Salmon Teriyaki

 P Fish can seem challenging to make at home but, pavé de saumon caramélisé (salmon teriyaki) is an ultra-easy recipe. All you need to do is ask your fishmonger to prep the salmon in advance for you. I made a teriyaki-inspired glaze to go with the salmon and served it with rice.

If you've been following my culinary adventures since the beginning of Pham Fatale, you may recall that I posted one of Lulu's favorite tofu recipes, called "sesame tofu caramelized with agave nectar and wasabi". This vegetarian recipe was inspired by this salmon dish. I hadn't made it in a long. tine, but my mother-in-law brought home some beautiful salmon fillets, so I told her I'd be in charge and surprise her. She loved it even though she said I should have tripled the amount of wasabi paste (she loves spicy food). You're welcome to follow her advice if you prefer it really spicy, but I'm a wimp, so I'll stick to just a half teaspoon...

Choy Sum with Oyster Sauce

Choy sum (also known as Chinese flowering cabbage) is a very quick and easy vegetable to cook. I pan-steamed the greens for only a few minutes to maintain a bright green color and paired them with an oyster sauce mixture. Of course, I also had to modify the recipe a bit for the strictly vegetarian diet of my husband Lulu, but the method is exactly the same.

You can serve them as is or with a sauce of your own. It's a healthy and flavorful way to open a meal. I've had it often that way at dim sum restaurants. In fact, it's usually one of the few vegetable dishes offered. With this recipe, you can have it at home, without the dim sum prices!

Olive Tapenade Chicken Rolls

Olive tapenade is extremely versatile and can be used as a spread or filling in many different dishes. You can also use it in place of more traditional party dips such as hummus, guacamole, salsa or roasted bell pepper spread. In this recipe, I added goat cheese to the tapenade and used the mixture as a filling for chicken rolls. I served the dish with a mildly sweet carrot purée that makes an excellent foil to the savory flavor of the tapenade.

If it's not part of your culinary repertoire yet, you should definitely learn to prepare tapenade. It will open up a whole new world of easy to prepare, delectable dishes.

Purple Potato Gratin with Salmon Mousseline and Beurre Blanc

I bought Peruvian purple fingerling potatoes at the Farmers' market. Purple potatoes have a subtle grainy texture and I thought they'd pair perfectly with salmon mousseline.

Beurre blanc sounds like a sophisticated element in a French dish, but it's really just a white wine butter sauce. It's quite common in France and is often paired with poached fish and steamed vegetables. I think that it complements the crunchy potatoes and velvety salmon mousseline quite well. I finished each dish with a dollop of crème fraîche, some fresh dill and a couple of pink peppercorns. It's a feast for the eyes as well your taste buds.

Spinach and Pecan Stuffed Salmon Fillet with Hollandaise Sauce

The key to flavorful and tender salmon is to cook it medium-rare. Just quickly pan-sear the salmon on each side, then bake in the oven for a few minutes. It will come out moist and delicious.

Salmon by itself is incredibly good for you, and these tasty fillets are stuffed with ingredients rich in essential fatty acids and omega-rich nutrients such as pecans, pecan oil, cream cheese, sweet basil, spinach and onion chives.

To make the dish ultra fancy, I served the fish with a Hollandaise sauce, sautéed button mushrooms and wild rice. I figure that with all the healthy ingredients, a little decadence is deserved!