SALMON STEAKS WITH RASTA SAUCE

It is purely the colours in this sauce that have earned it its name. Yellow saffron with black and red fish eggs. The green being provided by beans to accompany.

I started with a whole salmon and having removed the fillets made stock from the head and bones. The stock I then reboiled and reduced by half to concentrate the flavour. I let it cool completely so that I could remove any fat from the top.

For 6

350 ml concentrated fish stock

Large pinch of saffron

2 teaspoons black fish roe

2 teaspoons red fish roe

1 heaped teaspoon cornflour

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 salmon steaks

Olive oil for frying

Dry the saffron in a thick based shallow pan over a low heat. This will not take long and will burn easily, so as soon as you get a faint odour of the spice, whip  it off the heat and into a mortar. Add a small pinch of salt and grind to a powder.

Add a ladle of the stock to the mortar into which the saffron will dissolve. Return this to the rest of the stock. Add the fish eggs and put to one side while you cook the salmon.

Put the teaspoon of cornflour into a small container and add just enough cold stock to make a thin cream.

Fry the salmon in a small amount of oil over a medium heat for about seven minutes each side until nicely browned.

Put on a warm serving dish and keep warm while you heat the sauce.

Drain any excess fat from the frying pan and add the stock sauce. Heat quickly to boiling. If it is a bit thin then thicken with the cornflour mix, stirring the mix first to make sure that the cornflour is evenly pourable.

Serve the salmon on a bed of white polenta or creamed potatoes surrounded by the sauce and some steamed green beans.