Scallops
& Tiger Prawn Skewers on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Braaied Scallops & Tiger Prawn Skewers

March 21, 2013 by Larry Susman in Big Green Egg, Braai, Fish, Food Websites, Recipes

Scallops & Tiger Prawn Skewers on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

I hope that you are all keeping well and braaiing along with me in this wonderful weather that we have in the UK. Who said that you can’t cook outside all year round lol. This week I'm keeping on the white meat theme just so that your body has a chance to recover from all that red meat. So I'm going to try a Thai inspired recipe thats simple and tasty.

SERVES 4 : PREP : 15MINS : MARINATE 1HR : COOK TIME : 8-15MINS

Marinade for Skewers:

1 tsp Sunflower or Vegetable Oil.
½ Small white onion, finely grated.
1 tbsp Fresh root ginger, finely grated.
150ml Canned coconut milk.
2 tbsp Chopped fresh coriander.

Ingredients for the Skewers:

24 x Fresh Scollops.
24 x Fresh or Frozen uncooked Tiger Prawns.
400g x Freshly cooked and steamed tastic rice.
2 x Fresh spring onions chopped.
2 x tbsp Fresh coriander chopped.
8 x bamboo stick skewers.

Method for making Skewers marinade:

To make the marinade, heat the sunflower oil in a small frying pan. Add the fresh ginger and onions and fry for 4 mins until they are just sofened but not browned.
Add the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Boil rapidly for 5 mins or until its reduced to the consistency of single cream.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Once cooled stir in the coriander and pour into a shallow dish.
Add the prawns and the scallops, mix and leave to marinade for 1hr in the fridge.
Take out of the fridge and skewer alternately on to the bamboo sticks, ready to cook.

Method for cooking the Skewers:

Preheat the Braai to 300°C (570°F).
Pre soak your skewers for at least an hour before hand, this will stop them from burning.
Braai the skewers over moderate/hot coals, or grill in the oven, turning occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked. On the BigGreenEgg, believe it or not, you only need to cook them for 3-4 mins on each side. The heat is so intense that it cooks then quickly but leaves them so moist and tender. Serve with some Tastic rice and a fresh salad and there it is, a fantastic taste of the sea with a twist.

I love to hear what you think about what iIm cooking on the braai so please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment area below. Enjoy and until next week take care, Larry.

Wild Salmon with Mango & Granadilla Salsa on the Braai

March 08, 2013 by Larry Susman in Baking, Big Green Egg, Braai, Fish, Recipes, Smoking, Salads

Wild Salmon with Mango & Granadilla Salsa on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Howzit, well the sun is trying to shine in the UK but I think I missed summer as Tuesday was almost 17c and sunshine all day and I was stuck in the office LOL. For this weeks braai I have gone to the other extreme after last weeks meat fest! I'm braaiing some Wild Salmon and to go with this I will be making a Mango & Granadilla Salsa. This is really a very quick and easy dish to do, especially after taking nearly 8hrs to cook last weeks ribs.

You can braai this two different ways, directly on the gills or on a wooden smoke board. I'm going to use the boards as this will lightly smoke the salmon as it cooks. If you cannot get fresh Mango & Granadilla you can use tinned but it will not be as great.

SERVES 4 : PREP: 15 MINS : MARINATE 10 MINS : COOK TIME : 8 MINS

Fish Ingredients:

4 x Salmon Steaks or fillets, about 175g each.
1 x Finely grated rind and juice of a Lime.
Salt & Pepper to taste, I recommend you use quite a bit of salt at least 2 pinches per piece.

Salsa Ingredients:

1 x Large Mango, stoned and finely diced.
1 x Red Onion, finely chopped.
2 x Granadilla (passion fruit)
2 x Fresh Basil sprigs.
2 tbsp Lime juice.
Salt to taste.

Method how to prepare Salmon:

Rinse the salmon under cold running water and then pat dry with kitchen paper and place in a shallow dish.
Finely grate the rind of a lime and sprinkle over the salmon, then squeeze the juice over the salmon.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Set aside to marinade while you make the salsa.

Method how to prepare Salsa:

De-pip the mango and finely chop, place it in a mixing bowl.
Finely chop the red onion and add to bowl.
Cut the Granadilla in half and scoop out the pips and juice into the bowl.
Tear the basil leaves up and add to the mixture.
Finally, pour the lime juice over the whole lot, season with salt and pepper and mix through.
Cover and serve once the salmon is cooked.

Method how to braai the salmon:

Place the Oak smoke boards in some water to soak for 15mins, this will stop them from actually catching on fire, as you only want them to smoulder.
Preheat the Braai/BigGreenEgg to 200ºF/94ºC.
Place the board face down on the Braai for 5 mins to heat up, take out ready to place the salmon on.
Place the salmon on the boards along with the limes that you have squeezed, this will give it a great aroma.
Return to the braai close the lid and cook for 8 mins, for a piece of fish that is 2-3cm thick, if its thicker than this allow another 5 mins.

Cooked Wild
Salmon with Mango & Granadilla
Salsa on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

It's as simple as that, boil a few new potatoes and serve with the salsa, you will end up with a fantastic dish that is full of taste and freshness. Boy was it great, I hope that you are all enjoying my ventures. If so or not as the case maybe, please feel free to let me know below. Share and like to your hearts content.

Braaied Indonesian Sea Bream

September 21, 2012 by Larry Susman in Braai, Big Green Egg, Fish, Recipes, Video

Braaied Sea Bream Fillets

People have been asking me if I eat anything else but red meat, well yes I do but only under protest! I'm a true Vaalie and when I grew up chicken was about the only thing that was not red, unless you went down to the coast, I never even thought about eating fish. Well since moving to the UK and getting married to a local girl, things have changed a little. I now eat FISH but only game fish and as I cannot get Yellow Tail or the like in the UK I've found that Sea Bass or Sea Bream is a great substitute.

This week I'm trying a new recipe that I came across for Indonesian spiced fish, I've chosen to use Sea Bream but you could use Red Snapper or something similar if you like. In retrospect it would have been a lot easier if I had left the fish whole instead of having them filleted as cooking them even in a special fish cage was not that easy. So if you have a choice leave it whole for a simpler life and I think you will get a better flavour. Check out the short video at the end to see a pro at work filleting the sea bream.

Serves 4 - Prep: 15 minutes (1hr marinating) - Cook Time: 16 mins

Ingredients:

4 Sea Bream (1 per person) you can substitute Red Snapper if you prefer.
Juice of a lime
4 cloves of garlic chopped
2-3 fresh red chillies, deseeded and chopped
2-3 cm of fresh ginger chopped
4 Spring onions chopped
2 tbsp corn/olive oil plus a little extra for brushing the braai with so they don't stick to it
tbsp sea salt

Method

Preheat the braai to about 200°C (400°F)
Clean the fish (sea video at bottom) and remove the scales
If you are leaving the fish whole then make several diagonal deep cuts across the fish
Put the garlic, chillies, ginger and spring pinion into a blender and blitz it into a paste.
Then add the lime and oil to it and stir in.
Rub the fish with the salt on all sides
Then brush the spice paste over both sides of the fish and if you have left it whole put some inside the cavity as well
Place in the fridge for 1hr to marinate
All you need to do now is cook on both sides for about 6-8 mins and a bit longer if you've left the fish whole
Serve on a bed of rive with some stir fried vegetables.

This was a very quick and simple dish to make that I must say tasted far better than it should! They say simple is better and I think in this case it works just beautifully, the flavour of the fish was not drowned out by the spices as you might have thought. The whole dish was just delightful to eat, the only trouble I'm having now, is Jan is expecting me to cook even more LOL.

I'm in need of a little help, so please leave me a few ideas of what I can cook next in the comment section below. Thanks Larry.