Salmon with soba noodles – celebrating 20 years of Freedom Food

Freedom Food was established by the RSPCA in 1994 and it’s the only scheme in the UK that’s dedicated to farm animal welfare. There are currently 40 million animals on the scheme and that’s not including the (gasp!)140 million salmon.

Every time you buy a Freedom Food labelled meat, fish or egg product you help improve the living conditions, nutrition, health care and even transport of millions of farmed animals. The more people buy these products the more supermarkets will stock them and more farmers will sign on to the scheme (a chicken and egg situation – sorry, couldn’t resist).

Sainsbury’s sells more Freedom Food certified products than any other supermarket (more than 60% of all Freedom Food sold in the UK) and they pledge to source all poultry, eggs, game and dairy products from suppliers who adhere to independent higher welfare standards by 2020.

To help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Freedom Food, Sainsbury’s asked me to create a meal for four for £15 or under using their Freedom Food certified salmon. Challenge accepted!

Salmon is so versatile and quick to cook that it makes for a great healthy meal option. I have paired it with soy, honey and lime for a very tasty meal that also happens to be low-carb and gluten-free (if you use 100% Buckwheat noodles). I have used some stock cupboard ingredients here which are not included in the overall price but everything else is accounted for.

The courgette noodles add a really pleasant crunch to the the dish. If you don’t have a spiraliser you can use a potato peeler to slice them into thin ribbons and then cut them into strips. This tastes really good cold so makes for a good office lunch.

Ingredients
Serves 4

4 Freedom Food Salmon fillets

2 large courgettes (zucchini)

3 large carrots

1 packet Soba noodles

For the marinade

1 shallot or small red onion, finely diced

1 red chilli, seeded and finely diced

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp fresh coriander (cilarntro) finely chopped

Juice of 1 lime

4 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp honey (or agave syrup or dark brown sugar)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp vinegar (rice vinegar preferably)

1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger (optional)

1-2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds to serve (optional)
Fresh coriander, chopped, to serve

Method

1. Place the salmon fillets on a heavy tray lined with kitchen foil. Fold the edges up to create a little foil container (see pic).
2. Mix all the marinade ingredients together and pour over the salmon. Cover and keep chilled for 30 minutes.
3. Use a spiraliser to create long ribbons out of the carrots (or shred them in a food processor or finely slice them by hand). 
4. Preheat the oven to 190C (375F). Turn the salmon fillets skin side down. Arrange the carrot strips around them.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until the salmon is cooked halfway. Flip over carefully and bake for a further 10 minutes.
6. While the salmon is cooking, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add the noodles, stir, and lower the heat to a rolling simmer. Cook for 3-4 minutes until al dente (keep an eye on the pot as it has a tendency to boil over).
7. Rinse with plenty of cold water, drain thoroughly and return to the pot.
8. Use a spiraliser to create noodles out of the courgettes and mix with the soba noodles.
9. Divide the noodles between four plates. Spoon some of the carrots and pan juices over them and top with the salmon.
10. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and a little coriander and serve.