Putting salmon on the menu

 

Teriyaki salmon with the mashed potatoes
Jordan made out of sympathy for my root canal

When I was feeding four teen-agers, I never cooked fish. It was an inheritance from my mother, who loved fish and seafood but thought they were what you ate in restaurants. An excellent cook, she had no confidence in her ability to cook fish. From what I remember about one or two meals of poached halibut, she was right. She would drag Dad into seafood restaurants, particularly in Boston, where she was ecstatic and he, a stubborn Anglophile, ordered roast beef.

Over the years I have gradually introduced fish to the family menu. When Jordan and I lived alone, we ate salmon frequently. When Christian came along, he made it plain he did not eat salmon—until the night we fixed something else for him while we dined on salmon in anchovy butter sauce (a New York Times recipe). He asked for one bite, and he was hooked. At first my efforts with cod were meh, but now we’ve all discovered we love cod filets with a buttery crumb topping (another NYT recipe). Jacob likes the cod but still doesn’t want the salmon.

I try to watch for Verlasso salmon on sale at Central Market. It is raised in deep water cages off the coast of Chile. Jordan and I plan menus so that when salmon is on sale, we fix it the same day we bring it home. So when she announced we needed a Central Market run Tuesday, I suggested salmon for dinner.

I have lots of salmon recipes, many untried like the one with a brown sugar/cayenne glaze that I think sounds good, but some suggest has too much sugar. We particularly like chimichurri (see the March 10 Gourmet on a Hot Plate blog), a green herbal sauce I make that is similar to chimichurri but just enough different, and that anchovy butter. But I knew I had a dental procedure Tuesday and wasn’t sure how I’d feel about cooking, so I wanted something quick and easy. It was too cold to ask Christian to grill it. So I went online. Here’s what I did:

Teriyaki salmon in the oven

1.5 lb. filet of salmon

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 tsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. dry white wine

1 Tbsp. honey

1 tsp. fresh garlic—or press a big clove

1 tsp. minced fresh garlic

The usual guide for buying salmon is a 6 oz. filet per person. I buy more than that because it makes such a good lunch the next day. I’m only cooking this for three, so a pound and a half is generous. Tuesday night’s fish was one, long beautiful filet. I wish I’d taken a picture before it was cooked.

The directions said to make the sauce while the salmon is in the oven, but in my tiny kitchen I can’t use the toaster oven and hot plate at the same time—it trips the circuit breaker. So I made the sauce first: simply blend the cornstarch into the soy and then add everything else. Cook over low heat until it thickens, which happens pretty fast.

Pre-heat the oven to 425^o, salt and pepper the fish, and bake for 12-15 minutes. I’ve learned my new Breville Pro toaster oven cooks on the hot side, so I cut it back to 420^o degrees and about 13 minutes. Absolutely perfect.

When we retrieved the sauce from the hot plate, it had really thickened—jelly-like. Jordan spread it on the fish with a table knifw, and as I expected the heat from the fish softened it enough to spread. Another time, I’ll give the sauce a minute of low heat after the fish comes out of the oven.

We garnished it with sesame seeds and chopped green onion. The latter added just the right tiny amount of crunch. It was delicious! And lunch the next day was equally good. I’ll repeat this one. And I kind of hope Jacob doesn’t change his mind—I’d miss those lunches.