Salmon, Four Ways

Nothing says spring and summer to me like fresh fish, and my favorite fish to cook and to eat is salmon. I love salmon. I’d eat it almost every day if I could, but it’s also really easy to get into a rut with. For years, my mom only ever made it one way. Admittedly, her mayonnaise-mustard-lemon-dill sauce somehow made it palatable to even the pickiest child, and still holds a fond place in my memory and my tastebuds, but I have always wanted to do more with it. Upon discovering that my boyfriend loves salmon as much as I do, I began to think about other flavors that would complement it. I even revisited Mom’s recipe and came up with my own version.

Salmon with Mustard Dill Sauce

  • 1 lb salmon
  • 2 navel oranges
  • 1 large bunch of fresh dill
  • 1/2 c mayonnaise
  • 3 teaspoons dry mustard powder
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small, foil-lined baking dish, arrange most of the bunch of dill, whole, to create a bed; reserve some to top and garnish, and some for the sauce. Peel one orange, removing as much pith as possible from both the skin and the fruit, and place the skin on top of the dill. Lay atop this bed the salmon to be roasted. Season with salt and pepper. Slice the peeled orange and place the flesh on top of the bed. Place in oven for approximately 30 minutes or until done.

Zest and juice half of the remaining orange. In a small food processor, combine orange juice, zest, mayo, mustard powder, olive oil and approximately 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill until smooth. Serve finished salmon with sauce, and garnish with slices of remaining orange half and fresh dill.

Maple Balsamic-Glazed Salmon

  • 1 c maple balsamic vinegar (I used Fiore.)
  • 1 lb salmon fillet
  • kosher sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place salmon skin side down in a foil-lined baking dish. Drizzle lightly with some of the maple balsamic and season with salt and pepper. Bake approximately 25 minutes or until light in color but still moist.  While the salmon is baking, in a sauce pan on the stove top, combine remaining maple balsamic with sugar and simmer at low heat until dissolved and thickened. When salmon has finished baking, serve drizzled with reduced maple balsamic glaze.

Warning: The maple balsamic and the sugar will, if reduced for too long, make balsamic taffy in your sauce pan. This is very tasty, but very hard to clean up!

Blackberry Ginger-Glazed Salmon

  • 1 lb salmon fillet
  • 1 can of blackberries with syrup*
  • 1 2-inch knob of ginger, peeled and sliced
  • 1/4 c honey
  • 1 tsp cornstarch, mixed with water
  • Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking pan with tinfoil. In a small saucepan, combine the canned blackberries, syrup and ginger. Bring to a boil and simmer until it is a dark, rich purple color. Strain through wire mesh and return to heat. Add honey and cornstarch mixture and cook until thickened. Place your salmon on the foil-lined baking pan and glaze salmon generously with blackberry ginger glaze. Salt and pepper. Place in oven for approximately 25 minutes or until flaky but still moist.

*You can use frozen, but if they’re on sale or especially if they’re in season you should definitely use fresh! Just add a little water.

Both this and the maple balsamic glazed salmon were served with my spicy, nutty quinoa pilaf. You can find the recipe here.

Salmon with Mango and Avocado Salsa

  • 1 lb salmon fillet
  • juice of 1/2 lime
  • cracked black pepper and sea salt

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking dish or cookie sheet with tinfoil and lay the salmon fillet skin-down on the foil. Squeeze half a lime over it, being careful to pick off any seeds you might squeeze out. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper and cook 25-30 minutes or until just flaky (but still moist.) Serve with mango avocado salsa as follows:

  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 2 mangos, diced
  • 1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
  • 1/2 red or purple onion, chopped
  • juice of one lime
  • sprinkling of sea salt

Give it a toss and serve on top of finished salmon.

For more recipes from my kitchen to yours, please visit http://forkable.net.

Fia Fortune

About Fia Fortune

Fia Fortune is a home cook who enjoys gardening, creating recipes for her two blogs, cooking for herself and her boyfriend, and trying to keep up with their blended family of four cats.