed bag over night . The next day I inserted tiny pieces of fresh garlic cloves in the meat. Bring back to room temp before you do anything to it.
Then we do the important part.
Pre heat BBQ to 300 .
Use 3 large pieces of heavy duty tin foil. First piece, place a large sliced white onion on the bottom and then seal it, repeat with the other 2 pieces alternating so no juices can leak through and it is completely sealed. Place on BBQ and make sure the meat is cooked with indirect heat so it will be under dead burners and the outsides will be on. Turn every 2 hours and it takes about 7 hours to complete.
To pull apart use two forks or rubber gloves.
Serve it the same way you would pulled pork , nice huge ciabatta buns with a few different sauces to choose from and condiments. A nice shredded cheese with a bite goes great on top as well.

It was unbelievable.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Some people will eat anything...

:help: ;-)

Were y'all describing "fish bait"...lol

 

[alisonb]

Were y'all describing "fish bait"...lol

Well I suppose so :shock: .... did you google 'sardine run SA'?

HD - That tongue sure goes through a process preparing but I bet it is very tasty. A friend of mine prepares one for our Chrismas get together every year. I will ask her how she prepares hers...cause that's how not to prepare tongue ;-) .I usually have a thin sliver just to be polite .

 

[JeannieBrewer]

Well, it seems, only see) May be also ice or fresh fish with several vegetables and wine. And the great landscape situated near year.

 

[ga.prime]

Well, it seems, only see) May be also ice or fresh fish with several vegetables and wine. And the great landscape situated near year.

Sorry, but you did not phrase your answer in the form of a question.

 

[greybeard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siqmaX5wSk0

 

[ga.prime]

I made some tuna fish salad and fixed a sandwich with some whole wheat bread and it was pretty great.