This was the grown up's tea in our house this evening. I first found this recipe in Gary Rhodes' Great Fast Food when I was off sick but bored enough to have a pile of books from the library. I now make this recipe from memory, so don't really need the book but I think I should get it again as it was full of lovely recipes you can make from scratch in an instant, which is so unlike later books from Mr Rhodes. I have one of his books that is lovely but I *know* I will never ever cook from because not only are the ingredients lists endless, the instructions frequently span more than one large page in fairly small type. Not for me, I'm afraid.
Anyway, I like cooking from scratch but I save this for times when I don't want to spend yonks cooking. I keep salmon fillets in the freezer and have a microwave fish cooker so often they get cooked in there, and sometimes from frozen. Done this way, I can get it made and on the plate in just over 10 minutes. If you wanted to be fancy schmancy, you could pan fry or grill the salmon which might take a little longer. You could glaze it, with orange/honey/mustard but you really don't need to. If you want to get another veg in to the recipe, you could add some wilted spinach but that would use another pan. Another of my favourite things is one-pot cooking but this most definitely ain't. In my house, the rule is "I cook, you clear up" so I don't really care! For best results, you need a food processor or hand blender but I guess you could mash with a masher or spoon although that would be a lot more effort!
Sorry for imprecise measurements - I don't have the exact recipe and cook it by instinct now. I know from experience this is bloody annoying when a recipe is not very clear but I'll do my best.
Salmon with Butter Bean Mash
Serves 2
2 salmon fillets
1 x 410g tin butter beans, drained
1 fat clove of garlic (or 2 smaller ones, or a squeeze of garlic puree, or some lazy garlic)
2 tbsp mayonnaise (can be reduced fat if you are watching the calories)
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped or torn - a recent variation I've discovered is to use dill instead if you like it, it works just as well.
Place all the ingredients except the salmon into a food processor (or bowl if you're using a hand blender or masher). Pulse the mixture until it reaches chunky mash like consistency - this is fairly broad church so feel free to leave it as chunky or make it as smooth as you like. Season to taste.
Pour the mixture into a small pan and place on a low heat, stirring occasionally. Cook the salmon fillets in whichever way you fancy whilst the butterbean mixture warms. You're really only heating this through, there is no need to cook it for any length of time.
When the salmon is cooked, divide the butterbean mash between two plates and place the salmon on top (if you're feeling arty, mine normally gets plonked on the side if I'm in a real hurry!). Enjoy!
If you're feeling ravenous, double the amount of mash by using an extra tin of beans and doubling the other ingredients for the mash. It will be seriously filling so be warned.
No pics yet because my food is not known for being picture perfect. Trust me when I say it was as good as ever.
