Sesame Ginger Salmon

It has been far too long since I posted anything, but that is kind of the way life is going at the moment with a newborn at home. I was lucky to have made and frozen some meals before she came, but have wanted some fresh fish recently. That being said, if I am lucky to get to the store and make something fresh for dinner we need a quick recipe and this certainly is that. The fish does marinade, but only for 30 minutes which was enough time to feed the baby in between making the marinade and then cooking dinner, yay multitasking! 

This dish is easy and full of Asian inspired flavors. My husband did comment a few times about how good the glaze is that goes on top and definitely adds the last bit of sweetness from the honey and tang from soy sauce.

Sesame Ginger Salmon
Serves 2-4
Source: How Sweet it is

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds raw salmon
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1-2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
4 green onions, sliced (optional)
Sesame Honey Glaze:
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour over salmon.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack over top. Spray the rack with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl or baking dish, combine olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, vinegar, brown sugar and whisk well until combined. Add salmon to the dish or place everything in a ziplock bag, then refrigerate and marinate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the broiler in your oven.

Remove salmon with kitchen tongs and place directly on the wire rack. Sprinkle with a little bit of salt and pepper, then place directly under the broiler. Cook for 10-12 minutes, depending on the salmon's thickness (our's was just about an inch thick), until opaque and easily flakable with a fork. You can flip the salmon halfway through cooking if desired.

Remove and serve immediately, with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds, green onions and the glaze below.

Sesame ginger honey glaze:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour over salmon.

Grilled Salmon with Brown Butter Couscous

I am trying to cook more with salmon since I am constantly reading how great it is for you. I ripped this out of our recent cooking light magazine to make this week. Luckily I had everything we needed in the house except the salmon. In addition to eating healthy you can't forget the gym, and in order for me to enjoy that I have been taking different classes with friends. Not only do we get to catch up but it forces me to go and not back out. I was one lucky lady, I came home a bit late because as I said, too busy catching up with a friend, and Jason had found the recipe and measured everything out and prepped the recipe! What a great husband to know what I had in my mind for dinner and get it all ready for us to cook! Of course, it doesn't hurt that he enjoys salmon and anything with lemon flavoring like the couscous.

Grilled Salmon with Brown Butter Couscous
Serves 4
Source: Cooking Light Magazine May 2012

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons pine nuts

1 cup uncooked couscous

2 Tablespoons dry white wine

1 (14.5-ounce) can fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth

1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets

Directions:

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
2. Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Add nuts; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add couscous; cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add wine and broth; bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork; stir in rind, juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and black pepper.
3. Combine white pepper and next 4 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon salt) in a small bowl. Coat salmon fillets with cooking spray. Sprinkle fillets with spice mixture. Place salmon on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill over medium-high heat 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve with couscous.

Salmon with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze

Salmon is one of those foods that is all around good for you. It is packed full of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. The Omega-3 fatty acids help to lower cholesterol, and help your heart. I will admit it is not my favorite fish despite it's glowing health reviews but try to eat it when we can for the health benefits. This was one of the first fishes that Jason first tried and really enjoys it. This recipe was "the best yet" according to him last night. I cut the original recipe below in half since there were only the 2 of us but it was sweet from the sugar and tangy from the mustard. By broiling the fillets it carmalized on the top of the fish and if you left it in longer gave a nice crunch.

Salmon with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze
Serves 8
Source: Martha Stewart


Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup whole grain mustard
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
Kosher salt and ground pepper
8 fillets of salmon, skin removed


Directions:
1. Heat broiler with rack in top position. In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring often until softened, about 3 minutes. Add vinegar and cook until slightly evaporated, 1 minute. Add mustard and brown sugar; stir until warm and combined, 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat. (To store, refrigerate cooled glaze in an air tight container up to 1 day).


2. Place salmon fillets on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1/2 cup glaze to a small dish and brush on top of salmon. Broil salmon until glaze is bubbling and fish is opaque throughout, about 10-15 minutes depending on thickness of fish. Brush remaining glaze over fillets and enjoy!

Sesame-Ginger Salmon en Papillote

This weekend our tv was mainly consumed by football and all of the play off games. I'm not a big football fan but Jason loves to watch and I try to during the playoffs. I was lucky enough to catch an episode of Kelsey's Essentials on the Cooking Channel before the games started. I watched her compete to be the Next Food Network Star, but she did not win. Now that they have the cooking channel it's nice to see her show and how she easily explains techniques for meals that can be altered.

The term "en Papillote" french for in parchment, is a classic technique that steams the items inside. Various cultures use this technique with what was on hand, like banana leaves or corn husks. This method can be used with most varieties of fish and whatever vegetables you have on hand and is a healthy way to cook food with a little bit of sauce/liquid. You can also use aluminum foil, I did one of each to see if there was any difference and the one in the parchment cooked more evenly but not a huge difference.

Sesame-Ginger Salmon en Papillote
Serves 4
Source: Kelsey's Essentials

Ingredients:

Zest of 1/2 an orange

1 teaspoon peeled, minced fresh ginger

3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

2 heads baby bok choy, ends trimmed and cut into thirds through the stem

1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1/2 cup bean sprouts

4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil, for brushing packets

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425F. Combine the orange zest, ginger, soy sauce, orange juice, vinegar, and sesame oil together in a small bowl; set aside.

Fold 4 (16 by-12-inch) parchment paper squares in 1/2 lengthwise. Evenly divide the bok choy, peppers, and bean sprouts among the 4 parchment packets. Season the vegetables with 1 tablespoon sesame-ginger marinade. Place a salmon fillet on top of the vegetables and season with the black pepper and an additional tablespoon of the marinade.

Fold the top half of the parchment over the fish, and overlap small folds along the open edge to seal. Brush each packet with olive oil. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the parchment paper puffs up.

Transfer the parchment packets to plates. Carefully cut the packets open, avoiding the hot steam, and serve. Then throw out the packets for an easy clean up!

Salmon and brussel sprouts

Tonight I wanted to make something quick, easy and yet delicious. I am always a fan of the Barefoot Contessa and have most of her cookbooks. This salmon dish sounded great and I already had everything in the house which is a huge time saver. Over the weekend I also bought some brussel sprouts to try out. I am normally not a fan but had some great ones at a restaurant in Baltimore and decided to try making them myself. They turned out pretty well and I even got my picky eater J to not only eat them but say he liked them! Now that is a victory :)

Panko-Crusted Salmon
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1/3 cup panko (I used whole wheat)
1 tbsp. finely minced fresh parsley
½ tsp. lemon zest

¼ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 (6-8 oz.) salmon fillets, skin on
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
 

Directions:

·      Preheat the oven to 425˚ F.

·      In a small bowl, combine the panko, parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper.  Drizzle with 1.5 tablespoons of the olive oil and toss with a fork until the crumbs are evenly coated; set aside.

·      Place the salmon fillets skin side down on a work surface.  Generously brush the top of each fillet with the mustard and then season with salt and pepper.  Press the panko mixture thickly on top of the mustard on each fillet to help the panko adhere.

·      Heat the remaining olive oil over medium-high heat in a 10-inch oven-safe skillet.  When the oil is hot, add the salmon fillets, skin side down, and sear for 3-4 minutes without turning to brown the skin.  (If you don’t want to eat the skin, this step also helps the skin stick to the pan so the fillets can be easily removed without the skin later on.)

·      Transfer the pan to the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes, until the salmon is almost cooked through and the panko is browned.  Remove from the oven, cover with foil and let rest 5-10 minutes.

Source: Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That? by Ina Garten

 

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

·    Preheat oven to 450°F

·         ·    Rinse and cut off the ends of 1 ½ lbs of brussel sprouts, then cut in half.

·         ·    Toss them with ¼ cup olive oil, a pinch of salt, red pepper flakes, kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. (I mix mine in a ziplock bag)

·         ·    Line a baking sheet with foil for easy cleaning and put them on cut side down. Roast for 25-30 minutes, or until caramelizd. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly.

·         ·    Drizzle with white wine vinegar and honey and enjoy!

Source: Food Network Magazine