April is a great month for lunch parties, everyone is emerging from their cocoons ready to spring into action, the days are longer and the promise of sunny balmy days is not too far away. This month’s recipe is fantastically easy and delicious. Perfect for an Easter lunch party and it can be served hot or cold. I like to serve a watercress salad tossed with quails eggs (softly boiled cut in half) well cooked smoked bacon and crispy black pudding pieces lightly dressed as a first course and finish with an exquisite little chocolate mousse.
Salmon Baked in Parchment with Maltese Sauce
* The size of the veg is very much dependant on what you have you will need to end up with about 1-heaped tbsp of cooked veg for each salmon fillet. All veg should be washed. This is a great dish as you can cook as many or a few as you like. If you allow the cooked parcels to cool inside the envelope it is delicious served with homemade mayonnaise.
Serves 6
6 salmon fillets each weighing 175g
2-3 courgettes cut into fine sticks
2 carrots cut in to fine strips -julienne
2 leeks
Herbs- ½ tbsp of each – freshly chopped flat leaf parsley, tarragon, chervil if possible
Zest and juice of 1-2 oranges depending on the size
White wine
3 tbsp Butter- plus a little extra melted butter about a tsp
1 tsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Pre heat the oven to its highest setting and slide in the baking tray to get hot.
Cut 6 circles of parchment paper or foil approximately 30cm in diameter or they can be cut into squares. Alternatively, you can make one large parcel and cook them altogether, my preferred method of a large party. Brush the inside with a little melted butter.
In a frying pan, heat up 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil. Over a low heat, gently soften the leeks and carrots. Do not allow them to brown. Remove them from the heat and fold in the courgette sticks and chopped herbs and season with salt and pepper.
Lay a salmon fillet on to each of the prepared parchment or foil papers and top with the vegetables. Put half a tbsp of white wine and half a tbsp of orange juice over each salmon fillet and scatter the zest evenly over each fillet. Dot the remaining butter over the salmon. Fold over the paper and seal the edges by twisting and folding. Lay the parcels onto the hot baking tray and cook for 12-14 minutes, so that when the fish is prodded through the paper it feels firm to the touch. Open the parcels and transfer on to warmed plates pouring over any juice left inside. Serve with Maltese sauce.
Maltese Sauce
3 egg yolks
1tsp caster sugar
1tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1orange
175g butter, cubed –if using unsalted butter omit the salt
Salt
Put the orange juice and zest (thinly grated or in strips) into a saucepan and reduce the juice and zest of one orange by half over a medium heat. Set aside.
Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, water, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl over a pan of simmering water (do not let the bowl come into contact with the water) and whisk until the mix leaves a ribbon trail. Whisking constantly, drop in the cubes of butter one at a time - don’t drop in the next cube until the previous one has been absorbed. This will take some time. When all the butter is gone and you have a thick velvety sauce, add the orange juice reduction to the basic hollandaise recipe, taste for seasoning and serve.