Steamed Salmon with Tomato-Coconut Sauce & Corn Dumplings

My daughter had an interview this week. Her very first interview, ever. I kissed and hugged her endlessly and sent her off to the interview, down a lonely hallway, all by her lonesome, (I know, aye vey!) without even uttering good luck or bye or I love you my baby. I was so anxious, choked up and emotional. If I had said one word, the tears would have fallen like rain during a hurricane—category 5 mind you…[somehow my tear glands are connected to my mouth…go figure] and this is just a Junior High School interview people. Not high school. Not a driving test. Not Harvard or Yale.  Not even for a job! When we arrived home, her Dad asked her about the interview and she responded cheerfully, "it was great, but you better check on Mummy, she wasn’t doing too well". Sigh….I am sure the other parents were just as emotional!

Parenting is difficult, and at the same time, my babies are growing so quickly! The days, weeks, months and years are speeding by. I wish it would slow down. It’s really unbelievable that we are already in the middle of March 2013! 2013? !!!!! ……..

Since the beginning of the year, I have been making a calculated attempt to eat fish regularly. I have been surprisingly successful thanks to this and a few other fish recipes I developed. This recipe was inspired by a meal I had at Mummy’s house. So inspired I came home and wrote down a recipe draft and tested it only twice with consistent results. That only means one thing folks---it is foolproof! [Not calling anyone a fool or anything..]

[My fish (and salad) lover]

Jack Lalane, who once said “If man made it don’t eat it”, would be so proud of me! There is much truth to that statement and this recipe embodies that belief. Simple, natural, wholesome ingredients combined to create a result so savory, highly flavorsome, posolutely flavorful and absitively flavorific![Note to my kids--those aren't real words] Recipes like this excite me, makes me want to sing, dance and cry because it's so good..and so good for you too… Who needs bouillon cubes, seasoning salts and other ingredients with so called “natural flavors”….? Not I, thank you.

Serve it with quinoa, roasted cauliflower for a super healthy meal, or with plain jasmine rice, brown rice or boiled ground provisions (Green fig, yam, cassava, sweet potato etc) for a healthy meal or with corn dumplings for a typical happy, "ah-love-meh-damn-belly, doh-tell-meh-nut ing-bout-healthy" Trini meal (you know who you are..).  

Salmon is a good source of B-6, B-12, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids—the good stuff. Use wild salmon if available…and affordable. I use fresh coconut milk, but for the sake of convenience you may use canned. However, please read the ingredients and choose the best quality; minimum ingredients and no preservatives, additives or strange words you don’t understand and can’t pronounce. Those words just mean “ I am going to k i l l you…slowly”…..Plain talk..No kidding.

Ria's Steamed Salmon in Tomato-Coconut Sauce
Serves 4-6

4 salmon steaks (about 2 pounds)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

6 cloves garlic

4 plum tomatoes (about 1 lb)

½ red sweet pepper

½ yellow or orange sweet pepper

¼ cup green seasoning

8 small, young ochroes, tops sliced off

2 pimientos peppers, chopped, (optional if difficult to find)

2 scallions, chopped

6 thyme sprigs

2 cups fresh coconut milk (or ½ can if thick, 1 can if thin)
Habanero, Scotch bonnet, or other hot pepper, to taste, seeded and sliced (optional but highly recommended, helps balance the flavors)

Juice of 1 lemon for washing fish

Approx. 3 teaspoons Himalayan salt (you probably need less if using table salt)

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1. Prepare Fish: Wash fish briefly with water and juice of a lemon. Drain. 

Season with 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper. 

2. Prep Work: Wash vegetables, remove seeds from sweet peppers, slice tomatoes and pimientos, grate garlic, remove tops from ochroes, peel and slice onion.......Update your status on Facebook advising everyone that you are making steamed salmon in a tomato-coconut sauce and corn dumplings(from cookingwithria.com)....you know, the usual.....

3. Cook onion and garlic: In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.

Add onion and saute for 1-2 minutes.

Add garlic, sauté for another minute.

4: Add ingredients: Add tomatoes, sweet peppers, green seasoning, cook 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.

5. Add coconut milk: Add coconut milk, ochroes, pimientos, scallions, thyme sprigs and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes. Add salt (keep in mind that the fish also has salt) and freshly ground black pepper.

6. Add fish: Place fish in coconut sauce and, cover and cook for 7-10 minutes, spooning sauce over fish occasionally (do not flip fish), until fish changes color and flakes easily.

The salmon will spring forth its delicious juices.....

Be gentle when removing from pot...Do not serve with thyme sprigs..

Enjoy!!!!

*********************************

Here is the recipe for the dumplings I made. I don't use baking powder because I like my dumplings stiff and chewy, with a nice bite to it.......I wanted to create a separate post for this, but you may be waiting forever for it...so here it is.....If I ever decide to move it from here, I will be sure to provide a link to the new location...

(Please forgive the missing pieces...I couldn't resist! 

Btw..My Hubbie helped with the shaping..

p.s. make it any shape you are comfortable with....)

Cornmeal and Flour Dumplings
Serves 4-6

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup fine corn meal (Non GMO if you can find it!)

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons raw brown sugar

About 1 cup water

For boiling dumplings:

About 8 cups water (optional--replace 2 cups of water with 2 cups of fresh coconut milk or 1/2 can)

1 tablespoon green seasoning (optional)
Salt 

In a large bowl combine, cornmeal, flour, salt and sugar. 
Gradually add water to make a soft dough.

In a large saucepan, bring 8 cups of water to boil(maybe a little less if it is a narrow saucepan). Add salt. 

Pinch of pieces of dough and shape like the pic above, rolling between the palms of your hands making the middle thicker than the ends, and then flattening. 
(Use a dusting of flour, if required, to keep it from sticking to your hands)

Drop gently into boiling water and boil for 10 minutes.
Serve with stewed or curried chicken or fish. 

Until next time, 
With love...for fish..and beautiful, delicious food...
Ria

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Trinidad Green Seasoning

Green seasoning or seasonin’ is a blend of herbs and other aromatics and a quintessential element of Caribbean cooking. We use green seasoning as a marinade for meats, seafood, stews, curries and put "pot-spoonfuls" into soups and one-pot rice dishes to enhance the flavor. Not only does it enhance flavor, but it's also loaded with nutrients! It is to Trinidad what pesto is to Italians and Sofrito and Recaito is to other parts of the Caribbean.

Each cook has their own unique blend which means that the flavor profile of the same dish will vary by household.

Over the years I have obsessed with the combination and quantities used and often taunted Mummy with questions, how much of this and how much of that, until one day I decided to uncomplicate my life…

I now use one bunch (regular size) each of whatever I find in my supermarket, add onion and garlic and voila---green seasoning…The green and red sweet peppers and pumpkin are newer additions and totally optional, however, those ingredients contribute additional flavor.

Many times I don’t find culantro or don’t feel like using parsley, don’t have pumpkin or sweet peppers. Other times, there may be no pimientos at the supermarket........ no problem.....

In the Caribbean we have a “making do” culture, that is we use whatever we have on hand. If there is only culantro (also known as bandhania or shado beni) growing in the yard and we don’t feel like going to the market, then so be it, green seasoning will consist of only bandhania, onion and garlic that day. There are also a few of us who will “borrow” a scallion or thyme from the neighbor, with no intention of returning it. That is the culture of “borrowing” in Trinidad. 

[Pudina--another ingredient used in seasoning]

Green seasoning was traditionally ground daily on an "as needed" basis using grinding stones; a “seal”(pronounced sil)--a small stone slab base and “lorha”--a round stone.   These were made from natural stone found near rivers. Curry powders and chutneys were also made using the seal and lorha. Then came the mill...

Now thanks to modern technology we have blenders and food processors, but one must wonder how much flavor is lost with these shortcuts.

The following list of ingredients should only to be used as a guideline. If there are ingredients in this list that don’t tickle your fancy, then leave it out. Keep in mind that the basic formula for green seasoning is:

Onion+ Garlic+Green Herb+Optional Ingredients=Green Seasoning

I never add hot peppers to my green seasoning because of my little ones, and yes, the hubbie too…Hot peppers give him hiccups…

Instead of the hot pepper, I use pimiento peppers or spanish ajicito, because of the immense flavor it adds to food without the heat. Pimento peppers are also known in Trinidad and Tobago as seasoning or flavoring pepper. Many islands have their own version of it. The aji dulce or ajicito, shaped like a dented, spinning top, is found in grocery stores in Latino neighborhoods. In Cuba, there is a similar variety called chile cachuca. The two limiting factors in my use of pimento peppers are the cost; I usually pay $1.00 for four very small (“choongsee”) ones, and availability; it is only found in the West Indian or Asian markets. Ajicitos are more popular in my neighborhood supermarkets.

For the first year after starting this blog, I didn’t prepare any Green seasoning to store in the refrigerator because I wanted to train myself to create meals without it. I know many may have been confused if I used “¼ cup of green seasoning” in my recipes. But the time has come….pay close attention because I will be using it in some of my recipes going forward(recipes will now be a breeze to prepare), as there are a few dishes where the flavor will be lacking without the addition of the complex(in taste), profound and evocative “green seasoning”.

Ria's Trinidad Green Seasoning

4 scallions (aka green onions, also called "chives" in Trinidad)

1 bunch thyme (remove very thick stems)

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch culantro ( aka bandhania or shado beni)

1 bunch parsley

12 cloves garlic, peeled (I increase this amount when using "optional" ingredients below)

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

Optional:

1 stalk celery

6 pimento peppers, stemmed

½ red sweet pepper, seeded

½ green sweet pepper, seeded

Habanero, congo, scotch bonnet, cherry pepper or other hot pepper, to taste

Wash, drain and roughly chop herbs, onion, sweet pepper, onion and any other ingredients you are using.

[Occasionally I also add a piece of pumpkin(Mummy's recommendation)..]

Place all ingredients in a blender and food processor and puree until fine. Water is not required in a food processor, but add just enough water to blend in the blender. Scrape down sides and pulse again. 

Place in a glass jar, close tightly and store in the  refrigerator. Will stay 1-2 weeks (sometimes I keep it up to a month in the refrigerator).

The color will vary depending on the combination of ingredients used. 

Alternatively, pour into ice trays, freeze. Remove cubes, place in a resealable bag and store in the freezer, until ready to use.

Whip up a batch and experience the life altering flavors for yourself.....and say goodbye to bland, boring meals for good......!

With love,

Ria 

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