Roasted Salmon with Tomatoes and Olives

 This recipe is adapted from one found on EatingWell.com

Salmon pairs well with many things, but the blend of tomatoes, olives and garlic featured in this dish will absolutely bring about the Yummy Noises I always strive for.

I had to adapt EatingWell's recipe just a tad. As a member of the numerous seafood groups on the Net I have learned that salmon has been overcooked for decades. Since this is a sheet-pan meal I have modified their otherwise wonderful recipe to balance the cook times of fish and garnish. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• ¼ cup Kalamata olives, quartered
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• ½ teaspoon salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon ground pepper, divided
• 1 ¼ pounds salmon fillet, cut into 4 portions

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Stir tomatoes, olives, 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a microwave safe bowl. Nuke the mix for 1-2 minutes depending on your unit's power.

Transfer the nuked mixture to half of a large rimmed sheet-pan. Brush the remaining 1 tablespoon oil all over the salmon pieces; sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place on the empty side of the sheet pan. Bake until the tomatoes have broken down and the salmon is just cooked through, 8-9 minutes. Serve the tomato mixture atop the salmon.

Pair with a second vegetable of choice like steamed fresh broccoli or green beans.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Baked Salmon & Shrimp Alfredo

Really simple, really fun, really tasty!

It turns out you don't need pasta to enjoy some good Alfredo. :-)

Ingredients:

• 2  6 oz salmon filets
• 10 large shrimp - raw, cleaned, tail off
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 scallion - cut into 1/4" sections
• 1/3 cup of your favorite plain Alfredo sauce. I like Bertolli. :-)
• 2-3 grinds fresh black pepper

Preparation:

Pat filets dry and then coat with half the oil. Bake at 385 for 8-9 minutes depending on thickness.

Cut each shrimp into four equal sections. Heat a small skillet with half the olive oil. Add shrimp and scallions and sautee, stirring/tossing frequently over medium heat until shrimp is just done. Stir in Alfredo sauce and black pepper. 

Plate salmon and cover with shrimp Alfredo. Serve with your vegetable of choice. Here I did sauteed zucchini with a touch of leftover tomato sauce, but I think asparagus would be a better pairing.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Soy Sauce Salmon & Bean Sprout Stir Fry - A Definite Favorite

These two recipes are featured separately elsewhere on the blog, but the dishes really belong together and the pairing is so good that I've added them to my signature collection of Chef's Favorites.

Part One:  Soy Sauce Salmon

Adapted from a recipe found on Cooking-Therapy.com

Ingredients:

• 12 oz salmon cut into 2 inch squares
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup avocado oil (or pure vegetable oil in a pinch)

Sauce:

• 1/3 cup white onion - minced
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic - minced
• 2 tsp agave syrup
• 4 tsp soy sauce
• 4 tsp lemon juice

Preparation:

Season the salmon with salt and pepper.

Mix all sauce ingredients in a small bow so it’s ready to go .

Heat 1/4 cup oil over high heat in a skillet sized to fit the fish.

Add the salmon and fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Remove salmon from the heat and set aside - covered

Add sauce mix to the pan and cook sauce for 1-2 minutes to reduce. 

When your reduction turns just slightly creamy, return the salmon to the pan and coat with sauce. 

Cover and let sit for a minute so fish heats through.

Part Two: Bean Sprout Stir Fry

It took some time to research the many stir fry recipes and flavor combinations, but in the end I came up with something I can call my very own that compliments the salmon quite well.

Ingredients:

• 12 oz mung bean sprouts
• 2 stalks green onion (scallion)
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper - minced
• 3 tbsp avocado oil
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp agave syrup
• 2-3 grinds from black pepper mill

Preparation:

Place bean sprouts in a colander and rinse/drain well. 

Chop the garlic, mince the red pepper and cut the scallions two ways. The white stem should bet cut to small disks, and the green tops can be cut at an angle so the look pretty.

Mix together sesame oil, light soy sauce, agave, salt & pepper and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok, or as I like to use, a large non-stick Dutch oven. Saute the garlic and white from scallions over medium/low heat until fragrant. Do not let these items brown.

Next add the sprouts and red pepper. Turn to medium high and toss/cook for about a minute. Finally add the sauce and the green scallion cuts. Toss to heat through  and enjoy!

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Salmon and Cherry Tomato Curry

 Credit for this lightly adapted recipe goes to Recipes by Veronica.

Salmon, tomatoes and fresh spinach in a delicious curry... Need I say more? Enjoy!

I learned something new with this dish... Apparently a "Curry" does not necessarily contain curry powder, as long as you use the right ingredients that create the flavor palette of a Curry. :-)

For the Curry:

• 4 60z salmon filets - skinless for best texture
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic - minced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger - minced (powder is an option)
• 1/2 - 1 tsp crushed Aleppo pepper - adjust to your heat level
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (ground is an option)
• 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 can coconut milk use full - fat for richness
• 2 cups fresh spinach - stems removed
  

For Serving:

• 1-2 cups pearl barley cooked in chicken broth 
• 1/4 cup fresh herbs mint, basil, cilantro for garnish

Preparation:

Season your salmon fillets generously with salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the minced garlic & ginger in the skillet for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Toast the cumin seeds in the same pan for about 15 seconds until aromatic.

Add the cherry tomatoes, ground coriander, Aleppo pepper and ground turmeric. Stir to combine.

Stir in the coconut milk and season with salt. Cook uncovered for 6-8 minutes.

Add the fresh spinach and gently place the seasoned salmon fillets into the simmering curry. Cover and simmer for 4-7 minutes until salmon is cooked through.

Serve the curry over cooked barley, garnished with fresh herbs of your choosing. Sauteed zucchini pairs very nicely with this dish.

Blessed be… and happy cooking!

Baked Salmon & Chef Michael's Shrimp Sauce

Experimenting with salmon is always fun. My shrimp alfredo is a wonderful sauce, but it can be a tad heavy depending on the mood of the day. I saw Cream of Shrimp condensed soup at the grocer one day and thought... Hey... worth a shot! :-) Combined with fresh tomato and some sherry etc., this turned into yet another winner. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 salmon filets - skinless ~6 oz each
• 1 can cream of shrimp condensed soup
• 1 tomato – cut up
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• fresh basil - handful
• ~1/4 cup sherry – use to rinse can and add to soup
• 12 large raw shrimp – peeled, deveined, tail off and cut in thirds

Preparation:

Season the salmon filets with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake or air fry at 390 for 8-9 minutes.

Defrost shrimp and cut into thirds. Set aside.

Add tomato, basil and garlic to a blender and liquefy. Maybe add a splash of sherry so the stuff is just pourable. Empty Cream of  Shrimp into sauce pan and blend with the tomato mix. Warm this while stirring with a whisk and add just enough sherry to make it a gravy that sticks and isn't too runny. Add fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Finally add the cut shrimp, simmer 1-2 minutes to cook the shrimp and serve over your favorite plain baked or steamed fish. We love this sauce with baked salmon, and it pairs really well with green beans or asparagus.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Soy Sauce Salmon

 Adapted from a recipe found on Cooking-Therapy.com

I had been toying with the idea of a dish combining soy sauce and salmon for some time... The original recipe's sauce really appealed to me but needed some diabetic tweaking. The end result is quite possibly the best salmon I have ever cooked. Combined with my own concoction of a bean sprout stir fry this dish turned out to be a top notch addition to my recipe collection. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 12 oz salmon cut into 2 inch squares
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup avocado oil (or pure vegetable oil in a pinch)

Sauce:

• 1/3 cup white onion - minced
• 2 - 3 cloves garlic - minced
• 2 tsp agave syrup
• 4 tsp soy sauce
• 4 tsp lemon juice

Preparation:

Season the salmon with salt and pepper.

Mix all sauce ingredients in a small bow so it’s ready to go .

Heat 1/4 cup oil over high heat in a skillet sized to fit the fish.

Add the salmon and fry for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Remove salmon from the heat and set aside - covered

Add sauce mix to the pan and cook sauce for 1-2 minutes to reduce. 

When your reduction turns just slightly creamy, return the salmon to the pan and coat with sauce. 

Cover and let sit for a minute so fish heats through.

Serve with my Bean Sprout Stir Fry for a really lovely foodie experience. 

 Blessed be... and happy cooking!

Salmon with Lemon Butter & Dill by Chef Michael R - A Definite Favorite

There are versions to this recipe everywhere on the Net. A friend asked me what my version was, and I had to admit I had never put one together... I know, right? :-)

Needless to say... I grabbed some salmon and went to work. The end result made Carolyn smile and say: "Oh my... that's buttery!" Both of us made Yummy Noises as we ate the meal... 

Many similar recipes call for dried dill, but I think going with fresh dill was a better choice all around. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2  6 oz salmon filets
• 3 tbsp salted butter - melted
• 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/8 - 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• salt to taste
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 3-4 tbsp fresh dill - coarsely chopped

Preparation:

Preheat toaster oven to 350 F. Line a shallow baking dish or tray with aluminum foil, coat with cooking spray and add the salmon. Mix melted butter, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt & pepper in a small bowl and pour over fish.

Evenly spread the fresh dill on the filets.

Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on filet thickness.

Serve with a green vegetable and a tossed salad.

Blessed be... and happy cooking!