FISH AND QUAIL (Updated)

Fancy and festive food need thorough preparation, but it can be prepared earlier and freeze them for time-saving.  Cabbage Filled with Salmon (timbale) I have cooked for a dinner party.

 Steps of the Preparations

It is Susy Salmon Timbale - a beautiful and dainty layer cabbage leaves filled with salmon shape likes a high turban and served with a light green herb sauce.
Fish for feasting, using salmon fillets that are delicate but cooked beautifully if you got it right. My plan, the dish is prepared by Poaching method.  The salmon fillet is cubed mixed with egg yolk flavoured with herbs and I shall have soft, pinkish colour and creamy texture of the fish, hidden under the sweet and succulent cabbage leaves.  It should be looking pretty on a white plate, with the green sauce drizzling down of the top of the timbale and spreading on the plate makes a lovely contrast and looks appetising. We will enjoy the deliciousness.  Serve as an entree for a long dinner party, or serve it as a main for a sophisticated light supper.

The Preparations 
For this dish, using Savoy cabbage is the best.

Use the white part of the Savoy cabbage, tear some of the leaves and blanch in hot boiling water.  Let them cool and keep aside. Grease 4 jumbo muffin tins with melted butter or oil and line with the cabbage leaves, making sure to leave enough overhang. Use the large leave as it is easier to work with.

The four muffin tins were greased with melted butter
and lined with the blanched cabbage leaves

Using salmon mouse maybe the way to go for the dish, but I decided to have a short cut by using egg yolk only to mix with the salmon meat.

Four Egg Yolks, freshly chopped fennel fronds,

400 gr of salmon cubes, I needed, and four salmon fillet with skin on I had.
Skin the fillet, get the bone out if any, diced to cubes.  Keep aside.  100g of salmon for each timbale.

Fresh Salmon Fillet with Skin On.

For the filling: Mix the salmon cubes with fresh fennel fronds, salt and white pepper and add the egg yolk mixture, mix together

Fill the cabbage cups/timbale with the filling.

 Simply divide into four equal and place into the prepared tins lined with the cabbage and add a cube of butter on top, and cover with cabbage leaves to enclose the filling, cover and wrap with baking paper on each of the tins/timbale and tie them with cotton.

Four cabbage cups with salmon mixed filling.

Wrap them again in foil, place each wrapped tin/timbale on a piece of cooking foil.

Now you have four wrapped timbales in foil.  Place the flour in a container, and they are ready for deep freezing.  I will cook for our dinner party within a week.  Directly cooking from frozen to poaching, defrosting is not necessary.

To cook, simply take them out from the deep freezer,  place them on a poaching pan and poach for 11 minutes in a hot oven.  Take it out from the poaching pan, let it rest until serving time.

I hope it worked, I already got the picture of the beautiful rustic looking turban/timbale with filling sits on a white plate, and it looks so pretty.  You could not see the creaminess of the salmon until it cuts.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Continued and Updated today, 24 June 2017

Poaching the Salmon Timbale in the Cooktop.

The Timbales were poached on the cooktop, instead of in the oven.  It worked well, and the salmon cooked alright, it was not dry,  But I think the Timbale is delicious too, to be served cold.

Poaching the Salmon Timbale on the cooked top for 19 minutes, straight from frozen.

Serving the Salamon Timbale Cold

Beautiful Salmon Timbale, Dressed in Avocado Sauce

COOKING QUILES.

CURIOSITY
I have been curious about the taste of the small bird-quail - often I read recipes about it and also I saw the cooking show, that made me want to try to cook and to taste.

Fresh Quail, washed and pat to dry.

Butterflied the quail,  rub with lemon juice, white pepper,
thyme and salt.

Freshly Pan-fried Quails

Pan-fried the quails to cook for 5 minutes.
Pan-fried skin down for 3 minutes, turn it over and cook
the other side for two minutes.

While the quail is cooked and resting, on the same pan saute
the greens until soft but still, crunchy. 

Serving: Served with potato and the greens.  It was not a bad dish, but it could be better if it were served with a sauce.   Cooked well, it's tender and pink.  I thought extra spices and salt would taste better as I did not prepare any sauce.

The taste of the quail meat is gamey but light.  I don't mind at all as I love the flavour of duck meat, which is rather strong.

My curiosity has been answered now, love the flavour and the texture of the meat, but I am not sure cooking quails again.



Until Next Time
Susy