Baked New Zealand Salmon with Herb Crust (made with Rangihoua Estate's Herb Spread)

Our visiting family from South Africa and Singapore turned into a festival of food!

During a trip to Waiheke Island we went to the beautiful Rangihoua Estate for some olive oil tasting. We also sampled some of their herb spread and promptly bought a jar to take home. Later that week, we used the herb spread on fresh New Zealand salmon and what a treat it was!

Ingredients
4 salmon fillets (approx 250g each) preferably with skin on

1 cup of breadcrumbs

3/4 jar of Rangihoua Estate's herb spread 

Lemon wedges to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees

Mix the breadcrumbs and the herb spread together

Lay the salmon skin down on a lightly greased baking tray

Spread the breadcrumb mixture over the salmon

Place in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes (until cooked through)

Thank you to my cooking partner, Bonny Ritchie - we had such fun in the kitchen, you are sorely missed!

You can order the herb spread on line from www.rangihoua.co.nz

Asparagus with Egg Mimosa, Butter and Breadcrumbs

I have just had the most glorious two weeks shared with family visiting from South Africa and Singapore. One of the many gifts I received was a cook book by South African journalist, editor and cook Jane-Anne Hobbs titled Scrumptious. It is filled with some beautiful recipes including an exciting version of the very South African bunny chow (keep an eye out for the recipe which I will trial in the coming weeks). 

The first recipe I tried was a variation on what Jane-Anne refers to as a time-tested classic “Asparagus with Egg Mimosa, Butter and Breadcrumbs”.  

Ingredients
3 large free-range eggs
2 slices white bread, a day or two old (I only has fresh white bread so I popped this in the toaster for a minute or so)
48 spears fresh asparagus
250g butter
A big pinch of white pepper (I used black pepper)
1/3 cup fresh parsley - finely chopped 
Salt
Juice of 1 lemon

Method
Hard boil the eggs, peel and set aside.
Crumb the bread in a blender and set aside.
Cut the woody bases off the asparagus spears and steam for 3–5 minutes until tender (but still firm). 
In a frying pan melt the butter, add the breadcrumbs and fry until crunchy.
Put the eggs into a blender and whizz them for a few seconds.
Add the eggs, parsley and salt.
Lay the asparagus spears on a plate and tip the breadcrumb and egg mixture over the top, across the middle. Squeeze over the lemon juice and serve. 

Note this is a variation of Jane-Anne Hobbs’ recipe. The full recipe can be found here: http://www.food24.com/Recipes-and-Menus/Easy-Weekday-Meals/Asparagus-with-egg-mimosa-butter-and-breadcrumbs-20121012

Thank you to Bonny Ritchie and Tammy Holohan for travelling from the other side of the world to spend time with us. Thank you so much to Bonny for giving me the beautiful cook book.

In the picture - Tammy, Bonny, John and our daughter Caitlyn-Jane at Auckland International Airport