Salmon: Three Wines + Three Ways
Know this essential part first: in drafting this short piece, I’ve settled on the wines first. Why does this matter? Because as a foundation, it is imperative that we come to believe in our ability to prepare delicious food and know that it is likely most intuitive to do so after we’ve chosen what is going in the glass and before we settle on what is going on the plate.
If we cook in components, we can tune our dish and plate to our glass. Wine, we know (and love) is a uniquely sprung dance floor balancing fruit and acid and alcohol… let’s see about cooking in similarly separate elements. First up, cube some zucchini, yellow squash, maybe some sweet pepper, plain jane white mushrooms, and maybe some eggplant. Season these vegetables with salt and pepper and some dried herbs and sautée together in a large fry pan with olive oil pulling out each vegetable as they soften and set aside (not to cool, expressly, but spread them out so they don’t continue to cook and go too soft). Once done, gently toss the cooked vegetables in some homemade traditional pesto (you can use store bought if you get it from an Italian specialty store or similar). Next up, same pan, add some extra olive oil and place a seasoned (salt and fresh black pepper) filet of salmon skin-side down in the center of the pan (medium+ heat). Cover the pan. After three or so minutes, gently turn the salmon over and continue to sear and cook. Remove the cover so you can monitor. When you push on the side of the filet and it feels just-firm-enough to the touch. PLATE on top of a dish of the cooked pesto-tossed vegetables…serve crispy skin side up, and squeeze with fresh lemon. Pair with this stunning wine.
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Salt and pepper season a filet of salmon. Place skin-side down on a baking dish that you’ve drizzle with olive oil. Bake the salmon (slowly) under a drizzle of really good olive oil. The salmon will take at least fifteen minutes. It’s ready when the top is just-firm-enough to the push/touch (even though the very top presents as slightly translucent). While the fish cooks, make a fresh salsa/raw relish of chopped cucumber, fresh dill, olive oil, a sprinkle of red vinegar and salt and pepper…fresh parsley is nice, too! When done, remove the fish from the oven, slice along the bottom to leave the skin behind and serve over white rice with pesto summer vegetables. Drizzle with really good olive oil.
Domaine des Trois Filles Bandol Rosé, 2022
A Salmon Sandwich! Slice a filet of salmon laterally into two thinner “patties” (you’ll have enough salmon for two sandwiches!). Season both thinner portions with salt and pepper and pan fry in olive oil until crispy on both sides and just-firm-enough. Serve on a lightly toasted English Muffin with homemade tartar sauce (high quality mayonnaise and sweet green relish - a little bit of Dijon mustard) with fresh butter lettuce and a slice of Summer tomato. DELICIOUS! And, no, nobody needs to know that you ate *both* of the salmon sandwiches this “recipe” yields.
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