Culinary Culture: Food of Love

Written by Vincent Verrydt
Wednesday, 08 February 2012 10:49

Oysters, shmoysters! We all know that oysters have long been hailed as the ultimate natural libido booster so if you’re an instant gratification kind of a person, you may want to devour a dozen (or four) in the privacy of your own home. But then again, have you ever shucked your own oysters? There’s nothing sexy about that “shellish” battle and bleeding all over the sink. But never fear, the great news is that salmon is also rated highly on the ‘libid-o-metre’.

The medical fraternity explains that in order to enjoy sex, men and women need to have healthy blood flow. Certain nutrients enhance your heart and circulation and will therefore also enhance your libido — especially foods like fish, and in particular salmon.

So in the spirit of good sexual health, we present to you our saucy salmon on a sultry bed of three libido boosting ingredients including: avocado, celery and almonds (amongst others).

Saucy Salmon
Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 salmon fillets (about 3cm thick)
• Cooking spray

The salsa bed:
1/2 cup peeled and diced avocado
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup peeled and diced canned peaches / fresh mango
1/2 cup peeled and cubed kiwifruit
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
Handful of crushed almonds

Preparation

To prepare the salmon, first mix the marinade ingredients into a large zip-lock bag. Then add the salmon to bag and seal. Marinate it for 10 minutes, turning occasionally.
While salmon marinates, prepare the salsa bed.

Then heat your grill pan over medium-high heat.
Remove salmon from bag and discard marinade.
Spray pan with cooking spray and then add fish. Cook for five minutes on each side or until the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.
Lay salmon on the delicious salsa bed and sprinkle almonds over the top.

Enjoy!