Happy New Year fellow foodies . May 2010 bring you and your loved ones everything you’ve been hoping for!

I’m usually not really good at realizing new year’s resolutions, that’s why I stopped making them a few years ago. This time is different, I do need to be more organized in 2010 in order to be able to keep posting at a regular pace. A whole load of work is ahead in a business project I’m part of, it should take most of my time this year. I’ll try to stick to more organization and see how it goes

Let’s get back to this salmon now. It’s been part of the appetizers I made  for New Year’s eve dinner and I must say we all enjoyed it. At first, I was planning on using salted soy sauce and pretty disappointed when I found out I didn’t have any. Well, now I can say I’ll do it again with sweet one. It tastes amazing with ginger!  I kept lime as a last ingredient to give this tartare a fresh taste. If you want to experiment you can also add the grated zest before marinating but don’t forget lime juice has to be added last if you don’t want your tartare to turn out being a ceviche!

This ginger and lime salmon tartare recipe is meant to be served in appetizer spoons or small verrines (glass cups) but if you wish to have it as a unique starter, count about 4.5 oz per serving and adapt the ingredients’ quantity accordingly.

Preparation time: 10 minutes – Marinating time: at least 30 minutes

Ingredients (for 6 servings as an appetizer)

15 oz (425 g) of salmon fillets (skinless, boneless)
2 spring onions
1-inch square of fresh ginger root (= 1 tablespoon grated)
1 non-treated lime
6 tablespoons of sweet soy sauce

Instructions

1/ Clean and chop spring onions.

2/ Peel and grate ginger.

3/ Rinse and dry salmon fillets. Cut them into small dices (around 1/2-inch square).

4/ Combine salmon, spring onions, ginger and sweet soy sauce. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

5/ Serve in Chinese soup spoons, small individual ramekins or glass cups leaving marinade in the plate.

6/ Rinse lime and grate zest over individual portions.

7/ Squeeze lime, add on top and serve tartare right away.

Appetizer spoons are great for an « apéritif dinatoire » when your guests are only going to eat finger food. But they’re also perfect as an elaborated amuse-bouche to be served before a nice meal. We’re in the middle of holiday season, it’s a perfect time to share with you this delicious coconut ceviche recipe. Believe me, it would make a great appetizer for your Christmas or New year’s eve dinner.

Ceviche is a Peruvian dish in which citrus marinade contributes to « cook » the fish. That’s why the indicated marinating time can vary depending on your tastes. If you like eating raw fish, then you won’t let it marinate for long. On the contrary, if raw fish doesn’t appeal you at all, you can even prepare it the day before so it marinates overnight and gets a harder consistence.

Preparation time: 10 mn – Marinating time: 15 to 30 minutes

Ingredients (for 10 to 15 spoons)

1/2 lbs (225 g) of white fish fillets (sole, bass, hake, cod etc.)
1 lemon
1 lime
5 tablespoons of thick coconut milk
1 tablespoon of small chive
1 tablespoon of cilantro
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
1 teaspoon of grated coconut (optional)
Salt

Instructions

1/ Rinse fish fillets and dry them with kitchen paper. Take bones away and dice them (size around 1 square inch).

2/ Rinse and chop small chives and cilantro.

3/ Rinse lime and lemon and grate their zest (optional: you can keep some for decoration, you’ll grate the rest over the spoons before serving them).

4/ In a soup plate, combine fish, lemon and lime zest, small chives, cilantro and a pinch of salt.

5/ Squeeze lime and lemon and add juice to the fish mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 15 minutes (depending on how raw you want to serve it).

6/ Combine in a bowl coconut milk and turmeric.

7/ Fill spoons with ceviche (leaving lemon juice in the marinating plate) and coconut sauce.  Top with grated zests, ginger and coconut (optional).

So what was this homemade fish stock recipe for?… Well… A veggie fight!

Mel of Bouchon for Two and Leela of She Simmers organize a veggie challenge each month. And December is… battle fennel!

So I bought fennels and spent days wondering how I was going to prepare them. First, option was a salmon, fennel and some fruit carpaccio. But I couldn’t decide which fruit… Orange, mango, papaya, pear?… Which one would you add it?… I haven’t made up my mind yet but I’m not giving up on that one

Since the recipe submitted has to, somehow, reflect its cook; mine definitely needed some butter and cream Let’s keep it French and forget about cholesterol!! Alright, you’re allowed to replace the cream by a plain yogurt if you really need to! But be aware it will taste different if you switch butter for margarine…

So, here is my dish: sea bass fillet and its aniseed sauce served with fennel puree and crispy fennel fries.

Preparation time: 25 minutes – Cooking time: 30- 35 minutes

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

Sea bass

3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) of sea bass fish (approx. 2 big ones)
3 tablespoons of Olive oil (click here to buy online)
Salt & pepper

Aniseed sauce

6 tablespoons of olive oil (click here to buy online)
3 tablespoons of chopped dill
1 teaspoon of aniseed liquor (Pastis, Ouzo etc.)

Fennel puree

3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) of fennel bulbs (approx. 3 bulbs)
1 1/2 cups (375 ml) of homemade fish stock (recipe here)
4 tablespoons of creme fraiche (or plain yogurt)
3 tablespoons of chopped dill
1 oz (30 g) of butter
Salt & pepper

Fennel fries

1.1 lbs (500 g) of fennel bulbs (approx. 1 bulb)
4 tablespoons of flour
Salt

Instructions

1/ If you’re lucky, your fish merchant will remove the fillets for you. Mine just cleans it, then, client is on its own! If you’re a first timer, check Chef Simon’s explanation here. You can either keep the skin on the fillets or remove it. Store fillets in the refrigerator and use heads, bones and fins to make your own fish stock.

2/ Rinse fennels and dry them. You can take the outside leaves off if they don’t look so good. Slice leaves giving them a fries shape. Keep aside the slices of the last fennel for the fries.

3/ Prepare the aniseed sauce: mix together in a blender olive oil, dill and aniseed liquor.

4/ Melt butter in a pan. (Keep low heat so butter doesn’t get brown. If it does, change it; eating it is carcinogenic… At least, that’s what my mum always told me )

5/ Add fennel (the puree part) and leave covered for 8 minutes stirring from time to time.

6/ During that time, flour the fennel you kept aside and turn your deep fat fryer on. If you don’t have one, heat 2 cups of olive oil in a pan over medium- high heat.

7/ Go back to the puree, add fish stock to the fennel in the pan and leave it simmer until all liquid has evaporated.

8/ When oil is hot, dip fennel fries in it and leave them until they get a golden color.

9/ When fries are ready, put them on a plate covered with kitchen paper. Add salt and keep in the oven over low heat so they don’t get cold while you finish.

10/ Liquidize fennel the best you can (it tends to get stuck in the blender, but don’t worry if it’s not mixed well).

11/ Add cream and dill, then liquidize again. Season with salt and pepper.

12/ Prepare sea bass: In a frying pan, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add sea bass fillets, heating them on the skin side for 3 minutes, then 2 minutes on the other side. Season with salt and pepper.

13/ Serve sea bass on top of the puree adding some fennel fries and aniseed sauce on the side.

Here is a recipe for the last fish stock I made using sea bass. The ingredients I used are the ones I had on hand; keep in mind you can add any herb or flavorful vegetable to a stock. In this recipe, I used fennel trimmings because my fish stock was made to be used in a fennel puree but I could have used celery instead for example. Sometimes I even add it a glass of dry white wine, it gives it a great taste

Once you’re done, there are plenty of uses for your homemade fish stock. You can use it to cook pasta or rice (when making a seafood risotto for example). It’s also a great base for making a flavorful sauce for a fish or seafood. Don’t be shy, experiment with it

Preparation time: 5 minutes  – Cooking time: 30- 35 minutes

Ingredients (for 12 cups of stock)

1.1 lbs (500 g) of fish heads, bones and fins
16 cups (4 l) of water
1 thyme branch (or 3 tablespoons of dry thyme)
3 tablespoons of tarragon
2 tablespoons of parsley
2 tablespoons trimmings from a fennel bulb
2 tablespoons of chervil
1 bay leaf
2 shallots
1 carrot

Instructions

1/ Rinse fish pieces and dip them in 3 cups of salted water so all the remaining blood gets out.

2/ Peel shallots and carrot. Cut them by half.

3/ Fill a casserole with 13 cups of water. Add all herbs, fennel trimmings, shallots and carrot and get to a boil.

4/ When water is boiling, add fish pieces and reduce heat. Leave covered for 20 to 25 minutes.

5/ Take fish, carrot and shallots out and filter passing your stock through a strainer.

That’s it! Let it cool down and  freeze or refrigerate (if you’re going to use within a few days).

My twitter followers might have been aware my Internet connection has been down for the last month and a half… Well, I’m back! And since we’ve been spending vacation in Andalusia with my Spanish family-in-law, I came back with a bunch of Spanish recipes in stock

Let’s start with this very easy to make garlic and parsley calamari recipe. If you have a great olive oil at home, use it. The better your olive oil tastes, the better this baby squid recipe will come out…

Preparation time: 5 mn – Cooking time: 15 mn

Ingredients (for 2 servings)

1.1 lbs (500 g) of baby squid (fresh or frozen)
3 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons of olive oil (click here to buy online)
3 tablespoons of parsley
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1/ Clean baby squid or defrost them if you’re using frozen ones.

2/ Peel garlic cloves. Clean and chop parsley.

3/ Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Pour olive oil and add garlic.

4/ Move garlic around the pan so the oil gets garlic flavor.

5/ Pour baby squid into the pan.

6/ After 10 minutes, add parsley, salt and pepper to the calamari and cook them for 5 more minutes or until they’re firm.

7/ When they’re done, serve baby squid leaving the garlic cloves and all the oil you can in the pan.

You can serve these garlic and parsley baby squid alone, as a starter or with wild rice as a main dish.