Eye for a Recipe

This delicious fish dish from Canadian Living’s The International Collection is delicious and colourful, thanks to the turmeric in the marinade. Bursting with flavour, the fish is served over vermicelli noodles, with a tangy sauce and pickled shallots.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Make sure your fish sauce does not contain MSG; I use Cock brand. Use turmeric with no colour or anti-caking agents added and fresh lime juice.

Marinate the fish in the fridge for about an hour

The fish is served with a tangy sauce and pickled shallots

Hanoi-style vermicelli noodles with fish

Ingredients:

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp (30 ml) chopped fresh dill

1 tbsp (15 ml) fish sauce

1 tbsp (15 ml) white vinegar

1 tbsp (15 ml) water

1 tbsp (15 ml) vegetable oil

1-1/2 tsp (7 ml) minced gingerroot

3/4 tsp (4 ml) ground turmeric

1/2 tsp (2 ml) pepper

1 lb (454 g) tilapia fillets

8 oz (227 g) rice vermicelli

2 cups (500 ml) bean sprouts

1 cup (250 ml) packed fresh coriander leaves

1/2 cup (125 ml) coarsely chopped unsalted peanuts

Noodle Sauce

2 tbsp (30 ml) granulated sugar

1/4 cup (60 ml) finely shredded carrot

2 tbsp (30 ml) fish sauce

2 tbsp (30 ml) lime juice

2 tsp (10 ml) white vinegar

1 Thai (bird’s-eye) chili pepper, minced

Pickled Shallots

3 shallots, thinly sliced in rings

1 tbsp (15 ml) white vinegar

1/4 tsp (1 ml) granulated sugar

Preparation:

Using mortar and pestle, mash shallots with garlic to make paste. (Or very finely chop with knife.) Stir in dill, fish sauce, vinegar, water, oil, ginger, turmeric and pepper; spread all over fish. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Noodle Sauce: Meanwhile, whisk sugar with 2/3 cup (150 ml) hot water until dissolved; let cool. Stir in carrot, fish sauce, lime juice, vinegar and chili pepper; set aside.

Pickled shallots: Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine shallots, vinegar and sugar; set aside.

Broil fish on greased broiler pan until nicely charred and flakes easily when tested with fork, 8 to 10 minutes. Cut into 4 portions.

Meanwhile, in large pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to package instructions, about 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain well; shake. Set aside to air-dry.

Divide noodles among 4 large bowls. Top with bean sprouts, coriander, fish and pickled shallots; sprinkle with peanuts. Serve with noodle sauce, adding as desired and tossing to coat. Serves 4.

From Canadian Living’s International Collection

Now that the weather is warmer, I’m craving potato salads and fresh herbs. This recipe from the May 2014 issue of Canadian Living includes both. Boiled baby potatoes, roasted salmon, hard-boiled eggs, chives, dill and sliced pickles are combined with a lemon-mustard dressing. Delicious!

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

Be sure to use freshly squeezed lemon juice and a grainy mustard with no sulfites or sodium benzoate. I use President’s Choice Old-Fashioned Dijon. Instead of cornichons, I used dill pickles. Strub’s Kosher Pickles contain no preservatives.

For perfect hard-boiled eggs, cover eggs with cold water, bring to boil, remove from heat, cover and let stand 18 minutes

Boil baby potatoes until tender

Roast the salmon and flake it with a fork

Add herbs and pickles

Egg and salmon potato salad

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 pkg (680 g) baby yellow-fleshed potatoes, scrubbed

400 g skinless salmon fillets

1/4 tsp (1 mL) each salt and pepper

2 tbsp (30 mL) lemon juice

4 tsp (18 mL) olive oil

4 tsp (18 mL) grainy mustard

2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh chives

1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh dill

8 cornichons, sliced

Preparation:

Place eggs in saucepan; pour in enough cold water to cover by at least 1 inch (2.5 cm). Bring to boil. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 18 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool, about 2 minutes; drain again. Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Peel off shells; cut eggs into quarters.

Meanwhile, in large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes; drain. Let cool just enough to handle; cut into quarters.

Meanwhile, place salmon on parchment paper–lined rimmed baking sheet; sprinkle with half of the salt and pepper. Bake in 350 F (180 C) oven until fish flakes easily when tested, 12 to 15 minutes. Flake with fork.

In large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, mustard and remaining salt and pepper. Add potatoes, salmon, chives, dill and cornichons; gently toss to coat. Scrape onto serving platter; top with eggs. Serves 6.

From the May 2014 issue of Canadian Living

This recipe from the January 2014 issue of Bon Appetit tastes as good as it looks. Salmon is tossed with fennel, orange and lemon slices, chili and dill and roasted at a low temperature for about 40 minutes. Cooked this way, the salmon is moist and tender, and the roasted citrus, fennel and chili are delicious on top. This recipe would also be good with cod or halibut.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

All of the ingredients in this recipe are fresh, so no need to worry about additives.

Place salmon in dish with citrus, fennel and dill

Slow roasting makes the salmon very moist

Slow-roasted salmon with fennel, citrus and chiles

Ingredients:

1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 blood or navel orange, very thinly sliced, seeds removed

1 Meyer or regular lemon, very thinly sliced, seeds removed

1 red Fresno chile or jalapeño, with seeds, thinly sliced

4 sprigs dill, plus more for serving

Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper

1 2-lb. (907 g) skinless salmon fillet, preferably center-cut

¾ cup (375 ml) olive oil

Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 275° F (135° C). Toss fennel, orange slices, lemon slices, chile, and 4 dill sprigs in a shallow 3-qt. (2.8 L) baking dish; season with kosher salt and pepper. Season salmon with kosher salt and place on top of fennel mixture. Pour oil over.

Roast until salmon is just cooked through (the tip of a knife will slide through easily and flesh will be slightly opaque), 30–40 minutes for medium-rare.

Transfer salmon to a platter, breaking it into large pieces as you go. Spoon fennel mixture and oil from baking dish over; discard dill sprigs. Season with sea salt and pepper and top with fresh dill sprigs. Serves 6.

From the January 2014 issue of Bon Appetit