by Alice Correia-Morton

Apologies for the repetition of the salmon theme from last issue, but it is consistently reduced and so worthy of the feature. However, this recipe would work equally well with any oily fish, such as trout or mackerel. Although it may or may not be a fad, the omega oils found in oily fish are probably good for brain function, so that might have a nice placebo effect if you’re revising for Finals.

The key ingredients here are salmon fillets (£2 reduced from £3.50 for two) and an orange (reduced to 15p). I’ve tried to use vegetables that are usually not too expensive, such as beetroot (70p for a pack of three) and lentils (really cheap if you’re getting them from Tahmid’s on Cowley Road). And if you’re really strapped for cash, oranges are the kind of thing that might be vulnerable to theft from, say, an MCR fruit bowl (not that I’m suggesting that you should do that kind of thing, of course).

Ingredients:

1 salmon fillet
Half an orange
Handful of spinach
2 tablespoons lentils
Splash of garlic olive oil/normal olive oil, with the addition of a peeled and crushed garlic clove to the pan
Half a head of broccoli, chopped into small florets
1 salad beetroot, chopped into small chunks
Tablespoon crème fraîche
Balsamic vinegar
Sprinkle of salt

Method:

1. Place lentils in a saucepan with cold water, bring to the boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes.
2. While this is going, heat up the garlic oil (or oil with a clove of garlic) in a small/medium frying pan.
3. Place the salmon fillet skin-side down in the pan (it should make a soft sizzling sound)
4. Turn the heat down to medium. Then, carefully squeeze the juice from a wedge of the orange (avoiding any spitting) into the pan, tear the wedge in two, and add to the pan.
5. Leave the salmon to cook with the orange on a medium heat for about 7 minutes.
6. Add the broccoli to the saucepan with the lentils to steam.
7. After the salmon has had its 7 minutes, flip it over to cook it through for 5 minutes from the other side.
8. Add the spinach to the saucepan to steam just as the salmon starts to look cooked.
9. Take the salmon off the heat and place to the side.
10. Drain the vegetables and stir through the beetroot and crème fraîche.
11. Turn the vegetables onto a plate. Place the salmon on top with the pieces of cooked orange from the pan.
12. Sprinkle with salt and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
13. Garnish with orange slices if the mood takes you (but to be honest this is completely unnecessary, just eat the remaining orange).