Super Kitchen Machine (Thermomix)

The “Steamed Salmon Bundles” were a great success so we made a video slideo!

We don’t always follow recipes, but we like to use them as inspiration. This time, we found one that looked interesting in the Thermomix cookbook “Full Steam Ahead”. (Full Steam Ahead features the Varoma steaming attachment of the the Thermomix TM31. ) We had fresh wild salmon steaks on hand that day, but the recipe that caught our eye was from page 86, for “Pike-perch fillet in salad basket with feta-lemon sauce.” Here’s the ‘recipe’ as we best remember it:

1) Marinate the fish – or not
We began by marinating the salmon steaks in lemon juice and a little olive oil. This is not necessry, but it’s an extra step that some of us like to do.

2) Zucchini ‘nest’ preparation
While the salmon was marinading, we took one whole zucchini (small/medium size) and sliced it into Julienne strips using our handy-dandy zyliss tool. These beautiful Julienne strips were then tossed with a dijon-lemon-garlic mayonnaise that was already on hand. (The original recipe suggests placing the Perch fillets on cucumber slices but we had zucchini, so this was our choice!)

3) Cook the rice – or not
Next we began the process of cooking rice in the Thermomix basket, as per usual method. The method for cooking rice is found on page 16 of the Australian “Every Day Cooking” (EDC). If you’re not sure how to cook rice by Thermomix, you can always use another conventional method, or omit the rice if you like. (One day we’ll find time to post a recipe for cooking rice but we haven’t had a chance yet.)

4) Wrapping the bundles
We washed one Romain lettuce leaf for each piece of salmon. Though the book suggests using Butter lettuce, we used what was at hand, with good results. On each piece of lettuce we placed a layer or ‘nest’ of Julienned zucchini. This is to provide necessary space for the steam circulation, for thorough cooking results. Another layer of zucchini went on top of the fish and the whole bundle was ‘wrapped’ in the lettuce.

5) Put bundles in Varoma and get steamy
The bundles are placed in the Varoma which is placed on top of the TM31 which has already begun cooking the rice. (Just keep cooking the rice as usual, and let the salmon cook from the excess steam coming out the hole!) This makes for a highly efficient use of energy as rice and salmon are cooked by the same fuel energy. You should plan on about 20 – 30 minutes for these to cook simultaneously. Specific times will vary depending on your choice of rice variety, and your type and cut of fish. Check everything after 10 minutes of cooking and use your best judgement – it’s easy.

6) Additional veggies are the crowning glory!
We added a few brussel sprouts into the top tray of the Varoma. (Not shown in the slideshow) This optional and removable tray lies above salmon and veggies can be added in at any point during the process, depending on the cooking time needed by your additional veggies. If you are cooking hard vegetables such as carrots or brussel sprouts, you will want to add them at about the same time as you start the fish. If you are cooking softer vegetables or tofu for example, they will just need a few minutes of heating near the end of the cooking cycle of your rice and fish.

7) Finally!
Our Thermomix Steamed Salmon bundles took about 30 minutes, as did our rice. If budegeting for time, do allow about 10-15 minutes extra for preparing the zucchini and bundles. We served a dollop of house-made mayonnaise alongside as well, but a slice of lemon would be ideal also!

Voila!
TMB
(ThermomixBlogger Helene)