Salmon Kebabs With Pomegranate Molasses And Honey - Plus Cacik (Turkish Yoghurt Cucumber Dip)

I eat a lot of fish these days, and we both love salmon so it's on the menu fairly often.  I eat it in many guises - cold-smoked, hot-smoked, frozen, fresh, sashimi-ed and sushi-ed.  Well, you get the gist.  And so here we have a version from Nigella Lawson in her book Forever Summer.  

I just happened to have a bottle of pomegranate molasses lurking in my fridge, so this recipe leapt out at me.  Oh yes, and I have several bottles/jars of honey in my pantry.  Every time we are out on a daytrip and I see a roadside honey stall, I just have to buy some.

We have been lucky enough to see a fish/salmon ladder in Scotland, and a salmon farm in Tasmania.  Those fish ladders are so amazing!  Imagine coming back all that way from the sea to where you were born, just so you could spawn!  And of course, I have to mention the eels again - my mind is blown that every anguillid eel comes to spawn in the Sargasso Sea.  Yep, all of 'em!!  Which makes me think of that novel by Jean Rhys titled Wide Sargasso Sea, about Mr. Rochester's (supposedly) mad wife in the attic, in Jane Eyre.  Oops, I'm blathering today ...

Mr P. and I found these two Nigella recipes to be a bit bland to be honest, so I added the extra (optional) ingredients.  

(I am linking up with Jo from BKD (Brookford Kitchen Diaries) Cookbook Club - the theme is summer or winter recipes, depending on your hemisphere).

refreshing and garlicky!

The cacik tastes even better the next day!

Serves 3-4:

ingredients:

For the salmon:

80 mL/2.7 oz pomegranate molasses

60-80 mL/2.7 oz honey

1-2 Tbs soy sauce

1-2 Tbs lime or lemon juice  (optional)

1 tsp sumac (optional)

500g./18 oz salmon fillets, cubed (Nigella says into 4cm/1.5 inch squares)   see Notes

c. Sherry M.

For the Cacik:

1 Lebanese cucumber  (or just a large cuke; Nigella doesn't specify)  see Notes

500g./18 oz plain Greek yoghurt

1 tsp dried mint

1-2 tsp sea salt flakes

1 bunch fresh mint leaves, chopped, or use 1 Tbs lightly dried mint  - see notes   Yes, you are using both the dried AND fresh, or lightly dried mint with the dried mint (make sense?)

1-2 garlic cloves, finely minced or grated or chopped

EV olive oil, for drizzling over  - perhaps 1 Tbs?

a handful (maybe 2-3 Tbs?) of pistachios, chopped (optional)

1-2 Tbs toasted sesame seeds, scattered over the top of the fish (optional)

Serve with edamame, and/or a salad of green leaves, and flatbread

c. Sherry M.

Method:

For the salmon:

Put the molasses, honey, soy, lime juice and sumac into a bowl and give them a brisk whisking

Then pour the mix into a large (and strong) plastic bag, and add the salmon cubes/chunks

Expel the air, tie or clip the bag up tightly, and let the fish sit and ponder the state of affairs in the modern world for at least an hour (here in sunny Queenland this will definitely be in the fridge!)

Either soak your wooden skewers in water, then thread on about 5 cubes to each, OR just grill the fishy pieces on an alfoil and baking paper-lined tray at 180C/360F for about 10 minutes   see Notes

Sprinkle over most of the chopped nuts, and the sesame seeds, if using

For the Cacik:

Yoghurt gets spooned into a medium mixing bowl

Peel the cuke, then dice it finely, and add to the yoghurt

Now you add the dried mint and salt, and most of the fresh mint

And add the garlic, and stir it in

Grab a nice serving bowl, tip in the mixture, add the remaining mint, and drizzle the olive oil over the top

Sprinkle over the rest of the chopped nuts, if using

Serve with the salmon, and salad leaves/edamame, and flatbread

Notes:

Use whichever cucumber you fancy; I used about 180g./6 oz

I decided not to bother with the skewers, so I just cut the salmon fillets into 3-4 big chunks

If grilling or BB'ing the skewers, cook for about 3-4 minutes per side

gather your ingredients

mix up the marinade, and chop the salmon

add the fish to the marinade and let it sit for at least an hour

chop up the cacik ingredients, and place in a nice serving bowl

fish goes onto your foil and paper-lined tray

after baking at 180C/360F for about 10 minutes

ready for eating

delicious marinade over the top!

c. Sherry M.