A while back my sister, Becky, gave me a wallet-sized pamphlet titled "Seafood Watch: West Coast Seafood Guide". It provides a list of seafood choices that are caught or farmed in environmentally friendly and sustainable ways. I know some might consider this mighty nerdy of me, but really do believe that little changes can make a big difference. It is how I chose my dinner for tonight after all. Post-yoga tonight, I was deliriously tired and absolutely famished wandering around the grocery store looking for something quick and satisfying. I stopped by the seafood section, and as though the clerk had read my mind he said, "The king salmon is on sale this week." I contemplated it, while making a mental reference to the pamphlet. "Hmm, is it wild caught?" I asked. "Yes, from Alaska," he replied. Perfect, wild salmon from Alaska was on the list as being one of the best seafood choices. I bought a pound of it. It would be perfect with the green mole sauce that we had the night before with goat cheese enchiladas. I had made a simple mole with one bunch of cilantro, half an onion, three cloves of garlic, one roasted poblano, two jalapeños, cumin, chile powder, almonds, spinach and celery (No recipe here. I just blended up what I had in the fridge and kept adding until it had enough depth). The second I stepped through the door, my stomach took over and it steered me straight into the kitchen. I started reheating the mole and preheating my cast iron skillet. There's nothing like a screaming hot cast iron pan to get a beautiful crust on your salmon. I patted the salmon dry, drizzled it with olive oil and seasoned it with kosher salt and fresh pepper. A few minutes on each side under high heat created a perfect crust to seal in the moisture of the salmon. I served the salmon atop a ladleful of mole and alongside lemon wedges and beet carpaccio. In 15 minutes total, we had dinner on the table (or tonight on the coffee table in front of the TV).
[this is good] I’ve made a lot of salmon… I mean, a LOT. Broiled, poached, sautéed, smoked, grilled, en croûte — it’s one of my favorite foods. But I’ve never made anything that looked quite like that. That’s a beauty. It’s like a food magazine cover. Food porn indeed. Great work.
That looks like a delicious salmon dish! I also have one of those
seafood watch things, except that it is for the East Coast (my
boyfriend once decided to tape the ends around his wrist to make a
seafood “watch”… haha so dorky). Prior to reading it I had no idea
that wild-caught Atlantic salmon was a better choice than farm raised.
I’m glad it gives us an excuse to splurge on the good stuff
Hi Julie, I usually serve salmon using this recipe:
Marinate with 1 part vinegar, 1 part sesame oil and 2 parts teriyaki sauce and then I either bake until tender and flaky or I use the slow cooker for 2 1/2 hours on medium. And it’s my family’s favorite way to eat it.
BUT oh my! You have managed to create and photograph a salmon-lovers dream! YUMMO! (This is definitely on my ‘To Be Attempted’ list)
Oh thank you so much! I am a salmon lover myself.. actually seafood in general. I go absolutely crazy for sushi. I cannot wait to try your signature salmon recipe out. I’ve never even thought about making fish in a slow cooker. So exciting. By the way, what kind of vinegar do you use? Rice wine?
LOL! The touchpad on our Amana slide-in oven recently quit on us one Friday evening and we were scheduled to host a dinner party on Saturday night. I had to use two slow cookers as an emergency backup to prepare the salmon filets (first time I used them to cook fish) and fortunately, it turned out great. The filets were tender and very moist because the juices didn’t dry out.
I use regular apple cider vinegar, but I’m sure rice wine could taste good too! You seem to have a creative streak so I’m sure you could make it work. (BTW, Spicy tuna is my favorite sushi, but my husband won’t even eat a california roll).
[this is good] That looks absolutely amazing! I am definitely going to have to make a green mole. I have never done that before. And please tell me more about these goat cheese enchiladas!
Thank you Elly and Will. You guys are both sweethearts. Elly, I remeber your “Goat Cheese = The best thing ever” post a bit ago and I totally agree. I love, love, love goat cheese with a passion. Yummy and tangy, what is there not to love. The goat cheese enchiladas came about since I am constantly over-shopping for groceries. I found myself with an excess of corn tortillas and avocados last week and thought we would have Mexican food night (again). I had a log of goat cheese and frozen spinach, so naturally, I paired the two up as enchilada filling. Instead of making a whole casserole, I just made a few and topped them with the mole sauce and gauc. No need to bake it, since the cheese gets melted by both the heated tortilla and the warm sauce. Sorry no post, but you’re an awesome cook so I’m sure you could make it even better!:)
11 Comments
zaitgha
24 May 2007 11:05 pm
looks so healthy and yummy too…..too bad we dont get fresh salmon on this side of the world…..
Yeehaw Murghi
25 May 2007 06:05 am
[this is good] I’ve made a lot of salmon… I mean, a LOT. Broiled, poached, sautéed, smoked, grilled, en croûte — it’s one of my favorite foods. But I’ve never made anything that looked quite like that. That’s a beauty. It’s like a food magazine cover. Food porn indeed. Great work.
julie
25 May 2007 10:05 am
Lucy
25 May 2007 05:05 pm
That looks like a delicious salmon dish! I also have one of those
seafood watch things, except that it is for the East Coast (my
boyfriend once decided to tape the ends around his wrist to make a
seafood “watch”… haha so dorky). Prior to reading it I had no idea
that wild-caught Atlantic salmon was a better choice than farm raised.
I’m glad it gives us an excuse to splurge on the good stuff
julie
25 May 2007 07:05 pm
Thanks, Lucy! I’m glad to hear that I’m not the only “nerd” out there. Maybe I’ll make a “watch” out of mine too!
dragonflygarden
29 May 2007 02:05 pm
[this is good]
Hi Julie, I usually serve salmon using this recipe:
Marinate with 1 part vinegar, 1 part sesame oil and 2 parts teriyaki sauce and then I either bake until tender and flaky or I use the slow cooker for 2 1/2 hours on medium. And it’s my family’s favorite way to eat it.
BUT oh my! You have managed to create and photograph a salmon-lovers dream! YUMMO! (This is definitely on my ‘To Be Attempted’ list)
Thanks for sharing it 😀
julie
29 May 2007 06:05 pm
Oh thank you so much! I am a salmon lover myself.. actually seafood in general. I go absolutely crazy for sushi. I cannot wait to try your signature salmon recipe out. I’ve never even thought about making fish in a slow cooker. So exciting. By the way, what kind of vinegar do you use? Rice wine?
dragonflygarden
29 May 2007 07:05 pm
LOL! The touchpad on our Amana slide-in oven recently quit on us one Friday evening and we were scheduled to host a dinner party on Saturday night. I had to use two slow cookers as an emergency backup to prepare the salmon filets (first time I used them to cook fish) and fortunately, it turned out great. The filets were tender and very moist because the juices didn’t dry out.
I use regular apple cider vinegar, but I’m sure rice wine could taste good too! You seem to have a creative streak so I’m sure you could make it work. (BTW, Spicy tuna is my favorite sushi, but my husband won’t even eat a california roll).
Elly
30 May 2007 10:05 am
[this is good] That looks absolutely amazing! I am definitely going to have to make a green mole. I have never done that before. And please tell me more about these goat cheese enchiladas!
Will
30 May 2007 10:05 am
taste & look, delicious & pretty
julie
31 May 2007 07:05 pm
Thank you Elly and Will. You guys are both sweethearts. Elly, I remeber your “Goat Cheese = The best thing ever” post a bit ago and I totally agree. I love, love, love goat cheese with a passion. Yummy and tangy, what is there not to love. The goat cheese enchiladas came about since I am constantly over-shopping for groceries. I found myself with an excess of corn tortillas and avocados last week and thought we would have Mexican food night (again). I had a log of goat cheese and frozen spinach, so naturally, I paired the two up as enchilada filling. Instead of making a whole casserole, I just made a few and topped them with the mole sauce and gauc. No need to bake it, since the cheese gets melted by both the heated tortilla and the warm sauce. Sorry no post, but you’re an awesome cook so I’m sure you could make it even better!:)
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