I’ll admit to a slight amount of jet lag.  By slight I mean passing out after dinner and waking up at four the next morning.

So I haven’t really blogged dinner in as timely a manner as I’d like; but there you go.

This lovely dish was inspired by a restaurant we happened upon in Brussels the first night we were there.  It was called Hemispheres and it was an ode to the southern hemisphere in all it’s diversity.  From Indian curries to tagines, the menu ran the gamut. The sauce on the salmon was heavenly.  I almost thought there was coconut in it, but it was simply the combination of cream with the deeply yellow colored spices that evoked that sweetness.

This salmon dish could be done in any manner of ways.  In fact, why even use salmon?  Try it with chicken.  I think I’m planning on skipping the salmon next time.  Just roasting the veg and combining with the sunshine yellow sauce and some pasta (orzo?) and maybe some shellfish and making a ripped off paella.   And the vegetables are very flexible, too.  I had every intention of including some celeriac, but couldn’t find any.  Use what you like.  To quote the prolific and gifted Nigel Slater, “I urge you to take in the spirit of the recipes and to deviate according to your ingredients and feelings.  I urge you to break the rules.”

Hemisphere’s Salmon with Saffron Tumeric Cream, serves two (plus a little baby Cherub)

1 carrot, scrubbed and sliced

1 small bulb of fennel, stalks removed, cored and sliced; fronds reserved for garnish

1 medium potato, scrubbed and cubed

1/4 sweet red bell pepper, sliced

2 6 oz fillets of salmon

1 1/2 T butter

1 shallot, minced

1/2 c cream

6 strands saffron

1/2 t tumeric

1 pinch curry powder

Salt, pepper, olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a roasting pan, combine all the vegetables and toss with a liberal amount of olive oil and salt and pepper.  Slide in the oven and set the timer for 45 minutes.  Place the salmon fillets in a baking pan and brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper just before sliding into the oven when there are about 22 minutes left on the clock.  While the fish and vegetables are roasting, add the butter and the shallot to a small saute pan and cook over low-ish heat for about 5 minutes.  Reduce heat to lowest setting and add in the cream and the spices.  Warm cream and then check for seasoning; it should need a bit of salt.  Allow to continue to warm while the salmon and vegetables finish cooking.

To serve, plate the salmon and surround with the raosted vegetables.  Pour a drizzle of the saffron tumeric cream over the salmon.  (More over the vegetables if you want to bathe in it, like Cherub and I did.)  Top with a few strands of the fennel fronds.

Playlist included From Africa to Malaga by JJ.