This delicious crispy salmon with ruby chard, giant couscous and grapes is a colourful treat that’s not just healthy, but also very pretty.
Tales from my Scottish adventures
I know I’m a little too late with this recipe that I actually cooked at the beginning of May, in my cute little Edinburgh flat, way before moving out of Scotland. As a matter of fact, before moving away, and while under a large pile of boxes and stuff, with a ton of tasks to do for work, I still cooked. Actually, in my last couple of weeks in Scotland I cooked a lot more than usually, and that was to celebrate all the beautiful, great, Scottish produce.
My cooking bucket-list
A couple of weeks before I moved out of Scotland I made a list with all the ingredients that I wish to cook for before leaving. That, of course, apart from venison and black pudding, included great Scottish fish and seafood: responsibly caught, fresh and not so expensive salmon, delicious, juicy scallops, oysters so fresh they were still swimming in the salt water trapped inside their shell, lobster, prawns, etc.
Salmon, I love you
I used to be a very picky eater as a child, and because in Romania fish and seafood are not so imprinted in our culture, they weren’t present on our table very often. As my family became more emancipated and foreign products became available and more affordable (Romania was, after all, recovering after years and years of communism), salmon started appearing on our plates more often. Despite that, my taste buds were utterly denying that beautiful, pink fish. Then I grew up and everything changed. I started developing a more refined palate and with that, I started loving fish and seafood.
Basically, my love for salmon is so strong that I could have it every day and never get bored of it. That’s also because it’s so versatile. It goes great in salads, grilled, baked, en papillote, tartare, in pasta, etc. Ok, ok. Now you know why this recipe is here. Enjoy!
The recipe
This delicious dish, with crispy salmon, ruby chard, giant couscous and grapes is a colourful treat that’s not just healthy, but also very pretty.
Prepare the veggie stock cube by melting it in half a cup of hot water. Add the water to a sauce pan, the giant couscous and turmeric, mix well and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the couscous is cooked.
Now it’s time to prepare the chard. Melt the butter in a pan and fry the garlic for a minute, stirring constantly and making sure the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the stems of the ruby chard and sauté them for 2 minutes. Finally, add the remaining ruby chard and sautée until cooked (for 4-5 minutes).
Lastly, heat a grill pan and add the salmon, skin side down, once the pan is very hot. Sprinkle some salt and cook for about 4 minutes on one side, and 1-2 minutes on the other side, until the salmon becomes crispy on the outside, but is still pink and juicy inside.
Plate and sprinkle some crispy buckwheat on top, for some extra crunch.
To make crispy buckwheat, heat up ½ tsp butter in a small saucepan. Add the buckwheat, uncooked, and fry for a couple of minutes. If you wish to elevate it, sprinkle some lemon or orange peel on the butter before adding the buckwheat.
Love, happyholism and nom-nom,
Ioana
