Creamy Coconut Lime Salmon

Sometimes you see a recipe that makes your mouth water just thinking about it. I had that with this dish, which of course meant I had to try to make some to see if it was as good as it sounded. I played with the quantities and ingredients a little bit - the original recipe was a little too sour for my liking, but this was just right.

Recipe (serves 2):
2 salmon filets
250mL full-fat coconut milk
juice of 1 lime, plus a few slices to garnish
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 medium shallot, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch lemon grass, skin removed and inner core grated
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp corn starch (if you prefer a runnier coconut milk-texture rather than a thicker sauce, leave this out)
1 tsp sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
fresh cilantro and oregano leaves, chopped.

*Serve with brown or white rice.

Instructions:
1. Pad the salmon filets dry with paper towel, and season both sides with salt and pepper.

2. Heat a skillet and pour in some olive oil. Add the salmon and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

3. Add the shallot, garlic and lemon grass to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes until softened.

4. In the meantime, whisk together the coconut milk, lemon juice, sugar and lemon zest and dried oregano until well combined. If you want a thicker sauce then add the corn starch: in small bowl mix the corn starch with some of the liquid from the coconut-milk bowl until it forms a paste, then stir it into the rest. (When I made it, I added in the corn starch as recommended, but I think next time I might leave it out.)

5. Add the coconut mixture into the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add the salmon and bring to a simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened.

6. Serve with rice and garnish with fresh cilantro and oregano and lime slices.