Chilli Semolina Salmon
Serves two
Preparation Time: 15 mins/ Cooking Time: 40 mins
I was looking for a new and exciting way of serving salmon, so my husband suggested an old Parsi technique he knew of. Unlike normal batter where you dip in flour, egg and then crumb, this method coats the fish first in semolina, then a masala egg batter. Serve with some oven roasted vegetables and the result is simply scrumptious!
Ingredients
For the vegetables:
- 2 potatoes
- 1 carrot
- 1 zucchini
- 1 tbl olive/macadamia oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 or 5 grinds of pepper
For the salmon:
- 400g salmon tail, washed and cut into 5cm chunks
- ¼ cup fine semolina
- 1 egg
- 1tsp chilli powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 or 5 grinds of pepper
- Oil for frying
TIP – For a milder version, use ½ a teaspoon of chilli powder, or substitute with paprika. Also, if you do not like the ‘fishy’ flavour of your salmon, you can add ¼ tsp turmeric which helps to mask the taste.
Method
- Preheat oven to 200⁰C.
- Peel the potatoes and slice into thick wedges.
- Peel the carrot and slice into thick rounds.
- Slice the zucchini into thick rounds.
- Place vegetables into a medium sized mixing bowl, add oil, salt and pepper. Cover bowl with a plate and shake to coat and season vegetables.
- Transfer vegetables to an oven tray lined with baking paper, and roast for 30-40 minutes, turning halfway if your oven doesn’t heat properly from the bottom. The potatoes should be soft when pierced with a fork.
- Fill a medium sized stainless steel pot with 1cm of oil. Heat oil on medium flame for 2-4 minutes. TIP – When the oil has reached the proper temperature, drop some of the egg mixture in and see if it starts frying at a reasonable rate and doesn’t burn. If the oil is too hot the coating will burn before the fish can be properly cooked.
- Place semolina into a small bowl.
- Crack the egg into another small bowl. Add chilli, salt and pepper and lightly beat.
- Press each piece of fish into the semolina ensuring all the flesh is coated. Then dip into the egg mixture and then place in hot oil.
- Fry each piece for 5 minutes, ensuring you rotate every 45-60 seconds so all sides touch the oil, but do not burn. Note – I suggest you fry all of the fish in two batches as overcrowding the oil can lower its temperature, which affects the cooking time.
- Drain the fish on a piece of kitchen paper to absorb any extra oil.
Serve the fish on top of the roasted vegetables, and enjoy with your favourite tomato/chilli sauce.
Enjoy! GPW