Nigella Lawson's Salmon with Ginger and Lemon Grass Broth

As I slurped up the hot broth in this bowl the other day - sharp lime juice mingling nicely with salty fish sauce and the exotic (well, sort of) flavors of julienned ginger and lemon grass - I felt like I was finally making up for all that bacon grease. And there's so much left to go! I know I sound like a broken record, but bear with me. I rarely eat that much pig fat in one week and I'm still trying to get over it.

A soup like this one is perfect for January - it's easy to make when you just don't feel like you can peruse one more cookbook or start one more slow-cooked feast, and it's crammed full of vegetables for vitamins and fiber, salmon for omega-3 fatty acids and natural health boosters in the form of lime juice, ginger slivers, not to mention a full three cups of Grandma's best medicine: chicken soup. Plus, it has not a drop of added fat.

Nigella Lawson printed this in the NY Times three Januarys ago, and it is just the kind of recipe one can expect from her. It's fast, it's easy, it works. It's not ever going to compete with the multi-layered, well-developed flavors that might come by following recipes from Fuchsia Dunlop or Corinne Trang, but for people (moi) who are intimidated by Asian cooking and the plethora of ingredients it requires, it is just the ticket.

While preparing the soup, I even got to flex the Mini Macgyver in me: my widest pot (which was to be filled with broth and flavorings, over which the salmon chunks would then be steamed) is a cast iron pot that, once filled, was too deep for the steamer basket. Using a shot measure that I filled with soup so it wouldn't wobble, I balanced the salmon-filled steamer atop it precariously, then covered that with the lid of a stockpot. Steamed perfection!

Comments

[Molly]

Sounds wonderful - and yes, just the thing to counter all that bacon bacon bacon! Beautiful. Three cheers for Nigella, as always!

[Lindy]

Mmmm. I love your contraption for steaming the salmon. Ingenuity of this sort led our culinary ancestors to slide their stews into the baker's oven, wrap their tamales in corn husks to cook, and the like!

You can see yourself as a figure in a long line of wily home cooks, making seriously wonderful food, while not taking themselves too seriously!

BTW,I do believe that lemongrass is one of the wonders of the world. It is my opinion that in addition to being delicious, it cures various illnesses. Actually, I feel pretty much the same way about ginger, come to think of it.

[Tania]

This looks seriously delicious, and just the thing for helping me with my resolution to eat more fish. I, too, am a bit intimidated by Asian cooking, but Nigella's soup sounds nicely uncomplicated. Yay!

[Luisa]

Molly - indeed. Hip hip!

Lindy - I love this vision! Thank you. And you'll have to tell me more about lemon grass recipes, because I know little or nothing about them.

Tania - I hope you find it as easy and tasty as I did!

[Emily]

Just found your blog from Orangette's blogroll and I love it! We're having a salmon recipe contest and awarding the creator of the best recipe with 15 Pounds of Wild Salmon (in three separate 5-lb. shipments throughout the summer). Deadline is tonight at midnight - check it out at MarxFoods.com - we'd love to have you enter a recipe!

[Piedro Molinero]

I like this Mini McGyver, but sometimes it is necessary to be one in a kitchen. The Salmon recipe sounds delicious, especially the combination with ginger attracts me. Thank you for sharing this.