About twelve years ago, while the house in which I now live was being done up, I spent almost four hours, quietly fuming, in wait for a couple of tilers. By the time they eventually arrived I was primed and ready for attack, but before I could open my mouth one of them approached, smiling, and said “Sorry we’re a bit late, we went fishing”. And handed me a salmon.

I can’t tell you whether they caught it legally or not, I didn’t ask, but I can tell you that it was absolutely delicious. I don’t think I’d had salmon as good before and I know I haven’t since.

It’s become harder and harder to get decent salmon. Wild salmon had become a rarity anyway, but the ban on commercial drift net fishing in 2007, though a very good and necessary step, now means we are largely confined to the farmed sort.

The French food writer James de Coquet had something to say about this: “Salmon are like men: too soft a life is not good for them.” And he was right, the easy life of the farmed salmon results in fish that is flabby and lacking in flavour. I’ve no comment on the men bit!

So although Lidl’s frozen salmon often comes in for a drubbing, I think, given the general low standards, it’s a bit unfair. It may not be anywhere near the standard of the tiler’s wild salmon, but it’s no worse than others which cost a lot more and it’s better than some.

If you are lucky enough to get hold of wild salmon, then the simplest of cooking is in order - grilled or fried in butter, served with mayonnaise and a wedge of lemon, it’s a true feast. But with lesser salmon a little more effort improves things considerably.

This is one of my favourite ways of serving it. It’s easy and quick, looks really pretty on the plate, and the ham and pesto bring flavour without overwhelming the salmon. It couldn’t be easier to make - it’s more assembly than cooking.

I let the fillets half defrost in the fridge, sandwich them around a generous pesto filling, squeeze over a little lemon juice and wrap in slices of Prosciutto. Then put them back in the fridge to fully defrost.

Wrapping them while they are still a bit stiff just makes it less fiddly.

Cook in the oven at 170°C for 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

These were served with caramelised leeks and a turnip puree and were lovely. Absolutely everything was from Lidl.

Tags: Pesto, Proscuitto, Salmon
Posted in Best Buys, Recipes | 7 Comments »

I remember years ago, and I mean maybe 25 years ago or more, being at some do or other where beautiful salmon sandwiches were served, fresh tasty salmon, soft bread, a little mayo. Perfect. But one women cast her’s aside with a disgusted snort: “I don’t know what rubbish they have in those but it certainly isn’t John West Red!“.

We’ve come a long way in Ireland from the days when salmon more or less always came in a tin, its quality judged by the depth of its colour.

I’m a pretty dedicated consumer of many of Lidl’s frozen fish offerings, but although I’ve been told by several people that the Admiral range of tinned fish was also excellent, almost as good as fresh, I’d never tried any. So last week I bought a tin for the first time, specifically the ‘Nature’ (ie unflavoured) Salmon, which cost €2.39.

The tin looked promising with a nice looking piece of salmon pictured on it. When I opened it though, it was a different story.

A greyish looking and very unappetising chunk of fish lay in a cloudy brine inside. Ok, I thought, maybe grey salmon is good. It’s probably just the effect of the brine and it means there is no dye or anything, which is a plus.

So into a bowl it went with some mayo, chopped scallions, a squeeze of lemon and a shake of paprika. Much better. Now it at least looked edible, even tasty. I tucked in……..

It certainly isn’t John West Red. The dog really, really liked it. I won’t be buying it again.

Tags: Fish, Salmon, Taste Test
Posted in Taste Test | 4 Comments »