salmon

For a Yule That's Cool! Seared Salmon with Pepita Salsa

20 Dec 2011
seared salmon with pepita salsa

Ahh, it's time for that most traditional Christmas dish of all. It's practically synonymous with sugarplums. Seared Salmon with Cilantro-Pepita Pesto !

What? Pumpkin seeds aren't typically yule in your mind? Even when paired with salmon?

Well read on. I think you'll agree Seared Salmon with Cilantro-Pepita Pesto  is bound to become a modern Christmas classic.

You see, I've been travelling. Traveling where it's cold. Traveling to a food-centric city– so everywhere I turned fantastic food was being offered to me. I ate at least 4 meals a day (plus drinks and snacks) every day for the past 7 days. With friends and family all around, it was eat, drink and be merry (Christmas) all the time. I've arrived home fat (and happy).

So when I started thinking about the Christmas food I wanted to enjoy more quietly here at home, I turned to one of my tried and true recipes. because I knew it had to be light. But light isn't necesarily the challenge. I also wanted to serve food with a cool yule spirit. But how do you make something as light as simply seared salmon seem festive enough for the holidays? Well, I chose color. Seared Salmon with Cilantro-Pepita Pesto is "red and green". It doesn't get much more holiday than that. I chose to serve mine as fillets drizzled with some of this delicious sauce. Still, I couldn't help thinking what an amazing taco this recipe would make. So I guess we'll be seeing this dish again come the New Year nestled into a steaming hot tortilla, heaped with some spicy cabbage slaw. Now that really is a new cool yule tradition. GREG

 

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Seared Salmon with Cilantro-Pepito Pesto

salmon with pepito pesto
By jgreghenry Published November 14, 2011
Prep time: 20
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 3 t vegetable oil, divided
  • 0.5 c pepito seeds, raw, plus more as garnish
  • 0.5 c cilantro
  • 1 t coriander seeds
  • 1 pn cumin seeds
  • 1 clv garlic, peeled & minced
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 pn each kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper
  • 4 (six-ounce) salmon fillets with skin
  • 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

Directions

Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a large cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pumpkin seeds and sauté until the sizzle and pop, about 2 minutes. Transfer seeds to a paper towel lined plate to cool. Wipe the skillet clean with a papper towel and reserve skillet.

Pulse the pumpkin seeds, cilantro, coriander seeds, cumin, and garlic in a food processor until a course, grainy texture is acheived. With machine running, gradually add the lime juice, and 1/4 cup oil. If necessary add a tablespoon or two of water to achieve a thick puréed texture. Season with salt, pepper.

Wash and completely dry the salmon fillets.

Heat the remaining teaspoon of vegetable oil in the large reserved cast iron or non-stick skillet set over medium heat. When the oil is very hot; add the salmon, skin side down. Cook it until the skin is very crisp, dark brown and releases easily from the pan. This should take 3 to 4 minutes. Do not be tempted to check or move the fish around in the pan during this time. You will only succeed in making it stick to the pan or worse ruin your beautifully crisp skin.

Once the skin has crisped flip the fish, and cook it an additional 1 to 2 minutes more, until the flesh is nearly (but not quite) opaque in the center. Do not let it cook all the way through. The fish will continue to cook after it leaves the pan. Your goal is a succulent flesh graduating from a medium rare center outwards to a crispy crackly skin.

Place the seared fillets on plates, skin side down. Spoon pesto over. Garnish with remaining raw pepito seeds. Serve with lime wedges.

Source: Adapted from Bon Apetit

Spruce Cured Gravlox with Spruce Pesto Crostini

Spruce Cured Gravlax with Spruce Pesto Crostini
By jgreghenry Published August 23, 2011
Prep time: 20
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole side of a salmon fillet, skin on
  • 0.5 c granulated sugar
  • 0.5 c kosher salt
  • 0.25 c black peppercorns, roughly cracked
  • 2 c fresh young spruce, divided tip, minced
  • 0.5 spruce or citrus infused vodka
  • 0.25 c black walnuts, toasted
  • 1 t fresh lemon juice
  • 0.5 c extra-virgin olive oil, or as needed
  • 0 rustic bread, as needed
  • 0 additional spruce tip, as garnish (optional)

Directions

Wash and dry the salmon fillets and remove any pin bones using stainless steel needle-nose pliers. Cut off the belly flaps and as much of the tail end as is necessary for the fish to fit in a 9 x 13” glass or stainless steel baking pan. Reserve the salmon trimmings for another use.

To cure: Mix together the sugar, salt and peppercorns. Lay the salmon skin side down in the baking pan. Rub  the sugar mixture into the flesh side of salmon. Spread the 1 cup of the minced spruce ontop. Drizzle vodka over everything, being careful not to wash away the curing mix. Quickly flip the salmon so the skin side is on top. Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap. Place an empty glass or stainless steel baking pan on top of the plastic wrap and fill it with canned goods to press down the salmon. Put in the refrigerator.

Every 12 hours, remove the fish from the refrigerator, turn it over, put weight back on the fish, and return it to the refrigerator. Cure the fish for 2 – 3 days. Scrape off most of the spruce and peppercorns with your fingers. Pat the gravlax dry, and store it in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.

Make the pesto: Add the remaining spruce, black walnuts, lemon juice to a blender. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and puree the mixture until a smooth paste is formed. You may not need all the oil.

Make the crostini: Slice and toast the bread as needed. Top each slice with some gravlox, a spoonful of the spruce pesto and a garnish of spruce tips (optional). Serve.

Notes:

I used Norwegian spruce, but many other conifers are edible too. When foraging for food make sure you know what you are getting. I don't know of any conifers that would hurt you, but they don't all taste great. The very new bud-like tips (when they are young and light green) are the sweetest.

Sup! Loves Cookbooks- Earthbound Cook

20 Sep 2010
Sup! Loves Cookbooks- Earthbound Cook

Food is all around us. It is a part of our culture and our daily lives. Food sustains us. But have you noticed that we as humans have not been so great at sustaining our food, or even the planet that supplies that food.

Perhaps because man is a survivor by instinct, and because food is necessary to our biological survival, could it be that we have taken on a conquer and control attitude about its production and collection?

The irony is that if we continue to consume our planet's resources (including food) without allowing for its sustainability we will be doomed. The very survival instinct that drives us to conquer and destroy could be our downfall.

Yikes, those are pretty dark thoughts coming from Sippity Sup. Isn’t Sippity Sup a fun food blog? Well yes, but Sippity Sup is also a serious food blog. Serious Fun Food. Remember?

So today I bring you a few thoughts about a new cookbook called The Earthbound Cook, written by Myra Goodman, the author of Food To Live By. It’s a cookbook dedicated to delicious food and a healthy planet.

It’s a big, ambitious book with 250 recipes divided into 11 chapters: Soup, Leafy Green Salads, Meat and Poultry, Fish and Shellfish, Vegetarian Entrees, Side Dishes, Vegetable and Grain Salads, Baking Bread, Desserts, Breakfast and Brunch and Pantry Basics. Each chapter also contains important information concerning eco-minded living and primers dedicated to helping you become more conscientious about how you cook and how your choices affect the planet that provides the food you cook.

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Coconut-Crusted Salmon with Coconut Chili Sauce

Coconut-Crusted Salmon with Coconut Chili Sauce
By jgreghenry Published September 18, 2010
Prep time: 45
Yield:1 ()

Ingredients:

  • 1 c unsweetened coconut milk
  • 3 T fresh lime juice
  • 1 T honey
  • 0.5 T thai chili paste
  • 0 salt and pepper, as needed
  • 0.5 c shredded, unsweetened coconut
  • 0.25 c panko
  • 6 skinless, wild salmon fillets
  • 2 T peanut oil

Directions

To make the sauce: Combine the coconut milk, 1 tablespoon lime juice, honey, and chili paste in a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until the sauce reduces and thickened slightly, about 4 minutes. Season the sauce with salt to taste. The sauce may be refrigerated, covered, for up to 5 days. Prepare the fish: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 F. Combine the shredded coconut, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Toss well, and then spread the mixture on a plate. Brush the top sides of the salmon with lime juice. Lightly season the fish with salt and pepper. One piece at a time, dip the top side of each fillet in the coconut-panko mixture, making sure the surface is coated. Pat the mixture onto the fish, if necessary. Set a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, preferable cast-iron, over medium heat. When the skillet is hot, add the peanut oil. Arrange half the salmon fillets, coconut side down, in the skillet and cook for 3 minutes to sear the fish and brown the topping. carefully flip the fish over and cook another 3 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer the fish to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 3 fillets. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake until the salmon is just firm to the touch and the interior is nearly opaque, but still moist, 2 to 4 minutes depending on thickness of the fish (alternatively, use an instant read thermometer; the fish will be done when the temperature reaches 130 degrees F.) Place each fillet of salmon on a warmed plate. Drizzle with Coconut Chili Sauce and serve.

Notes:

serves 6 Source: The Earthbound Cook