Fillet of Salmon with Crushed potatoes and Pea Puree.
This week our book was Family Food by the culinary alchemist Heston Blumenthal. This book is a book of family-friendly recipes and has none of the molecular gastronomy that he has now become famous for. There were quite a few recipes we’d have liked to have tried this week but it was a busy week so we opted for just one meal though it featured three recipes. We cooked Fillet of Salmon with Crushed potatoes and Pea Puree.

The book is fascinating as it includes ideas to make cooking fun for children, nutrition, and great little tips. One of which was with the Pea Puree. Heston, like many chefs, rates frozen peas. When I’ve made pea puree in the past I would have used petit pois (assuming they would be better), but Heston points out that the surface area to volume ratio of a petit pois is proportionally more skin to the filling which leads to a more grainy puree. To that end – its better to use frozen peas rather than petit pois for pea purees.

The crushed potatoes were charlotte potatoes gently “mashed” with olive oil. The salmon fillet was simply pan-fried. This was a fantastic set of recipes which made for a rather delicious week-night dinner. Next week we’re back in Japan (sort of) with the Wagamama cookbook.