Salmon Fillet Wraps with Horseradish Cream and Sal...

While talking to my mum over the holidays she happened to mention the lunch she made for New Years Day. The very mention of salmon wraps with horseradish cream got my mouth watering and my tummy rumbling. They sounded so good that I was determined to give them a try and today was the day! So here I am sitting at my desk with a very happy and full belly!

I don’t know the precise recipe she used but this is my version of the dish. I used a recipe by Mary Cadogan as a base for the horseradish cream. In a previous post I actually made her original recipe for smoked salmon with prawns, horseradish cream & lime vinaigrette which was sensational!

So if you want an elegant tasty lunch give these wraps a go!

Luna Raye’s Salmon Fillet Wraps with Horseradish Cream and Salad

(This recipe will serve 2-3 allowing approximately 2 wraps per person.)

Ingredients

3 Scottish salmon fillets

¼ Spanish onion roughly chopped

1 cup vegetable stock (I love to use Marigold Swiss vegetable bouillon powder )

4 Tablespoons crème fraiche

2 Tablespoons horseradish (or to taste)

Squeeze of fresh lime

Salt and pepper to taste

Selection of salad leaves

2 Tablespoons freshly chopped parsley (optional but I love it!)

1 packet of ready made Deli wraps (I like to use Mission Deli wraps)

Directions

Poach the salmon fillets in the vegetable stock and add ¼ chopped Spanish onion.

Once cooked set the fillets aside and gently flake them.

Turn the oven on to gently heat the wraps.

To make the horseradish cream, add the crème fraiche and horseradish to a bowl and blend well with a fork.

Season the mixture with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lime juice.

When making the horseradish cream it’s important to keep tasting as you go along. How strong you want the cream is a personal thing!

Once the cream is made (about 5 minutes) you can start putting the wraps in the oven to gently warm them.

Don’t overheat them as this makes them go crunchy and difficult (actually impossible) to roll!

Once warmed through put them on a plate and begin assembling your delicious wrap!

Add some horseradish cream, a pinch of fresh parsley, some flaked salmon and a small bunch of salad leaves.

Roll and enjoy!

Please Sir, I Want Some More……..Porridge....

This past summer my husband and I had the pleasure of taking my sister on holiday to Edinburgh for a few days. It is a city we have been visiting for many years (usually for the famous fringe festival in August). I adore Scotland and for me, Edinburgh really is one of the most magical and beautiful cities in the world – yes even in the rain, although my sister might disagree with the rain part.

We stayed in a well located hostel and to our delight we noticed a small café just opposite. It looked relatively new and we didn’t remember it from any of our previous trips. For the life of me I can’t remember the name of the café but we could see it through the window of our room. In the mornings we would hover by the window watching eagerly for signs of the café opening its doors.

So what exactly made this café so special? Well aside from a cosy and friendly atmosphere, they served porridge. Now there are many restaurants and cafes serving porridge in Edinburgh but this was by far the best any of us had ever tasted. The consistency was perfectly smooth, rich and creamy. But the real crowning glory of this porridge was the addition of crème fraiche and fruit jam on top. It was absolutely amazing and we couldn’t get enough of it. We ate there everyday and always had the porridge. Not only was it delicious but it prepared us for a full day of drizzly weather conditions and fringe theatre.

I had always loved porridge as a child and I confess to actually eating Quaker Porridge Oats straight out of the little packets my mom used to buy. Maple and brown sugar being my all time favourite flavour! My great grandmother also used to make me porridge and I loved the way she prepared it. She would let it simmer away on the hob and as she served it up she would put some buttered saltine crackers on top with a little splash of milk. It was always a perfect bowl of comforting goodness.

Porridge is a funny thing and people can be very particular about how it’s made. I prefer mine to be made with full fat milk and no water. This makes for a very smooth rich creamy porridge, similar to the café’s. For some though it can be a little too intense so using half milk and half water is better. Of course there is nothing wrong with just using water, but the consistency is much thinner. Personally I feel the addition of milk makes the porridge a real treat and find it help keeps me fuller for longer.

There are all sorts of wonderful ingredients you can add to porridge to make it a healthy but decadent breakfast.

• Buttered and crumbled saltine crackers (my great grandmother’s way).
• Maple syrup with chopped nuts (walnuts and pecans are delicious).
• Brown sugar with cinnamon (you can also add raisins or dried apples and apricots).
• Assorted fresh fruit and berries (bananas, blueberries, strawberries, peach and apple. You can get a little more exotic and add mango or papaya and some desiccated coconut)
• Crème fraiche with a fruit jam (raspberry is especially tasty).

I won’t go on about the many health benefits of oats but they really are one of the best foods you can eat to start your day. They are good for your digestive health, they can help prevent heart disease and lower cholesterol levels, their slow release in the body can help control blood sugar levels and keep you feeling fuller for longer. You can use oats in many different ways but having porridge is one of the most delicious and magical!

Porridge with Creme Fraiche and Raspberry Jam

Horseradish: Where have you been all my life?...

I do know the answer to this question and shouldn’t really need to ask. Mainly because you are always there, generously dolloped on the side of my dad’s plate (or between slices of bread) every time he eats roast beef. I even remember, many years ago, the tiniest of portions being offered to me on a teaspoon so I could give it a try. Unfortunately, in giving it a cursory sniff, I foolishly stuck the spoon right up to my nose and promptly had my sinuses cleared for a year. That was enough for me to stay as far away as possible from horseradish for the next 30 odd years.

Well here we are in 2010 and for Valentine’s Day I wanted to prepare a really special and romantic starter. I looked through several recipes but kept coming back to the same one; Smoked Salmon with Prawns, Horseradish Cream and Lime Vinaigrette. The idea of covering beautiful salmon and prawns with horseradish cream filled me with dread, but I loved the look of this recipe so much that I decided it was time to confront my fear. I am so glad I did. This recipe from Mary Cadogan has been an absolute revelation to me.

• Firstly the use of smoked salmon that doesn’t rely on bagels laden with cream cheese.
• Secondly because it made me realize that even simple dishes can be stunningly elegant.
• Thirdly and most importantly for me, the use of horseradish, which I have discovered is….DELICIOUS!

The flavours of this dish are wonderful as the lime cuts through the heat of the horseradish cream bringing out the delicate flavours of the smoked salmon and prawns. It is refreshing and light with a subtle kick and it goes extremely well with a chilled white wine. Trust me this recipe is a keeper!

Since making this dish I have already worked my way through 3 jars of horseradish sauce and it is now something that is always in my fridge. This website offers some great tips for using horseradish in a variety of dishes. I have bookmarked quite a few to try. Top of my list for tonight is one of my favourite cocktails – a Bloody Mary! If you have a favourite recipe that uses horseradish I would love to hear about it.

Smoked Salmon with Prawns, Horseradish Cream and Lime Vinaigrette.