Avocado Salsa

I spent last weekend wallowing in the mud and cursing at the relentless rain. I've never been to a festival where I didn't get sunburnt so it was quite a shock and upon my return, I got a lovely hoarse throat and a sniffly nose to show for it. I try and tell myself that it has nothing to do with the millions of cigarettes I smoked, but this is clearly a lie.

When I'm feeling like this, all I crave are fresh flavours and lots of vegetables. Over the course of the weekend, 2 pizzas and a bacon sandwich were consumed, a seafood paella was poked at, a ham and cheese crepe shovelled in on the move, and a vegetable curry eaten double-quick. In four days. I feel positively malnourished.

Salmon is probably the fish I consume the most, either in smoked form or most often poached. I don't particularly like it roasted, grilled or fried as I find it makes it too rich, whilst poaching or steaming keeps it light and healthy. The salsa that accompanied it gave just the right amount of tartness to balance the flavours. To cook the salmon, I simply placed it in a pan of water to cover the fillet, brought it to the boil and then immediately turned off the heat. This cooks the salmon so that it's still slightly translucent in the middle. To cook it thoroughly, leave it in the hot water for a few minutes.

Avocado Salsa

For 2 as an accompaniment

1 large ripe Hass avocado
2 small red chillies, deseeded
2" cucumber
1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
Juice of half a lime

Peel the cucumber, cut out the seeds and chop the flesh finely, adding it to a large bowl. Cut the avocado into large chunks and place in the bowl along with the herbs. Squeeze over the lime juice so that the avocado does not discolour. Chop the chillies finely and add to the bowl, along with the rest of the ingredients. Toss carefully and gently so that it is all combined and spoon over your fish. I imagine this would also work with grilled mackerel or tuna or even roasted cod and haddock.

I ate this with some griddled chicory, an idea I got from here and it hit the spot perfectly.