Salmon with quinoa & butternut squash

Generally, when people talk about healthy food, the first thing that crosses their minds is something green and without any taste. But healthy does not always have to equate with not tasty or not filling. As you already know I am a huge fan of salmon and ever since I found the place to buy fresh salmon here in Singapore, I've been having it once or twice a week. Salmon, in my opinion, is one of those healthy foods that tastes absolutely divine and with all those good Omega-3 fats it should find its way to our plates more often. Also, I have rediscovered quinoa. I had this super-food when I did a weeklong detox with my best friends during spring and hadn't made it ever since, but I am sure that from now on it will be a regular in my menu - be it as a side dish or a salad base. This small seed is high in protein, calcium, iron, dietary fibre and it works great as a substitute for rice. With all these super-foods I decided to add some vegetable to finish the dish off. And the result? Incredibly filling, tasty and healthy meal that will keep you full for a long time. And the bonus is that it is nice and hot so its perfect for those dark cold winter nights when you want something warm and hearty.

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 40g quinoa
- 125-150 ml water
- 150g salmon
- 200g butternut squash
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- Salt
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- Lemon, to serve

Directions
First, preheat the oven to 200C. Then soak the quinoa for about 5 minutes and then rinse. While the quinoa is soaking, prepare the butternut squash. Peel the squash, chop it into small cubes and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with olive oil, herbs and some salt and mix well. Place into an ovenproof dish and bake for around 20-25 minutes.

To prepare the quinoa, bring the water to boil in a small pan and add the quinoa. Boil for around 15-20 minutes until soft. Make sure it doesn't burn and if necessary add some more water (cooking a small quantity is a bit trickier than large quantity of quinoa).

Start preparing the salmon when you've got 10-12 minutes left until quinoa and squash are ready. Pour hot water in the pot, insert a steamer and place the salmon on top (skin down). Sprinkle with some salt and pepper and steam for around 10-12 minutes.

To serve, place the quinoa, butternut squash and salmon on a plate, decorate with some herbs and a slice of lemon.

Simple steamed salmon

I love trying out new recipes and over time I've gotten the courage to try out some where the list of ingredients is hundreds of meters long and which take ages to cook. To be fair, there haven't been many occasions like that as I prefer to have my meal on the table quite quickly, especially when coming home  hungry after university or when I don't have time to spare to spend in the kitchen because the courseworks need writing and revision needs doing. Despite all the time constraints I have been very careful not to go down to the take-away places or just grabbing something to eat on the go and so far I've succeeded.

Although this recipe is not some sort of culinary masterpiece and does not involve lot of skill nor lot of ingredients for that matter, steamed salmon makes perfect mid-week meal. It's quick and dead easy to make and on top of that it is healthy and filling as well. In addition, steamed salmon makes a perfect base for a more sophisticated meal and it can be served with absolutely anything, starting from vegetables to mashed potatoes to rice, quinoa or just simple leafy salad. And because it is so universal I thought of sharing it with you. If you fancy dress it up with a nice horseradich-crème fraîche sauce or just serve it with some natural yogurt or sour cream or do what most people do - just serve it with a squeeze of lemon. I assure you that no matter what you serve it with or how you serve it the result will always be amazing - a quick, juicy, filling and healthy meal. Bon appétit!

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 150g salmon
- 150g French beans
- Salt
- Pepper

Directions
Bring water to boil, place the steamer in the pot and lay the salmon there skin side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and steam for 10-12 minutes until ready. To prepare the beans (or any other vegetable of your choice) boil or steam them until ready. Serve immediately.

Steamed wild snapper & cabbage

I just realised that instead of being a food blog with a good selection of different meals (and emphasis on the healthy note, of course), my blog has basically turned into a baking blog. Fortunately, it is not too late to fix this and from now on I will try to emphasise the main courses and salads and soups a lot more than I do baking (or I'll at least try to balance them out). So, after so many cakes and muffins, I decided to get myself together and start preparing healthy meals again. I've already made a quite impressive list of all the meals I will prepare so I'm sure that I won't get off the track this time (but no need to worry - I'll still post something sweet every once in a while).

And on that healthy note the first dish in this pursuit for more healthy food is the steamed wild snapper with cabbage. Ever since trying out steaming I've loved it. It is healthy and incredibly quick way to cook things. However, up until now I've only steamed vegetables and mainly salmon and thus I decided to try out some other fish. I was a bit sceptical at first as this recipe seemed too simple to be good, but it came out delicious. The tender fish with the crispy garlic bits and little chilli result in a very tastebud tingling combination - even my other half said it was amazing. Therefore it must be good and it's not just me going that it tastes great, for a healthy dish. Takes just 15minutes to make and you end up with a healthy, filling and incredibly flavourful meal.

Ingredients
(Serves 2)
- 2 wild snapper (or other white fish) fillets
- 1 tsp grated fresh root ginger
- 300g green cabbages, finely shredded
- 2 tsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp chopped chillies
- 2 tsp soy sauce

Directions
Shred the cabbage and place on a steamer and steam for 5 minutes. In the meanwhile prepare the fish by sprinkling it with chopped chilli, ginger and a bit of salt. Place on top of the cabbage and steam for 5 further minutes until cooked through.

Meanwhile, slice the garlic thinly and heat the oils in a small pan. Add the garlic and cook stirring until the garlic is lightly browned.

To serve, transfer the cabbage to serving plates, place the fish on top of it and top each fish off with 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and the garlicky oil. Serve immediately.

Recipe from BBC Good Food

Lime steamed salmon

I have actually managed to keep to my promise - two of them actually - eat more salmon and use my steamer more. Until now, I've always cooked salmon in the oven and tried frying it, but after trying steaming, this will be my new preferred method of cooking salmon. It is the healthiest, fastest and the most hassle free way to cook salmon - steaming keeps more nutrients in, so you get all the goodness possible and you don't need to add any fat. The fish came out really juicy and breaking the tradition of having salmon with lemon worked amazingly well. It is a very nice simple dish for a quick mid-week meal or it could be served as a fancy dinner dish when accompanied with something a bit more interesting than green beans.

Just one tiny tip when steaming salmon -  choose the wide and flat fillet over the thin and thick one. There is no difference in taste but it is easier to handle.

Ingredients
- 150g organic salmon fillet
- 100g green beans, to serve
- 1 lime, cut into 4 thin slices

Directions
Wash the lime and cut 4 thin slices and place them in the middle of the steamer. Take the skin of salmon and place the fillet on top of the lime slices. Season with some sea salt and freshly ground pepper and steam for around 11 minutes (or until ready).

Whilst the salmon is steaming, prepare the green beans (or any other vegetables). When salmon is ready, place it together with green beans on the plate and serve with some lime.

Orange steamed sea bass

Steamer is one of those things in my kitchen that I have rarely used. My boyfriend got it for me so we could steam broccoli, but somehow I just hung it up and basically forgot about it. However, today I decided to dust it off and prepare myself a nice steamed fish dish. I've always been quite good with preparing salmon - it tastes delicious when baked in the oven, fried or steamed - but I've never been particularly good with white fish. It's either come out tasting mediocre, the sauce / seasoning has been way too overwhelming or I've managed to overcook it. Fortunately for me, it is quite hard to oversteam something and the sea bass I prepared for dinner today came out absolutely lovely. The hints of ginger and orange went so well, that I even didn't think twice about eating the fish without sauce.

In addition to being very easy and fast, as it took me around 10 minutes to prepare the meal, steaming fish (or any other food) is a very healthy way of cooking things as you don't need any oil. After today's successful experiment, I am sure that I will use the steamer a lot more.

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- sea bass fillet, skin on
- fresh root ginger, grated
- 1 clove of garlic
- zest and juice of 1/2 orange
- coriander
- freshly ground pepper

Directions
Put the sea bass skin side down on a baking parchment and place it in the steamer. Cover with the crushed garlic and about the same amount of grated ginger, then spread over the grated zest of orange. Place the steamer on the saucepan and squeeze over the orange juice. Steam between 5 to 10 minutes until fish is ready.

Sprinkle with fresh coriander and freshly ground black pepper and serve immediately.

I had the fish on its own, but it could be served with rice, potatoes, mash, vegetables or salad.