harissa salmon with spiced lentils and spinach

Last week's fish-gate has forced us to look long and hard at our fish dish courses, and where we get our recipes from. Of course a fashion magazine isn't going to have utterly delicious dinners in it, because by their very nature fashion magazines hate food, and only want you to lose an unhealthy amount of weight. I don't know what I was thinking to be honest, although I will of course trial Nuts for their recipes for a couple of weeks.

Anyway tonight, because I really can't be cracked to stuff and roast a squash, we've got a much-put-off Salmon recipe from February's Waitrose Kitchen Magazine, and we're rewarded with something quite amazing!

Looks good doesn't it? Despite using enough of the harissa marinade for four fish steaks, it's not that spicy, and the lentil and spinach stuff adds a really nice earthy quality to the dish. I hesitate to say it, but we might well have this one again.

Wine Match
Having finally finished my exams (although as I don't know whether I've passed yet, so obvs treat these with a pinch of salt), I think it's about time I restarted this bit of the blog. Don't know what you think, but we'll give it a go!

The overwhelming flavours are of the lemon juice and zest in the marinade, the earthiness of the lentils and the full-bodied mouthfeel of the fish. They recommended a Viognier, but we had a Vouvray (Wine of the Month fact fans), which more than balanced the citrus, and with it's added body stands up to the salmon whilst cutting through the pulses.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest these will also work for similar reasons: 1er Cru Chablis (more body see), Pinot Gris, a bone dry Rose, and salmon juice infused with lemon and lentils would be perfect.

sources
harissa salmon with spiced lentils and spinach - Waitrose Kitchen, February, p86