Sheila's Salmon in Soy Sauce

A few weeks back I went down in Cork, for the launch of Sheila Kiely's new cookbook - Gimme The Recipe. I've come to know Sheila through food blogging, as she writes a wonderful blog {Gimme the Recipe} that I have been following for the past couple of years. I was very excited to get my hands on Sheila's book, as her blog is one that I regularly refer to and quite often cook from. Sheila's approach to cooking is completely no-nonsense and the recipes are always straight forward. They would surely need to be, as this lady not only runs a food safety consultancy business with her husband, but she also has six, yes six, children.

The book is divided up in a way that reflects any busy home. The main section of the book is titled 'What's for Dinner Mom?'. A perfectly named chapter as, like all mothers, this is something I hear many times a day. Sheila includes quick after school snacks, such as Quesadillas and Crispy Potato Skins, delicious soups, one-pot dinners as well as many many dishes that could be whipped up in a flash. I recently made Sheila's 'Salmon in Soy Sauce' which I served with a noodle salad. A very tasty way to cook salmon and was made in minutes. Sheila has also included a fair amount of recipes for days when you have the time to do a little home baking. The next section of recipes are especially tailored for entertaining, be that dinner parties or large family gatherings. A wonderful addition to this book are the detailed plans for hosting these meals, relatively stress free. As well as Sheila's candid approach to her recipes, she maintains this course with her ingredients. She made a point to only include ingredients that she could source at her local supermarket, making the recipes accessible to all.

On the night of the book launch, Sheila thanked her husband and children, for their involvement with the book. Their presence in her kitchen, and her heart, is evident throughout the chosen recipes and the way she introduces each dish. An adorable touch to this cookbook is a page filled with hand drawings by the children. How proud they all must be that this snippet of their life will, ever more, be on the book shelve of stores. I've seen and bought many 'family cookbooks' but there is a certain honestly to this one, that so many celebrity focused ones just don't seem to undertake. I've a feeling that this is the just the beginning of a very successful career in writing for Sheila.

Salmon in Soy Sauce

This is a tasty and very healthy way to cook salmon. I severed the salmon with a simple noodle salad but it would be equally as nice with boiled potatoes and green beans.

Ingredients
3 garlic cloves
3cm thumb-width piece of ginger
1 red chilli
2 spring onions
50mls dark or rich soy sauce
4 salmon darnes (approx. 480-500g)
1 tbsp olive oil

To Marinate
1. Peel and crush the garlic and grate the ginger.
2. Deseed and finely chop the red chilli with the spring onions.
3. Combine the garlic, ginger and chilli with the spring onions and soy sauce. Pour over the salmon.
4. Leave to marinate, in the fridge, for a couple of hours, covered with cling film.

Method
1. In a large frying pan heat the olive oil, on a medium to high heat.
2. Add the salmon pieces, skin side down, and cook for 2 minutes, reserving the marinade sauce.
3. Turn the salmon over and cook for a further 2 minutes, add the sauce and heat through for another minute. Check that the salmon is completely cooked, then serve.