TEEN CHEF: Light for Lent

Gavin Plowright

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

LENT (yes, the same 40 days and 40 nights from the Bible), is generally celebrated in Jamaica with the abstinence of red meat, and as such seafood becomes a household staple. This year TEENChef will show you how to go beyond the escoveitched or brown stewed fish dishes.

For the next seven weeks TEENChef will not only be highlighing seven delicious seafood dishes, but seven young culinary minds, who are excelling in their studies at the University of Technology.

Crispy Salmon with Warm Potato and Crab Salad

Ingredients

1 lb fresh salmon,

1 lb Irish potato

8 fl oz olive oil

2 fl oz vegetable oil

4 oz escallion

4 oz salt

2 oz black pepper

8 oz crab meat

6 limes

4 oz fresh parsley

1 lb tomato (diced)

Method

1. Boil potatoes until tender, drain and semi mash with a fork, set aside.

2. In a sauté pot add olive oil and sauté potatoes for two minutes, add escallion and crab meat. Remove from flame and toss in basic vinaigrette season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Wash, clean and cut tomatoes, place on a lightly greased baking tray. Season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Bake in a 350º F oven for 10 minutes.

4. Prepare salmon by scoring the skin, season with salt and pepper, then set aside. In a sauté pan, heat vegetable oil, just as the oil begins to smoke, place salmon in the pan, away from you and skin side down. Cook for four minutes on the skin side and three minutes on the other side. Remove salmon and allow to rest.

Tips:

1. Score the skin of the salmon at lease 1/2" apart. This will ensure that the skin of the salmon is very crispy.

2. Basic vinaigrette: is a mixture (emulsion) of oil and vinegar, sometimes flavoured with herbs, spices, and other ingredients. It is used most commonly as a salad dressing, but also as a cold sauce or marinade.