Cooking with Astrid and Hiccup

Episode 4: Whole roasted salmon stuffed with lemon and herbs

Episode 4: Whole roasted salmon stuffed with lemon and herbs

"Hello everybody and welcome to our show cooking with Astrid and Hiccup. I'm Hiccup and this is my co-host Astrid." Hiccup introduces happily while standing behind a counter with Astrid.

"Hello everybody. Today we will be showing you how to make a Whole roasted salmon stuffed with lemon and herbs." Astrid said bringing out a very large salmon.

Some of the audience which, consisted out of dragons, were eyeing the giant salmon with predatory eyes.

"So for this recipe we'll need 2.5 kg whole salmon , scaled and gutted, 1.5 kg red-skinned potatoes , scrubbed clean and sliced into 1/2cm rounds, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, 6 pieces baby fennel, olive oil, 1 small bunch fresh dill, 1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, 1 small bunch fresh tarragon, 2 lemons, and extra virgin olive oil." Hiccup summed up as he gestured to everything on the counter. Snotlout had filmed a close up of all the ingredients but the dragons were still focused on the fish.

"Preheat your oven to maximum and get yourself a large roasting tray that your whole salmon will fit inside. You'll probably need to lay the fish diagonally across the tray, and it won't matter if the head and tail drape over a little." Astrid said while showing the audience the tray.

"Lay your sliced potatoes over the base of the tray and season well with salt and pepper. Scatter your baby fennel over the top and give it all a generous drizzle of olive oil." Hiccup explained and Astrid demonstrated. So far there were no accidents and Tuffnut was actually getting bored.

"Do you think this will be a boring episode?" Tuffnut asked Fishlegs in a whisper.

"So far everything is going great. Shouldn't that make you happy?" Fishlegs whispered back.

"I just wish there was some sweet chaos." Tuffnut grumbled.

"Now to get on with your fish. Pick half the leaves from each of the herb bunches and put them on a chopping board, keeping the remainder to one side. Grate the lemon zest over the herbs then roughly chop everything together. Scrape this mixture into a bowl and wipe the board down with a piece of kitchen paper." Hiccup said and handed Astrid, who was critically assessing her knives, the herbs.

"Next transfer your salmon to the board, then wipe it inside and out with a fresh piece of kitchen paper. Make sure there are no scales on the silvery salmon skin, the fishmonger should have taken all of these off for you. If there are any left on there, scrape them with a blunt knife until they ping off." Hiccup said but he saw Astrid frown.

"Astrid?" Hiccup asked as Astrid began grumbling.

"I have no blunt knife." She answered. "Never thought I would need it." This statement caused everyone to sweat drop. Yup, that was typical Astrid.

Before the show could continue further there appeared to be a commotion backstage.

There was shouting and a muscled man stepped onto the stage while Ruffnut was trying to stop him.

"ERET!!" Astrid shouted while gripping the knife handle.

Hiccup, the crew and the audience all took a collective step back while Tuffnut was watching with glee. "Sweet chaos." Was all he said and rubbed his hands eagerly together.

"Astrid, babe, can we talk?" Eret said confidently.

"There is nothing to talk about." Astrid grounds out. "You've made it all abundantly clear in the text message when you broke up with me."

"Look baby. I'm sorry about that. I really didn't mean any of that." Eret stated. "I was wondering if we could start over."

"No Eret. We can't." Astrid stated. "Besides I've moved on."

The audience was now captivated by the arguments and was watching the drama unfold with interest.

"Who!!" Eret yelled and then glared at Hiccup. "Don't tell me it's that fishbone of a co-host."

"Hah.... I don't believe it." Eret said looking smug. "There is no way my baby would look at a walking fishbone when she's got this." He said and flexed his muscles.

Astrid simply raised an eyebrow and then grabbed Hiccup by his apron and proceeded to kiss all coherent thought out of him.

The audience reacted ecstatically as hoots, hollers, and roars filled the area.

Eret made a threatening step towards Hiccup, who stood there completely dazed, but Ruffnut blocked his way. "I think it's time for you to leave." She said but Eret knocked her back intend on getting to Astrid and Hiccup.

Ruffnut stumbled back and landed against the board with the salmon, making it fall to the ground. The dragons roared in outrage as they mourned the now ruined salmon, and were shooting hateful glances at Eret.

Ruffnut recovered quickly but Astrid was already walking towards Eret with knife still in hand. "I think we should have a private talk." She said in a much to calm voice. Eret who now took in the whole situation and the knife in Astrid's hand let out an audible gulp.

Snotlout had been eagerly filming the entire thing and let out a groan, because he would miss what Astrid would do to Eret.

Ruffnut in the meantime was trying to snap Hiccup out of his daze. Hiccup was rudely awakened but a slap from Ruffnut and his goofy grin fell when Ruffnut gestured to Astrid dragging Eret by his ear offstage.

He gulped and then turned to the audience. "We'll be back after these words from our sponsors."

It was a very long commercial break and when the show returned both Hiccup and Astrid could be seen behind the counter. Hiccup's blush covered his entire face and he was doing a very good impression of a strawberry, while Astrid was looking very smug.

"I have a blunt knife now." She told Hiccup happily.

Ruffnut then came on stage carrying a salmon bigger than the last one, and the dragons who were still mourning the lost fish instantly perked up.

"A......Alright......let's continue." Hiccup managed to get out. He then took a deep breath and began explaining. "Make vertical slashes in the skin on both sides of the salmon from its back towards its tummy, about 2cm deep and at an angle, so you leave a flap of skin you can stuff your herbs under." As Hiccup was explaining this Astrid happily took a sharp knife from her block and started working on the salmon.

"Make about 6 slashes on each side of the fish. Sprinkle salt and pepper into each slash, then stuff it with a pinch of your lemon-herb mix. Smooth the flaps down again and drizzle the fish all over with a light coating of olive oil. Then lay it on top of your potatoes and fennel."

"Take the leftover herb bunches and stuff them inside the belly cavity of the fish, then slice up one of the zested lemons and stuff these slices in there as well. Bake the fish in your screaming hot oven for 15 minutes." Hiccup said this and then stressed the last part. "Then turn the temperature down to 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and cook for another 30 minutes." Astrid merely rolled her eyes but did as instructed.

"To check if the fish is cooked, take a clean skewer and push it into the deepest part of the fish, just behind the head. Count to 10, then carefully take the skewer out and hold it against your top lip. If it's nice and warm, the fish is cooked. Squeeze the juice of your remaining lemon over the top, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and serve." Hiccup explained as he took out the skewer.

"Well this is the end for this episode everybody." Astrid happily said while coming to stand closer to Hiccup. "The next episode will be the last for this October season but we'll be back next month with some new dishes."

"Don't forget new drama!!" Tuffnut yelled causing the audience to laugh.

"So we'll see you tomorrow everybody!!" Hiccup said and he and Astrid waved goodbye to the audience.

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Producer's note: The producer is currently unable to comment on the fate of Eret because he can't be located at this time. This producer has also made it a rule not to air anymore fish dishes because the dragons all wanted a taste afterwards and trampled some of the human audience.