Simple Salmon

Simple Salmon
Serves 2
Can Be Doubled| Can Be Halved

This recipe is laughably simple, but it’s just delicious and came to fruition after much trail and error with different salmon recipes. Salmon is such a buttery, flavorful fish with plenty of good fat, but so many restaurants muck up its taste by adding gobs of butter or other extraneous seasonings. Mahir and I love the basic salmon served at French bistros in Paris and New York City, and I think we’ve come up with a version that stands up to the best boites. The trick is to use the best quality salmon you can find and broil the fish for the last few minutes of cooking to give it a beautiful, brown glaze.     ~Shivani

Ingredients:

2, 6-ounce salmon fillets
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
fresh lemon juice, to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Season fish with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Depending on thickness of fish, bake for 5 to 7 minutes.

Turn off oven, turn on broiler on high (make sure salmon is on the top rack directly underneath the flame), and broil until fish is cooked- probably another 3 to 5 minutes.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve over brown rice or alongside a baked white or sweet potato. Lightly sauteed spinach or broccoli work well as vegetables with this meal.

Maple Ginger Garlic Crusted Wild Salmon

Maple Ginger Garlic Crusted Wild Salmon
Makes 2 portions
Can be doubled | Can be halved | Makes great leftovers | Freezes well
Vegetarian substitutes

This is a quick take on teriyaki. I created it one afternoon in a client’s kitchen, in a pinch, just by using things she had around. It was an instant winner with her family, so the next day I bought a piece of salmon and made it for myself. It was ama–aaaa-zing, if I do say so myself!

I’ve been making this recipe for nearly 10 years and never tire of it. In fact, it’s one of those dishes I find myself craving now and then. I love the simplicity of the ingredients. I rarely measure them anymore, I just taste the mixture to make sure there’s the right combination of salty and sweet and then add plenty of the garlic and ginger before putting it on the fish. The flavors of the finished dish are clean, yet so dynamic! The ginger and garlic get a little browned on top, the sauce caramelizes a bit, the salmon stays tender and moist. Easy, healthy and delicious – a recipe dream come true.     ~ Susan

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon wheat-free tamari (soy sauce)
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons fresh cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 six ounce wild salmon fillets – no more than an inch thick

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. I like to use our toaster oven for this recipe for a nice quick cooking time and good browning of the topping. If  you’re using a regular household oven you might want to try the temperature a little higher, at 420F.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and arrange salmon pieces about half an inch apart on the parchment.

In a small dish stir together the maple, tamari, garlic, ginger, sea salt and cracked pepper.

Use a spoon to spread the mixture evenly over the salmon, covering the top of each piece completely.

Place in the preheated oven and bake 6 – 8 minutes, or until fish is just cooked throughout and the crust is nicely browned on top. If necessary, use the broiler for one minute at the end of cooking to get the ginger and garlic just a bit browned (but not burned).

Serving suggestions:
Garnish cooked salmon with sliced scallions and serve in a shallow, wide bowl on a nest of buckwheat soba noodles in miso broth, with steamed broccoli florettes scattered around the noodles (use about a cup of water and 2 teaspoons miso per serving).
Garnish cooked salmon with chopped parsley and serve with boiled new potatoes and steamed green beans.
Double the recipe and enjoy the leftovers for lunch over a bed of baby spinach with grated carrots and scallions drizzled with brown rice vinegar, wheat-free tamari and a few drops of toasted sesame oil.

Substitutes:
Use agave syrup instead of maple
Add a teaspoon of sesame seeds
Add a generous pinch of crushed red chile flakes
Try half-inch thick slices of tofu, pole caught tuna, wild striped sea bass, arctic char or chicken breast cutlets instead of salmon.