The comfort of old friends...

We have gale-force winds and pouring rain today and Keith the dog was not impressed when he found out that the weather in the park (where he desperately wanted to go) was exactly the same as the one in the garden (where he really didn't want to go because of the rain).  After 20 minutes of trotting around in the wet, he had enough and we came back - needless to say that we are both still trying to dry off.

It's been a busy few days with little time for trying out new recipes.  I did cook but relied on our trusted favourites - sometimes you just need the comfort of knowing exactly what ends up on your plate :-)  It's almost like spending time with old friends - no need to explain anything, just enjoying the company. So we had sausages with homemade coleslaw and baked potatoes, savoury mince with rice and peas and stuff like that - easy & yummy at the same time.

One of the dishes I did make that I want to share with you is this fish dish: salmon wrapped in pancetta (a very thinly sliced bacon).  I love how the pancetta goes all crispy and the fish stays lovely and moist!  We had this with a creamy dill sauce and served mine with pasta and Mr Happy Larder's with crispy potato cubes - both worked equally well and with a handful of mangetout on the side made a tasty and complete meal. 

The wrapped salmon does also work really well with potato gratin (you can find the recipe here) and you can also add herbs before wrapping up the pancetta...sage leaves are great for this but why not try basil for a change?  I hope you will love this dish as much as we do.

Have a wonderful weekend!  I will spend my time trying out a few new recipes, so I will have plenty to share with you coming up to Easter :-)

Salmon & Pancetta Parcels


For each salmon fillet, simply place 3 - 4 strips of thin bacon (pancetta) overlapping on a plate and place the salmon fillet onto the strips. Now wrap the bacon around the fish to make a little parcel and fry for around 8 - 10 minutes in total (turning frequently to brown all sides).  As the bacon is quite fatty you won't need to add any oil to the pan.


Creamy Dill Sauce

Ingredients:

2 shallots, finely chopped
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup white wine
3 tbsp chopped fresh dill

1 small tub of creme fraiche
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

 

Method:

1. Melt the butter on low heat in a small sauce pan. Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, for five minutes. The shallots should not brown, otherwise they will turn hard and bitter.
2. Pour in the wine and add half of the chopped dill. Turn up the heat to medium and boil the liquid until about 1/4 cup remains.  This will make the alcohol evaporate and take the sharpness out of the sauce.
3. Pour the sauce through a strainer and discard the shallots.
4. Return to the stove, turn down the heat and stir in the creme fraiche and mustard. Warm through and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the remaining dill just before serving.

(sauce recipe found at Easy French Food.com)