Pan Fried Salmon w/ Udon Noodles in a Dashi Broth.

We used to eat salmon loads on weeknights, such a good easy, quick and healthy meal. Pulled these recipes from Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, and like every recipe I've tried from the book, t'is a winner.

Serves 2.

Ingredients for Salmon:
2 x Salmon Fillets
Vege oil
Tbsp Butter
Tbsp Rice Vinegar
Tbsp Mirin
1/2 Tbsp Dark Soy
1/2 Cup chopped Shallots

Ingredients for Dashi Broth:
2 tsp dashi powder
1 tsp light soy
1 1/2 tsp dark soy
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp mirin
Udon Noodles

Salt the Salmon generously on both sides and set aside for 1/2 hour.

Make the Dashi Broth by adding all ingredients except the npoodles in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then keep warm. Cook Udon noodles as per directions on packet.

Fry on both sides till done on a high heat using the oil. Tip out oil when done. Let pan cool a little so the butter wont burn immediately. Add butter in about 3 pieces and spoon over salmon. Remove Salmon, set aside and keep warm.

Add all other liquids to pan and cook 1 minute. Add shallots, mix and then plate, spooning sauce over salmon. I served with a side of steamed sugar snap peas.

Simple Tomato Sauce.

Ok, so we've moved house and just bought a new Camera and wanted to test out both the camera and kitchen, so here's a really simple, yet also very yummy recipe that we do all the time. This sauce can be used for pretty much anything, it's awesome as a pizza sauce, you can add abit of cream and sage to it and use it as a sauce for chicken or you can use it as a pasta sauce, which is what we ended up doing this time.

Ingredients:

2 x cans tomato (or 1kg fresh)

one onion

one garlic clove (optional)

one knob of butter

pinch of salt and sugar.

Method:

Ok, if you're using fresh tomatoes, put them in a pot with a little bit of water and cook them for about 5-10 minutes just to soften them up abit. Next, put tins or fresh tomato into a blender or food processor and blitz them until they're completely smooth and then pour into a saucepan.

Now, slice the onion in half and peel it, and place both halves into the saucepan and add the garlic clove if using.

Simmer down for half an hour to 45 minutes, you'll see the oil just start to separate from the tomatoes, that's when it's ready. Remove the onion and garlic, stir in your knob of butter and season with salt and sugar.

And that's it! So easy! You'll be suprised how damn good this tastes! You can use it as is or add extras to it to embellish it. In this case, we added some fried sliced chorizo, shredded silverbeet, capers and of course Parmesan.