Baked salmon with sour cream

This simple dish could make a light summer lunch served with rocket salad. It has a wonderful taste and the aroma of the Salmon blends perfect with the sour taste of the sour cream. Easy and fast for prepare it could be a good choice either for everyday or for special occasions. 

Spicy shrimp chowder (Chupe de camarones)

Chupe de camarones is a spicy chowder with vegetables and shrimps served widely along South America's Pacific coast from Chile to Peru. But when I decided to prepare a thick soup including shrimps I didn't know these details. Shrimps are on our table at least 2-3 times a month in many variations -  saganaki, fried with Chorizo, on a pizza or with pasta. But I've never tryed  to prepare shrimp soup or chowder before. Before starting my search on the Internet I tried to imagine my expectations from this soup. I want it to be spicy, so hot peppers as an ingredient are a must. Garlic is a good partner of shrimps, so I put it in the list. Cream to thicken the soup and provide a buttery aroma. Cheese which will add saltiness and will enhance the whole taste of the chowder. What else? Had no idea. So I spent more than an hour searching here and there on the Internet for my inspirational source and I saw many recipes. Then I saw this recipe and I immediately knew, this was what I was looking for. 

Taramosalata

Have you heard about the omega-3 acids? Of course you have. These unsaturated acids are included in many facial products and are sold separately as food supplements. Human body can not generate them and this is the reason why we reach for the foods which are known for containing them.

Doctors claim, our bodies need them for growth and development and they protect us against stroke and heart disease. Omega-3 acids affect mood in positive way by beating depression and lowering the symptoms  of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 

Omega-3 acids can be found in varying concentrations in the fish roe of the different varieties of fish. And since ancient times, long before anybody has thought about omega-3 acids and their health beneficial properties, people have enjoyed the salted fish roe of different types of fishes, because it is very, very tasty. 

The roes of Beluga, Ossetra, Sevruga, Salmon, called caviars are delicacies, which have no place on the common people everyday's table. But the fish roe of many other fish varieties is eaten in many countries of the world, salted, fried or processed in another way. 

Greeks and Bulgarians love to eat taramosalata. This is a spread, prepared from salted cod  fish roe. You can find taramosalata in the menu of nearly every Greek reastaurant. In Bulgaria you can find taramosalata in the big food chains, but my mummy has always prepared home-made taramosalata, because it is far better.

This creamy smooth paste, result of emulsification of roe with olive oil, lemon juice and onion, requires a lot of bread. One slice as an ingredient of the recipe to make mixture less greasy and to provide puffiness to it. But also far more slices to be covered with this delicious spread. This is my mother's recipe for preparing taramas:

Garlic and hot pepper prawns (Gambas Al Ajillo)

Summer arrived officially. Along with the swimming and diving this means to me a lot of seafood on the table. Shrimps are common guests home, but this is one of my favorite recipes - the taste of fried garlic and hot pepper makes me feel like I am on the Mediterranean coast.

I love to visist the fish markets abroad- I love the smell of the fresh caught fish, the colors and shapes of the different species, all the inviting voices of the vendors. And when they allow me to make a picture of them, I am even happier. 

Salmon carpaccio with cold-infused hot pepper oil

Fresh salmon. Really fresh. It doesn't need freezing, which enables the thinely cutting - you can feel the taste of the fish far better if it is cut in 1/8 inch (0.3 cm) slices. Just an hour in a fridge, some cold-infused hot pepper oil, some capers for a salty-bitter taste and some fresh lemon juice. And a slice of bread. Enough for a healthy breakfast, lunch or dinner. That is the way I like it.

Bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise

I bet, you could not write the name of this dish if you are not french. Well, if you can, congratulations. I could not. I could not even pronounce it. But I can prepare it, I can enjoy it at lunch time, for dinner or even as a breakfast on early Saturday or Sunday mornings.   

Bouillabaisse is a French seafood stew, which home is supposed to be Marseille, but it is widely served in the coastal little ports of Southern France. It was once a cheap fishermen meal, which seafood ingredients depended on the daily catch. So, different kind of fish could be included, the most important thing is to put at least four varieties, every one of which delivers its own taste. Fish should be lean and fresh. The way I prepared the recipe is based  on the one from here. I added orange peel and wine.
There is a little rule conserning the serving of bouillabaisse - seafood in one dish and soup in another. But it all depends on you and your personal preferences. I like the fish to be hot, so I spoon a ladleful of soup onto it.

Prawns saganaki (Garides saganaki)

I tasted garides saganaki for a first time about eight years ago. On the Halkidiki peninsula, Greece. 
In a restaurant which tables were about 2o meters away from the sea. On the beach. We were barefoot, we ate the dish with fingers, soaking huge pieces of bread into the tasty sauce. We were young and free and happy. I will always remember this feeling. This will always be a dish which makes me feel good. Every time I wish to experience the whole atmosphere from those days, I prepare garides saganaki at home. And it works. 'Saganaki' comes from the Greek word 'σαγάνι which is a two-handled pan or dish. Garides saganaki are shrimps, cooked in a spicy tomato sauce and covered with feta cheese. Greeks serve it right out of the skillet with bread to soak up all the delicious juices.  So do I.

Whole fish baked into a salt crust

This is one of the simplest ways to prepare fish, but the results are amazing. Main ingredients are only two - fish and sea salt. Fish should be very fresh and with firm meat - sea bass, sea bream and red sea bream are very proper. Some recipes call for adding seasoning - bay leaves, thyme or lavender, but I like it simple, taste is good enough without additions. Skin prevents fish from getting salty. Salt seals the moisture inside the fish but it absorbs the moisture from the skin, so you get a roasted, but not steamed fish as a result. 

Linguine with shrimps and cherry tomatoes

I have a memory of sitting at a table of a fancy Italian restaurant at the centre of Luxemboug. It is lunchtime in summer and for me it is vacation, but for most of the people around me it is just the lunch-break from work. So, they are wearing elegant suits and women wear pearl necklaces and even teenagers are with Louis Vuitton bags. I spent an hour over a glass of wine and a bowl of linguine with prawns in front of me, watching the people around. And although the sauce for this pasta is rather Mediterranean style, it will always remind me on the lux-life in Luxembourg.

Pizza with Chorizo,prawns and Mozzarella

I often say, if I have lived in Italy I would be very very fat. And the reason for that does not lie in the fact that the food is unhealthy or too rich in calories, not at all. But I would eat too much in this Mecca of food - I adore everything from pizza and spagetti to gelato and all the sweet temptations of Italian cuisine.  So I make pizza often at home and I always use a pizza stone. Putting the stone in the preheated oven an hour before the actual baking makes a pizza with nice golden crust. Neapolitan kind of pizza dough makes thin crust pizzas with a puffy end crust and the filling with prawns and cheese gives the salted taste of sea and joy. My recipe is based on the recipe from here. I like the idea of mixing the flavours of prawns and cheese. Cheese enhances the taste of the prawns and makes them more beautiful.

Salmon soup with vegetables

Ok, how is it possible to eat something and to lose weight?

Salmon is supposed to be the fish which makes this miracle happen. But even if you don't think about calories all the time, salmon should be mentioned. It is a healthy food. Salmon contains a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for the health and help prevent against heart disease, circulatory diseases and many other types of illnesses.

So, enough good reasons to serve it at least once weekly. 

Violeta and I are salmonholics (I know there is no such word, but how can you describe the constant craving for salmon in every possible variation?).

This soup is a very simple dish, easy to prepare and not sophisticated. But we love to eat it on Saturday or Sunday mornings, it gives us a comforting and flavorful beginning of the day. 

Chorizo with Prawns - one of the best Spanish tapas

Prawns look a little bit scary watched from too close. 

Crazy eyes, large antennaes and especially - the large sharp rostrum, the part on top of their head which probably helps them to live better lifes, but has caused me a lot of pain while being not attentive during their preparation.  
But nevertheless, although looking scary and kind of ugly, prawns are healthy, low-calory food loaded with protein and containing nearly no fat. 
One of the first times I tasted prawns was about ten years ago when we went to a tapas bar and ordered Chorizo with Prawns. I still remember those tapas. The combination of the rather delicate taste of prawns and the bold, spicy and smoky flavour of Chorizo is hard to forget. And today we are going to talk a little bit more about this.