Salmon With Bacon And Lentils

Salmon With Bacon and Lentils

Ingredients:

1 cup lentils 

1 onion, minced
1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
4 2-inch-long orange peel strips (orange part only)
2 1/2 cups water                                                                                             

4 8-ounce salmon fillets, each cut crosswise into 3 pieces 

6 bacon slices, each cut crosswise in half

1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped chives or green onions
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon or 2 teaspoons dried tarragon

Directions:

1. 1. Combine lentils, onion, carrot and orange peel in heavy large saucepan. Add 2 1/2 cups water and bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. 
   2. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup cooking liquid. Discard orange peel. Return lentils to pan. Season lentils with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 say ahead. Cover and chill lentils and reserved cooking liquid separately.)
   3. Preheat oven to 450°F. Place salmon on baking sheet. Wrap 1 bacon strip around center of each salmon piece, arranging bacon ends on bottom. Bake salmon until opaque in center, about 8 minutes.
   4. Meanwhile, add enough reserved cooking liquid to lentils to moisten. Mix in cream, then parsley, chives and tarragon and bring to simmer. Spoon lentil onto plates. Top each with 3 salmon pieces in spoke fashion and serve.  Serves 4

Shrimp And Asparagus Risotto With Leek Broth And Fresh Tarragon

Shrimp And Asparagus Risotto With 

Leek Broth And Fresh Tarragon

Serves 4 to 5.
6 cups chicken broth
2 T. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 lb. large shrimp (16-20 per lb.), cleaned and cut in half through the back 
1/2 lb. asparagus, ends snapped off and cut into 1 inch lengths diagonally
 3 T. unsalted butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 T. chopped Italian parsley, divided use 
1 T. chopped fresh tarragon

1. Bring broth to a simmer in a 4-quart saucepan.

2. For risotto, heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute.

3. Add wine and cook, stirring constantly until wine is just about gone. Add 2 cups hot broth and cook, stirring constantly, lowering heat as needed just to keep mixture simmering. Add broth 1 cup at a time as needed. Keep stirring and adding rice until rice is just barely tender.

4. Stir in the shrimp and cook 1 minute. Stir in the asparagus and continue cooking and stirring until rice is tender and shrimp is cooked through, about 2 minutes adding more broth if necessary to maintain a creamy texture.

5. Remove rice from heat and stir in butter, Parmesan cheese, 1 T. parsley and tarragon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide rice between bowls or plates and sprinkle with remaining parsley; serve immediately.                      Recipe by Phillis Carey.