Happy Easter and celebrating alone!!!

Bought salmon, broccolini, and pear on sale. Got some carrots leftover. Decided to make pear caramel sauce to go with salmon and vegetables. It’s time to bring out the air fryer. It’s a multi-staking method.

Google: “Salmon is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera Salmo and Oncorhynchus of the family Salmonidae, native to tributaries of the North Atlantic and North Pacific basins.”

“Yes, caramel can be added to salmon, and it’s a popular flavour combination in some cuisines, like Vietnamese cuisine. Recipes often use a sweet and savoury caramel sauce, often incorporating ingredients like ginger, fish sauce, and lime, which complements the flavours of salmon. Caramel, when used with salmon, often adds a sweet, savoury, and sometimes spicy dimension, depending on the specific recipe.”

Google: “Caramel sauce is primarily made from sugar, which is heated until it caramelizes, and then combined with additional ingredients like butter, heavy cream, and sometimes water or corn syrup. The specific ratio of these ingredients can vary, but sugar is the foundational component that gives caramel its distinctive flavour and colour.”

“Broccolini is a hybrid vegetable, often called baby broccoli, created by crossing broccoli and Chinese broccoli (gai lan). It’s characterized by its long, thin stalks and smaller, leafy florets, offering a mild, slightly sweet flavour and a tender-crisp texture. It has long, slender stalks and smaller, loosely formed florets, often with a few small leaves. It has long, slender stalks and smaller, loosely formed florets, often with a few small leaves. Broccolini is a good source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, similar to broccoli. t can be used in various ways, similar to broccoli, including steaming, sautéing, roasting, and grilling.”

Here’s a meal that you can serve your family too for Easter celebration; just double or triple the portions and can use oven. I am glad to try caramel sauce with pear to go with salmon. My meal is healthy, colourful, flavourful and delicious. Let’s get air fryer going!!!

Ingredients

1 broad size salmon skin on
1 bunch of broccolini
6 cherry tomatoes
4 leftover carrot bite size (boiled)
2 Tsp garlic powder, divided
a pinch of fennel powder
oil
salt
black pepper
lemon juice (OPT)

Pear caramel sauce

1 pear, cored, sliced
90 g light brown sugar
30 ml water
30 g unsalted butter
1/2 Tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Method

Make the caramel sauce

In a large pot, add sugar and water cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves; about 5 minutes. There is no need to stir, simply swirl the pan over the burner occasionally as the sugar dissolves.

Increase heat to medium high, add pears and cook pears and sauce, swirling the pan occasionally, until it is brown coloured; about 5-6 minutes. (Note: for amber coloured; about 8 minutes). Now add butter, it will bubble and sputter, lightly stir to melt, do not scrape the sides of the pan.

Once butter melted, remove from the heat and add vanilla, cream and salt. It will bubble again but will calm quickly. Stir to combine. Let it cool before using or transferring to a jar and refrigerate for storage.

Air fry broccolini

Preheat air fryer to 190°C. Prepare the broccolini by washing and trimming any tough ends. Toss the broccolini with oil, season with salt, pepper, and 1 Tsp garlic powder. Line with foil, leaving some space for hot air circulations. Place broccolini in the air fryer basket in a single layer to ensure even cooking. Air fry for 8-10 minutes, or until the florets are lightly browned and tender-crisp. You can adjust the cooking time based on your air fryer model and desired level of crispiness. I put in a further 2 minutes for more crispiness. Remove from the air fryer to a plate and squeeze a bit of lemon juice. Keep warm using tented foil.

Air fryer salmon and cherry tomatoes

Preheat air fryer to 200°C. Season salmon with salt and pepper liberally and drizzle with a little oil. Place salmon skin side up into a made tray with foil and set aside. In a bowl, combine tomatoes, the remaining 1 Tsp garlic powder, fennel powder, oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

Add tomatoes to the prepared foiled tray with salmon. Set tomatoes around salmon. Now put the foiled tray salmon and tomatoes into the air fryer. Air fry for 10-12 minutes. (Note: Air frying salmon fillets typically takes between 6 and 15 minutes, depending on thickness and air fryer type). For 6-ounce fillets, 6 minutes at 200°C is often recommended. Thicker cuts may require 8-10 minutes, while thinner cuts can cook in 5-7 minutes. “The salmon is done when it flakes easily with a fork and reaches an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C), according to the USDA.”

In the last 1-2 minutes of air frying salmon and tomatoes, spoon pear caramel sauce into bowl. Then put broccolini, and carrot bite size on plate in microwave both bowl and plate with food for about 1minute. I use a stacker: at the bottom pear caramel sauce in bowl and on top the vegetables plate. Removed salmon and tomatoes from air fryer to a plate.

Place cherry tomatoes at the bottom of plate then salmon above it and shakes some black pepper over the salmon. Next place the warmed up pear caramel sauce on top of salmon. Followed by carrot slices. Then broccolini right on top of plate. Drizzle some more caramel sauce all over the tomatoes, salmon, pear, and carrot. Serve with a glass of white wine. Enjoy!!!!

Note: Caramel sauce can be made using just sugar, water, and butter. This method, often called the “wet” method, involves dissolving the sugar in water before caramelizing it. However, many recipes also include cream and/or salt for a richer, more balanced flavour. You can use thickened cream if you want to. You can use any vegetables of your choice.

https://helenscchin.com/2024/04/16/air-fryer-sticky-pear-salmon-and-vegetables/

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