I was
lounging around in my sitting room last week in the company of my three
housemates, talking about everything and nothing in particular; it had been a reasonably
long day for all of us yet we were in high spirits, the hours spent in the
grind of our various vocations had failed to dampen the mood on Mysore Road. Or
so we thought . . .
Being a
trifle on the tepid side in relation to my temperate temperament, I called my
housemate Ed up on a particular nuance in his vocabulary that had been niggling
at me for some time; his habitual use of the prefix “to be honest” before at least 30% of what comes out of his usually
erudite gob. I see no reason for it, a waste of breath, but more importantly,
and this is the real issue I take with this particular turn of phrase; is he
insinuating that when he doesn’t proclaim the validity of his views that he is
in fact lying? How can I trust him? I’m not sure I can!
The same can
be said for plenty of other unnecessary phraseology that has crept into the
English language over the years; the word ‘literally’
for instance makes my father’s blood boil when it’s used out of context. After
a particularly turbulent landing at Innsbruck airport last year one of his
friends remarked how he had “literally
shat himself”, this resulted in a ten minute tirade and interrogation as to
whether the friend in question literally did
have shit in his pants. Now even though his loving children instigated this
particular exchange, I share his frustration at this grammatical infliction,
paramount to the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue.
“Like” is another word that fortunately seems to be drifting out of
circulation, certainly amongst the older generation, of which we are
continually drifting towards, each day another closer to death. A relic of 90’s
Americana it rudely invaded the vocabulary of an entire generation of children,
infecting their speech via the medium of poisonous movie trash.
“That was like, so cool”, you could hear the youth saying. I was one of
them! Afflicted by this linguistic parasite from across the pond. Why was it “like so cool”, and not just “so cool” instead? Why were we living in
this perpetual parallel universe where things were not quite what they seemed?
I find
myself biting my lip when asked on an aeroplane; “Would you like a drink, at all”?
What do you
mean “at all”? Either I want one or I
don’t! Or are they inviting me in to a lengthy debate wherein I could establish
the level of thirst I would have to reach, to then decide that I did indeed
require a liquiditous substance with quenching capabilities?
When we have
guests around who ask my mother where the toilet is, she simply replies that we
don’t have one. So either they ask where the loo is or cross their legs
instead.
I could go
on, however there are simply too many of these imperfections to mention, so
instead I will simmer quietly, attempting to harness in my emotions until the
point when some unfortunate soul offers me a ‘beverage’ with accompanying ‘serviette’
and I will stab them in the face!
After
getting so riled up there a few things that can bring me back down again more
swiftly than a good meal, and this one is no exception. The Japanese flavours
in the Wasabi are warm and comforting when combined with the smooth texture of
the peas and crème fraîche, the sweet and salty salmon atop the
fresh and spicy carrot and coriander purée is a welcome
juxtaposition, whilst the scallops are just a treat that should be eaten far
more often.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
For the carrot and coriander purée -
6 large
carrots
Small
handful of coriander, finely chopped (a little for garnish)
2cm of fresh
root ginger, finely sliced
2 large red
chillies, deseeded, finely chopped
1 clove of
garlic, finely chopped
2
tablespoons crème fraîche
Salt and
Pepper
Wasabi mushy peas -
2 cups
garden peas, frozen is fine
2 tspns
wasabi paste
1 tablespoon
crème fraîche
Scallops -
12 scallops,
coral removed
2 cloves
garlic, finely chopped
Knob of
butter
Salmon -
4 salmon
filet sections
1 tablespoon
runny honey
8
tablespoons light soy sauce
2
tablespoons dark soy sauce
Toasted
sesame oil
4 spring
onions finely chopped
Large pinch
of poppy seeds
Method:
You will
need a blender for this, there’s no way around it.
1) Marinate
the salmon filets in both the dark and light soy sauce, with the spring onions
as well, for at least an hour.
2) Chop the
carrots and cook them until tender, strain and chuck in the blender with the
ginger, chillies, garlic, crème fraîche and coriander. Blend until extremely
smooth, and then add salt to taste. This is very important, as it will bring
all the flavours together. Set aside in a saucepan with the lid on.
3) Boil the
peas for 5 minutes until cooked, add to the blender (you may want to rinse it
out first) then chuck in the wasabi and crème fraîche and blend till smooth.
Season to taste and set aside in a saucepan.
4) Heat a
little sesame oil in a non stick frying pan over a medium high heat, take the
salmon out of the marinade and add the filets to the pan skin side down and
cook for 6 minutes. Then spoon / squeeze the honey over the top of the salmon and
add a few tablespoons of the marinade before turning them over to cook on their
tops for another 2-3 minutes. The skin should be crispy and delicious looking!
5) Whilst
the salmon is cooking score across one side of the scallops in a cross hatch,
heat the butter in a pan, add the garlic, then fry the scallops for 2-3 minutes
on each side over a medium heat, making sure they have a golden sheen on them.
6) Just
before the fish is ready reheat the delicious green and orange mushiness in
their respective pans, plate up, garnish with coriander and poppy seeds.
Enjoy.
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