Cooking with my Air Fryer | Baked Salmon.

Born and raised as a Catholic, I've always followed the "Fish Friday" tradition for as long as I can remember. It's when (most) Catholics abstain from consuming meat on Ash Wednesday and every Friday in Lent, and eat only fish and/or vegetables. I reckon I learned this practice from my great grandmother, who would also diligently sing the "pasyon" during the Holy Week, year in and year out. 

Before I got my air fryer, our Fish Friday meals would either be bangus (daing, bistek, sinigang, or tinapa), tuna (stir-fried or eaten straight from the can), or good ol' pan-fried tilapia.  Now that I have an air fryer, I have even more options such as Tuna Rice Casserole, Cheesy Baked Bangus, and even the quarantine-famous Sushi Bake. 

Recently, I've learned how to make Baked Salmon (yes, Conti's style), and it's the recipe I'm sharing with you today - just in time for another Fish Friday. :)

Baked Salmon (ala Conti's)

Ingredients:

500 grams salmon fillet

5 cloves garlic, minced

juice of 1 lemon

salt & pepper

1/2 block cream cheese, softened

3 Tbsps mayonnaise

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup parmesan cheese

For the side dish:

1 pack mixed vegetables 

2 Tbsps butter

Procedure: 

1. Preheat the air fryer at 190° Celsius.

2. In a bowl, marinate salmon with garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Let it sit for 30 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, minced garlic, and parmesan cheese.

4. Remove the salmon from the bowl and pat dry with a paper towel.

5. Place the salmon in a baking pan and spread the cream cheese mixture on top. Sprinkle more parmesan cheese on top if desired.

6. Set your air fryer to Bake mode and bake at 170° C for 30-25 minutes or until the top is golden.

7. While the salmon is baking, prepare the side dish by melting the butter in a non-stick pan.

8. Once melted, add the vegetable mix to the pan. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the vegetables are tender crisp. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste. 

9. Serve with the baked salmon.

Foodie Goodie| Lemon Butter Tilapia.

It's Fish Friday once again - that time of the year when we'd abstain from eating meat every Friday during Lent. This is a common tradition for Catholics, and although I'm not the most devout person in this side of the planet, I still pretty much adhere to certain Holy Week practices.

I know some of you are doing the same thing, so here's a fish dish that you can serve during the Lenten season. This one's made with tilapia, my son's favorite fish! :)

Lemon Butter Tilapia

Ingredients:
1 pound tilapia fillets
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon butter

For the sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped (optional)
A dash of pepper

Procedure:
1. Coat fish on both sides with flour. Shake off excess.
2. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add fish; cook 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Turn and cook 2 minutes longer or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove from skillet, and set aside on a serving plate.
4. In another skillet, melt the 2 tablespoons butter.
5. Add lemon juice to the butter and warm briefly.
6. Add Worcestershire sauce and pepper to taste
7. Spoon the sauce over the cooked tilapia, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.

Foodie Goodie | Salmon Rice Bowl.

Lent officially began two days ago (March 5), on Ash Wednesday. For Catholics, this means forty days of penance which includes abstinence from eating meat on Fridays during that period. And with that, my no-meat Friday begins today, with this fish dish that we'll be having for lunch.

Salmon Rice Bowl

Ingredients:
Long-grained rice, cooked
4 pcs skinless salmon fillets
2 tablespoons ginger, peeled and minced
3 teaspoons sugar
1 piece red chili, chopped
8 whole garlic cloves
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 kirby cucumbers, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt and pepper

Procedure:
1. Using a mortar, pound the ginger with the sugar, chili, and chopped garlic to a coarse paste.
2. Transfer the paste to a bowl, stir in with 1/4 cup of water, lime juice, and fish sauce. Add the cucumber.
3. Season the salmon with salt and pepper.
4. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan. Add the salmon to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
5. Turn the salmon and cook over moderate heat until opaque throughout, about 4 minutes.
6. Mound the rice in bowls.
7. Top with the salmon, garlic cloves and ginger-lime sauce with cucumber strips and serve.

As seen on Food and Wine. Shared with Food Friday and Food Trip Friday. 

Foodie Goodie | Penne Alfredo with Smoked Salmon.

I'm not the most religious person, but having been born and raised as a Catholic, I've been accustomed to 'no-meat-Fridays' during the Lenten season. In observance of Good Friday, we won't be having meat on the menu. But we do have fish and pasta - because not having meat doesn't exactly mean you can't enjoy good food.

Penne Alfredo with Smoked Salmon

Ingredients:

1 pound dried penne
1 cup green peas
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of nutmeg (freshly ground, if available)
Black pepper, freshly ground
1 to 1 1/2 kg smoked salmon fillets, cut into pieces


Procedure:
1. Boil the penne according to the directions on the package. In the last minute of boiling, add the peas to the pot.
2. While waiting for the pasta to cook, begin preparing the Alfredo sauce. In a medium pot, bring the butter and cream to a boil and immediately lower the heat so that the mixture gently simmers.
3. Stir the mixture occasionally for about 4 minutes or until it leaves a thick coating on the spoon.
4. Add the grated cheese, salt, and nutmeg.
5. Drain the penne and peas and top it with Alfredo sauce. Serve warm.

As seen on Spoonful. Shared with Food Friday and Food Trip Friday.