Posts tagged: tamarind

Produce glossary

By , March 9, 2010

Scomazzon's fruit stall image Catseye Productions

I thought it might be of interest to some readers to see the main items that will be covered in the Produce Glossary of Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen. As you may already know this cookbook is the first of what will be several volumes, and in each one a new set of produce will be featured. You may also know that in the produce glossary I am focusing on featuring produce which is available in markets and quality retailers, and/or grows easily at home, but with which many people are not so familiar. One aim of Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen is to provide information that assists people to experiment or make greater use of the fantastic array of produce we have available in tropical Australia. Continue reading 'Produce glossary'»

Red salmon soup

By , December 4, 2009

Red Salmon Soup © Clare Richards 2009

I am in the throes of an intense stretch of food photography with my photographer Ali George.  From now until the end of December when she zips off on an international assignment, we are immersed in completing the photography for Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen.  This also means I’m very busy sourcing produce and constantly shopping (at least it seems that way).  Yesterday while buying seafood for the BBQ shots we’re doing, I spied bags of fresh Atlantic Salmon off cuts, gleaming in the way that only very fresh seafood does.  When I found out they had been filleted that morning from fish straight from Tasmania, and that the 1 kg bag was all of $2, I nabbed a bag immediately and went home and cooked this soup.  I generally buy local Queensland Catch seafood, but $2 for 1 kg of fresh salmon can’t be passed by:

Red Salmon soup

about 1 kg Atlantic Salmon off cuts (head, wings, backbone, etc.)

800g tin diced tomato

800ml water

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp tamarind pulp

3 tbsp chilli sambal (mine is mild so you may want to start with 1 tbsp of commercial types and taste)

1 lime leaf, torn along each side

1 kaffir lime leaf, torn along each side

4 fine slices of galangal

Put tomato and water into a wide large saucepan, add salmon pieces and all other ingredients, taking care to under use the chilli sambal as extra can be added later if needed.  Bring the whole to the boil then reduce to a low simmer and allow to cook for 1 hour.  Taste for salt and chilli and add a little extra of each if needed.  This soup is supposed to have just a hint of chilli so don’t overdo it.  Strain the contents through a colander sitting over a large bowl and return the liquid to the saucepan.  Sit the colander in the sink and pick through the solids, removing tomato chunks and good meat to the large bowl, taking care to locate and remove bones.  Return the meat and tomato chunks to the liquid in the saucepan and reheat for 5 minutes or so before serving.  Serve with a generous sprinkling of fresh garlic chives.  Makes 3 generous serves.

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