Salmon, Scallops And Edamame On A Chickpea Purée

My original plan was to make a scallop and salmon dish, but I have to call it salmon and scallops now.  Who knew how hard it would be to buy some scallops?  Luckily, I grabbed the last packet of frozen ones, on the shell.  Hilariously, the checkout lady invited herself to dinner when she saw we were having seafood.  Mr P. and I used to think this particular lady was a grumpy old thing, but turns out she is hilarious!  Never judge a book by its cover, my friends.  As I said to Mr P.: 'She is just dry, wickedly dry.'

ready for serving (caramelised not burnt - honest)

This is a dish that you eat at room temperature rather than hot.  Almost like a salad.  You could throw some green leaves on your plate, if you wish.  You can toast and chop the nuts earlier in the day; you can make the purée and leave it till dinner time; chop the herbs and leave till ready to serve.  And the edamame can be boiled and shelled in the afternoon, too.  While this recipe may look like War and Peace, it's actually incredibly quick and easy to make!

Original recipe by Sherry's Pickings

Serves 3:

ingredients:

For the salmon:

460g./1 pound salmon fillets, skin-on

juice of 1 orange (mine had c. 80 mL/2.7 fl oz)

1 tbs mandarin agrumato oil, or plain EV olive oil

2 tsp shichimi togarashi

1/2 tsp gochugaru

2 tsp black sesame oil

1 tsp white sesame seeds

1 tsp black sesame seeds

sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Don't forget the scallops!  I had 6 of 'em, roe-less (but have as many as you want, my dears)

The edamame:

400g./14 oz packet of frozen edamame - you will end up with approx. 110g./4 oz of beans after shelling

2-3 tsp lemon agrumato oil or EV olive oil with a dash of lemon juice

sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Chickpea purée:

1 tin (400g./14 oz) chickpeas, drained

1-2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1-2 tbs olive oil

1/4 cup water

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

For serving:

50g./1.8 oz macadamias, toasted and chopped 

a really biiiig handful of parsley, chopped

a small bundle of chives, chopped

Method:

Chop the fish into biggish chunks (5cm x 5cm/2 in x 2 in), and throw them into a large mixing bowl with the scallops

Add the orange juice, mandarin agrumato oil, shichimi togarashi, gochugaru, sesame oil, sesame seeds, salt and pepper

Give it a biiiig stir so the fish is well coated, and put aside while you put together the other parts of this dish (I left mine for about an hour, 'cos I had to finish watching my fave tv show where Bob Ross paints his happy little trees)

Edamame:

Boil the edamame in salted water for about 5 minutes (as per the packet), let them cool, shell them, and put aside while you make the purée

The purée:

Drain the chickpeas (keep the pea water for vegan meringues)

Tip them into a small food processor; add the garlic, lemon zest, juice, olive oil, water, salt and pepper and ... blitz! till smooth (ish)

The fish:

Grab your non-stick grill plate/pan, and get it nice and hot on your stove top/burner/hob - whatever you call it

Now let (your) Mr P. do his thing: the salmon gets a few minutes per side on the very hot grill plate/pan.  Mr P. said to tell you that the fish needs to be grilled skin side first, and then on all sides.  And that the grill needs to be damn hot!

Take the fish out when it's how you like it (a wee bit rare for us); whack in the scallops for a minute or two on each side, then add them to the pile of salmon

Now add the oil, salt and pepper in with the edamame, and stir together

Grab a plate, help yourself to some salmon and scallops; then a goodly amount of the purée, and the edamame, and scatter the nutty herbs over your plate

For serving:

Chop the nuts and herbs, mix together well in a small bowl

Scatter this tasty mix over your heaped plate of fish

Notes:

Use salmon without the skin if you wish

Lemon or lime juice is fine if you don't have an orange

Try a lemon agrumato/olive oil, or any citrus oil of your choice

Shichimi togarashi is a Japanese spice mix with seven ingredients

Gochugaru are Korean chilli flakes

Use ordinary sesame oil if you can't find the black one

(I forgot to marinate the scallops, so they were grilled with a bit of the marinade after the salmon was cooked)

I bought nuts which were already toasted, so I only had to chop them (throw them into a small, dry frypan for a few minutes tossing if you have raw ones)

stir the fish and the marinade together, and let it sit for a while

boil and shell the edamame

(Interesting fact about soybeans - i.e. edamame - there is/are only ever 1-3 beans in the pod.)  My drawing has 4 beans, but don't tell anyone...

zap the chickpeas into a purée

smooth and delicious purée

grill the fish

chop your nuts

mix the chopped nuts and herbs together

ready for serving

and for eating

artwork © Sherry's Pickings