We love smoked salmon and typically keep it pretty simple. Which we did the same prep with this one as well, but I decided I wanted to try out something new. All of the gorgeous fresh jalapenos growing in the garden and it’s also blueberry season right now – inspiration created.
I’ll give a quick simple version of what we do with the salmon first.. I wash and pat dry with paper towels. Then I add my seasonings such as: drizzle of honey, lemon powder, salt, pepper, paprika maybe some oregano. Pretty easy and simple and I let it sit in the fridge for a few hours soaking in the seasonings before we smoke. The blueberry glaze is just as simple!
I diced about one large jalapeno and about 1/4 of a sweet onion (also looking absolutely fantastic at the store right now). Sauteed in a pan with a little olive oil until they were starting to soften. I added about 1.5 cups of blueberries, 1/4 cup of honey and a couple tablespoons of balsamic. Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer until the blueberries are almost all popped open. You will need to keep an eye on this and stir occasionally or they will boil over!
I let it cool slightly and then used my immersion blender to smooth it out. If you don’t have an immersion blender you should get one! But seriously, you can throw the mixture into a blender instead. I let this cool all day and added to our salmon halfway through smoking. It turned out great – we all added more as a sauce as well!
Blueberry Jalapeno Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 jalapeno large
- 1/4 sweet onion
- 1.5 cups blueberries
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Dice jalapeno and onion. Saute with a little olive oil until soft.
- Add remaining ingredients. Turn heat to lowest setting. Cover and simmer.
- Be sure to check frequently and stir as needed so the mixture doesn't boil over. Once most of the blueberries are popped open, remove from heat.
- After cooled enough to handle, use immersion blender to smooth or a regular blender works as well! ~Enjoy!
Lamb Ragu
My husband and I both love lamb and we love ragu. We had roasted a fantastic lamb shoulder from our favorite local meat market and of course, I froze the leftovers. I personally think the lamb really makes this recipe, but if you aren’t a fan you could easily substitute about any of your favorite meats. We also made homemade pasta for the first time to go with this ragu that made it even that much better, but I made several completely different meals with this ragu that all turned out fantastic!
I think you are all going to be completely shocked when you hear how this recipe starts…. olive oil, diced onion and minced garlic – surprise! 🙂 About 2 tbsp oil, 1 onion and 1/4 cup minced garlic. Then, I add in about 1.5 cups of diced carrots. I prefer the organic, colored carrots – I swear they taste better, have a better consistency and of course, I’m growing them in my garden right now! You can use whatever carrots you prefer.
Next, add in about 1 pint of sliced baby bella mushrooms. Then comes the fun part.. add in your heirloom tomatoes, about 8 medium to large. You crush them by hand over your pot. Be careful – sometimes they like to squirt across the room or into an eye!
Add in a whole bunch of fresh parsley – just remove from the stems and throw it in. Then add your meat. We had pre-cooked lamb that I diced into large bite size pieces. You could add beef or chicken or really anything you like, but the lamb is the best. 🙂 Add about 2 tablespoons of dried oregano (I save mine from the garden and I also swear it’s way different than what you buy at the store), 3/4 can of tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of smoked paprika, ground peppercorn to taste and crushed red pepper flakes. (again depend on your spice tolerance)
Simmer this down for about 15 minutes and add about 1.5-2 cups of a dry red wine. Simmer for another 20-30 minutes or longer. I always say the longer sauces simmer the better!
Serve over pasta or like we did the following weekend – over potatoes topped with an egg for a breakfast hash. Both were delish! And several friends enjoyed some of the leftovers as well – including ones that had never had lamb before.
Lamb Ragu
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/4 cup minced garlic
- 1.5 cups diced carrots
- 1 pint baby bella mushrooms, sliced
- 8 heirloom tomatoes medium-large
- 1/2 bunch fresh parsley
- 2 cups pre-cooked lamb or other meat approx
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 3/4 can tomato paste small can
- 2 tbsp smoke paprika
- ground peppercorn to taste
- crushed red pepper flakes to taste
- 1.5-2 cups dry red wine
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in pan and add onion and garlic. Dice carrots and add to the mixture. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add mushrooms. Crush the tomatoes by hand into the pot. Have a towel handy as this can get messy!
- Add in parsley and your cooked meat (lamb). Stir together well.
- Add in dried oregano, tomato paste, smoked paprika, ground peppercorn and crushed red pepper flakes. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes.
- Add in about 1.5-2 cups of wine and simmer for another 20-30 minutes.
- Serve over pasta, potatoes, rice or share what other ideas you might have. ~Enjoy!