Steamed Salmon with Tomato Basil Couscous

Rice cooker - yea or nay? Everyone who loves to cook at home will definitely enjoy the luxury brands of different kitchen appliance, no? Pot for soup, pot for stewing, different size and shape of frying pan etc. Unfortunately not many has the space for storage, especially if you are living in a rented place.

Panasonic rice cooker is very versatile, they can cook rice expertly and steam veggie/meat at the same time, make soups, cakes/breads and even stir frying in them! There is also a digital display showing how much time is left in cooking. Very simple to use and extremely easy to clean.



I invited Shareen over our house for a dinner treat using the Panasonic rice cooker to make steamed salmon with tomato basil couscous. She was of course excited about the salmon but not so looking forward to the no flavour couscous... She beg to differ after dinner. Shareen was extremely pleased and thought the dinner was absolutely delicious.

A recipe to add on for an easy amazing weekday dinner with these simple ingredients on Panasonic rice cooker. This recipe is a keeper!

Recipe: Steamed Salmon with Tomato Basil Couscous
Serves: 2 pax

Ingredients:
• 2 x 200g salmon fillets
• 100g cherry tomatoes
• 150g couscous
• 1 small bunch fresh basil
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 small bulb fennel
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 2 medium fresh red chilli
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 1 lemon
• olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp natural yoghurt (optional)


Method:
1. Bring a small pot of water to boil, about 400ml of water.

2. Pound the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar until fine, set aside.


3. Clean and pat dry the salmon fillets on kitchen paper. Lay them on a plate, drizzle with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.


4. Pick the basil leaves and put to one side, finely chop the stalks. Peel the onion and trim the fennel, then chop both finely. Halve, deseed and chop the chilli. Set aside.


5. Program the rice cooker on QUICK COOK. Add a splash of olive oil in the inner pan with basil stalks and prepared vegetables (except bay leaf), cook gently for 5 mins stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft.


6. Add the pound fennel seeds and bay leaf and change the program to "WHITE RICE" on the rice cooker (so that it will continue cooking)


7. Place the couscous in a mixing bowl, and pour over 150ml of boiling water. Stir with a fork to break up any lumps.


8. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add to the inner pan with softened vegetables. Season everything with salt and pepper and mix well. Flatten out a little.


9. Tip the couscous over the vegetables and smooth out. Carefully pour over another 150ml of boiling water, then place the salmon fillets on top of the couscous.


10. Finely grate the zest of the lemon over the salmon then cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice from one half over the fish.


11. Close the lid, change the program to QUICK COOK and cook for 7 - 10mins until the couscous has fluffed up and the salmon is just cooked.


12. Press "Keep Warm/Off" button to turn off the rice cooker, unplug the powder plug. Take out the inner pan, take out fish salmon and couscous and place them on a plate. Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle over a pinch of black pepper, roughly tear up some basil leaves and scatter them on top. Serve with yoghurt if desire.

Small bulb of fennel was used in this recipe. Fennel is a plant species in the genus Foeniculum. It is a member of the family Apiaceae. It is a hardy, perennial, umbelliferous herb, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves (source from Wikipedia). It look like the bigger version of spring onion. Don't be fret out by the strong tad smell, it does not taste the same after cooking.


It can be purchase in NTUC Finest, cold storage, and marketplace but not available in most wet market and smaller supermarket.



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