Enjoy a little spice? Try this intensely flavoured recipe - a favourite with the butchers at Sharky's Artisan Sausages. Visit Pepperpot to find these and other exotic spices, sold conveniently in small quantities.

Ingredients

2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Medium Onion, Diced

4 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

1/4 tsp Each Dried Thyme, Cloves, Cinnamon, Pepper

1 Bay Leaf

4 Cured, Air-Dried Chorizo Sausages, Cut into 1/2 inch Pieces

5 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Stock

2 Cans Chickpeas, drained & rinsed

Method

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat and cook onion with all spices (except pepper) for about 5 minutes. Add chorizo to skillet and cook for about 8 minutes, or until mixture is golden. Add stock and chickpeas and bring to a boil. Stir, and reduce to a simmer. Stir often and simmer until most of the stock has been absorbed. Remove the bay leaf and add pepper. Enjoy!

Courtesy of Kosta the Fishmonger - The Salmon Shop and Screaming Mimi’s

Ingredients

1/2 lb. Wild Sockeye Smoked Salmon - sliced

1/4 cup Firm Feta Cheese - crumbled

1.5 tbsps Fresh Dill - chopped

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Fresh cracked black pepper to taste.

Method:

Slice the smoked salmon into one inch thick slices horizontally. Toss the slices in a bowl until well-seperated. Toss in the crumbled feta, then the dill. Season to taste with freshly-cracked black pepper. Stir in the olive oil. Serve on lightly buttered fresh baguette slices.

Tip: To lost the “fat” of this recipe, salmon can also be served on crispbread.

Courtesy of Mana Cafe

Sabzi Polo

Ingredients:

4 cups (32oz) of white long grain basmati rice

4 Tbsp of cooking oil or butter

1/2 cup 94oz) chopped chives/scallion stems (tarreh/piazcheh)

1 - 1 1/2 cups (12oz) parsley (jafaree)

1 cup (8oz) coriander (gheshneez)

1 1/2 cups (12oz) fresh dill weed (sheveed)

4 oz water

Method:

For best results, soak the rice for a couple of hours in hot water and salt before cooking. Wash and drain the vegetables. Finely chop all the greens on a cutting board and make sure they are well drained.

Half fill a medium sized pot with water; bring to a boil. Add the soaked rice and let it cook for a few minutes until it starts boiling. Stir the rice a few times during the boiling process. Occasionally test a few rice grains to see if they have softened. This should take between 15 to 25 minutes.

Near the end of the boiling, add the fresh chopped vegetables (if you are using dried vegetables do not add them in yet because they will get washed out). Stir the rice one last time and then take it out and drain it in a kitchen stringer. Run the tap water on it to wash out some of the excess salt.

Pour the oil in the pot, add 4 oz of water, add a bit of extra oil or butter if necessary. If you are using dried vegetables in place of fresh ones, you will have to mix them in as you are adding thin layers of rice in the pot, in the shape of a heap.

With the back of a spoon, make five holes, one in the center and four around it so that the rice can breath in the cooking process.

Spread a little water on top and close the lid. Let it cook for a few minutes on high heat. When steam starts to rise, change the setting to medium heat and let it cook for another 15 to 20 minutes. Then turn the heat to medium-low, sprinkle some butter or cooking oil to prevent drying, and let it cook for about another 10 to 15 minutes before serving. The longer it stays the more crust you will have.

Bakes White Fish

Ingredients:

1 medium-large whole white fish

1 large onion

1 large bell pepper, and/or a few jalapeno peppers

1 head of fresh garlic peeled and finely chopped

2 cups (16oz) of fresh chopped parsley (jafaree)

1/2 cup (4oz) of fresh chopped coriander (gheshneez) or 2 Tbsp of dried coriander

1 package of dried tamarind (tamr-e hendi)

Method:

Place the tamarind paste in a bowl containing a cup of water. Kneed the paste until the seeds separate from the dried pulps. Run the mixture through a kitchen stringer to separate  the seeds form the resulting sauce. Set it aside. Stir-fry the chopped onion; garlic and fresh peppers at first and then add the remaining chopped vegetables.

Stir-fry for a few more minutes. Take it off the heat and set it aside.

Set the oven to bake at 350 degrees (F). Place the fish in an oven safe dish, add a touch of cooking oil, salt and pepper, stuff the fish with the stir fried vegetable mixture and pour the tamarind sauce over the vegetable stuffing. Cover the dish with aluminum foil for half of the baking period. Bake at this setting for about an hour. By the end of the baking period, the outer layer of the fish should have a reddish colour and the meat should be flaky to the touch of a fork.

Serves 4.

Courtesy of Kosta at the Salmon Shop

Ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. Wild BC Sockeye fillet

1 1/2 Tbsp dark soy sauce

1 Tbsp white pepper

1 Tbsp Maple syrup or ice wine (optional)

1 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil

Method:

Place salmon fillet on a plate skin down. Spoon the ingredients over the fillet in the order above as they are listed. Turn the salmon fillet and cure for 15 minutes with the flesh side down on the plate. Heat the barbeque to 450 F - 5pp F. Place the salmon fillet flesh side down on the grill. Move the fillet an inch or two back and forth over the grill a half minute so that it doesn not stick to the grill. Cook the salmon on the flesh sife for another minute or two. Turn the barbeque to the lowest setting and turn the salmon fillet over with the skin side turned down. Clost the barbeque cover and cook the salmon sillet for another 4 - 5 minutes. Try to always remove the salmon form the grill when it still needs a minute to finish. Check doneness by forking and twisting the flesh to so a peak a boo. The flesh should be slightly under done in the centre. Place on your favourite marinade or butter over it then cover with foil and let stand for 2 - 3 minutes to finish cooking under it's own heat.

Courtesy of Cilantro & Jalapeno

Prepare 5 min. 6 hours of chilling time

Cook no cooking required

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1Lb (450gr) of Salmon, Red Snapper or Sole Fillets skinned and cut into small stripes or slices

Juice of 3 limes

1L of our famous SALSA

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Valentina Hot Sauce

1 Avacado, cubed (optional)

Salt & Pepper

Garnish: 1 line cut into wedges

Serving Suggestions: Ceviche Tostadas

Method:

Place the fish in a non-metallic dish and pour over the lime juice, let chill in the fridge for about 6 hours. Stir occasionally to ensure that the fish is well coated in the marinade, it is ready when the fish turns opaque.

Remove from the fridge and drain completely, season with salt and pepper.

In a seperate large container empty the 1L Salsa, add the olive oil, the Valentina Hot Sauce (if you want to make it hotter just add more sauce) and the optional avacado. Take the seasoned fish and mix it all together gently.

You can serve it in a large bowl and place it on your table or serve each person a protion. Place the tostadas readily available to layer some Ceviche on top.

Visit our website www.cilantroandjalapeno.com

Courtesy of Kosta, The Salmon Shop

Ingredients:

1 cup of flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup of ice cold beer

1 Tbsp vinegar

1/2 cup of ice cold water

extra flour to coat the fish

Method:

Combine all of the dry ingredients and whisk together. Add the beer and continue whisking. Then add the vinegar and the water. Whisk until well mixed and place in the fridge for 20 minutes. To prepare the fish, coat it in flour then re-whisk the cold batter before dipping into the batter.

Tips for frying

Make sure to use a thin piece of fish about 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch thick. Use a high smoke point oil such as rice bran, grapeseed or corn oil. Heat the oil to 375 F before frying. Avoid frying too many pieces at one time as it will drop the oil temperature too low. Always place the cooked fish ona cookie rack when done to drain off excess oil while maintaining crispness. Season with salt and pepper ans serve with malt vinegar, lemon wedges and tartar sauce.

Courtesy of Kosta, The Salmon Shop

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs. B.C. Rockfish cleaned and scaled

Outer shell of one onion

Leaves of a celery stock

Stems of a parsley bunch

Generous amount of salt

White pepper

Approx. 1 tbsp cooking oil

Blood Orange Marinade

Ingredients:

Juice of a blood orange

Rind of the blood orange

Juice of half a lemon

Pinch of dry oregano

Pinch of dry basil

Sea salt and white pepper to taste

Add 3 parts more of extra virgin olive oil to the blood orange and lemon juice

Method:

Coat the rockfish with salt generously and a little white pepper. Stuff it with the onion, celery and parsley. Coat the fish lightly with cooking oil and place on an oven tray. Cover with foil and bake for 15 mins. in a preheated oven at 400 F. Reduce the heat to 375 F and remove the foil. Continue baking for another 10 mins. or until done. Check with a fork for doneness and cook longer if necessary.  While the fish is baking take a few minutes to make the marinade. In a small mixing bowl grate the rind from the blood orange and squeeze the juice in. Add the lemon juice and all the seasonings. Add three times the quantity of juice in olive oil but whisk the oil in slowly to emulsify. When the snapper is done remove the bones and drizzle the marinade over the fish before serving.