Grilled Salmon with Salsa Verde

by joycevandenbergporterAugust 7, 2015

HERE is what’s on the grill this weekend. It’s EASY, FAST AND YOUR GUESTS WILL LOVE YOU! I am eating more plant based foods and less seafood these days but salmon is still a favorite. This version is roasted or grilled over high heat and topped with a deliciously spicy Italian Salsa Verde aka Magic Green Sauce. I can’t say enough about this tasty green sauce made with fresh parsley, thyme and jalapeno peppers combined with capers, lemon and olive oil. Yum! This amazing sauce would be great on anything grilled or roasted, including veggie skewers or tofu. It’s that good!

The beauty of this preparation is that once you have made the green sauce and sprinkled the salmon with fresh herbs, scallions, capers and lemon, all of which only takes about ten minutes, it can all sit until you are ready to cook. Refrigerate if you won’t be cooking for a while. I was curious, so I let my fingers do the walking. According to FDA , ‘raw seafood can sit at room temperature for no more than 2 hours or 1 hour if room temperature is 90 degrees or more.’ Then when you are ready, just pop the salmon into a hot oven or grill and in ten minutes or less – perfection! I have made this salmon preparation several times now. The first time I grilled it skin side down on a hot grill. I was just cooking for my family and forgot to take photos before we ate, but once I tasted the results I knew I would be making again and again. The next time I roasted two sides of salmon with salsa verde for a party of about 16 women. It was a 90 degree day in a house with no air conditioning so I decided to roast the salmon on the grill and not heat up the kitchen any further. Since I was dealing with two large unwieldy sides of salmon, I roasted them in the roasting pan right on the grill with great results. With the lid closed, the grill became an effective outdoor oven. The salmon in these photos was skinless which I roasted in the ovenat 450 for about five minutes and then broiled for several more minutes. All three cooking techniques yielded great results, so take your pick.

As always when selecting seafood, to get the best in nutrition as well as being good to the planet, know where your food is from. Make sure that you are buying fish or shellfish that is sustainably raised or caught. An easy way to access the most current information is to check with Seafood Watch and enter “Salmon” or any other seafood you are considering. Currently Seafood Watch has this to say about salmon: “Salmon is one of the most commonly eaten fish in North America. Wild-caught salmon is generally a “Best Choice” or “Good Alternative,” but if you’re considering farmed salmon, try to find out where it comes from. While there are several more sustainable sources, most farmed salmon is on the “Avoid” list. The Marine Stewardship Council certifies some salmon fisheries as sustainable.”

TIPS: I recommend pre-slicing the salmon before cooking for ease of serving and presentation. Often a side of salmon gets hacked up by well intentioned people trying to serve themselves. By making cuts ahead of time, you ensure that each slice is perfectly sized for your crowd and ready to serve. If the skin is on, you don’t have to slice through the skin which can be very tough to do. The cooked salmon will slide right off the skin. Salmon can be grilled or roasted in several ways. If the skin is on, salmon can be placed, skin side down, on a hot grill and cooked with the lid closed 8 to 10 minutes. Salmon without the skin is easy to roast in the oven at 450 for about 5 minutes and then broiling several more minutes. Salmon can also be roasted on the grill, which is great on hot summer days when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen. Just heat the grill until very hot and then place the salmon in the roasting pan in the grill and cook with the lid down 8 to 10 minutes.

Recipe Adapted From: The Best of Fine Cooking – Summer Eats 2015

GRILLED SALMON WITH SALSA VERDE

1 1/2 lb salmon (preferably skin on)
1 Tbsn olive oil
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp parsley, minced
1 scallion, minced
1 tsp capers, drained
1 lemon, juice and zest

SALSA VERDE

1/2 cup olive oil
3 scallions, green and white parts
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves
2 Tbsn capers, drained
1-2 jalapeno or serrano chilis, stem and seeds removed
1 lemon, juice and zest
1/4+ tsp salt
1/8+ tsp pepper

To prepare the salsa verde most easily, process the scallions, thyme and chilis in a food processor until finely minced. Or finely mince by hand with a sharp knife. Add olive oil and process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and add capers, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Rinse and dry the salmon and place skin side down on a large pan or aluminum foil that has been coated with olive oil. Pre-slice individual portions if desired. (You don’t have to cut through the skin)

Brush salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with thyme, parsley, scallion, capers, lemon juice and zest.

Grill skin side down on high heat with the lid down 8 to 10 minutes. (Or alternately, see TIPS for oven roasting options) Salmon is done when top is golden, slices start to pull apart and fat collects on top. Don’t overcook.

Remove from heat and drizzle with some of the salsa verde. Serve with more salsa verde on the side.

Grilled Salmon with Salsa Verde

Servings: 6
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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1 1/2 lb salmon (preferably skin on)
1 Tbsn olive oil
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp parsley, minced
1 scallion, minced
1 tsp capers, drained
1 lemon, juice and zest

SALSA VERDE

1/2 cup olive oil
3 scallions
1/4 cup fresh thyme
2 Tbsn capers, drained
1-2 jalapeno or serrano chilis
1 lemon, juice and zest
1/4+ tsp salt
1/8+ tsp pepper

To prepare the salsa verde most easily, process the scallions, thyme and chilis in a food processor until finely minced. Or mince by hand. Add olive oil and process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and add capers, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper. Set aside.
Rinse and dry the salmon and place on a large platter or aluminum foil skin side down.
Pre-slice individual portions if desired. (You don’t have to cut through the skin) Brush salmon with olive oil and sprinkle with thyme, parsley, scallion, capers, lemon juice and zest.
Grill skin side down on high heat with the lid down 8 to 10 minutes. (Or alternately, roast in a pan at 450)
Remove from heat and drizzle with some of the salsa verde. Serve with more salsa verde on the side.

Coconut Curry Fish with Red Ginger Rice

by joycevandenbergporterApril 2, 2015

Seafood is good for us, or is it? Those that have been following Goodmotherdiet know that I care about our food and where it comes from, both from an agricultural and an animal standpoint. I am not alone in thinking this is important for our health and the health of our planet which we share with all animals. So, I am excited to announce that I have recently partnered with The Sustainable Seafood Blog Project, whose goal is to bring food bloggers together in a conversation about sustainability, and to provide resources for sustainable seafood to bloggers and readers alike. Here is what the Sustainable Seafood Blog Project has to say about seafood:

It can be daunting to wade through all of the information out there about what we should be eating. Between fad diets, sale prices, ambiguous terms like “natural” or “safe”, and convoluted ingredient labels, “good” and “bad” food have fallen into an ever-expanding grey area. When it comes to seafood, it can be even more difficult to discern what the “right” purchases are. Many times, the public is unaware of the plight facing our world’s oceans.

Some of our seafood is unsafe to eat due to farming practices and/or polluted water and other species are at risk of extinction due to overfishing. Luckily, we don’t have to research everything ourselves, as others have already taken on that challenge. Seafood Watch has also partnered with this project to provide more information on the sustainability of our seafood. I have long relied on Seafood Watch for guidance while in the grocery store on which fish or shrimp is “Best Choice”, “Good Alternative” or “Avoid”. It’s easy – just click on the website and type in the name of the seafood you are contemplating and you will get an instant, informed response. Here is their recommendation from March,2014, but check the site as a few things may have changed since then.

Photo Credit: Seafood Watch

For my techie friends, here are the apps for easy access:

Monterey Bay Seafood Watch App for iPhone

Monterey Bay Seafood Watch App for Android

Monterey Bay Seafood Watch Online Buyer’s Guide

So join the conversation! Check out the The Sustainable Seafood Blog Project for more information. Click on their Shopping and Dining Guide for a state by state listing of good seafood sources. For more delicious sustainable seafood recipes, check out the other bloggers who are also new partners with the Sustainable Seafood Blog:

Manhattan Food Project

WhitBit’s Indian Kitchen

So the way I see it, we can still enjoy seafood as long as we make good, informed purchases. As your Mother used to tell you, “Make good choices.” How does Coconut Curry Fish with Red Ginger Rice sound? I love coconut curry with almost anything but I have never made it for fish. I created this curry with red curry paste which is warm and mildly spicy rather than green, which is very spicy and I thought it might overpower a delicate fish. I used Pacific Cod (live-caught in the U.S.) which is considered ‘Best Choice’ by Seafood Watch. Cod is a light, white fish that is adaptable to many recipes, however other good choices might be halibut, rockfish and salmon. This red curry sauce is so tasty you will want to serve the fish on something to soak it up. I really like it with red or black rice, both of which are dense and chewy but brown rice would be another good choice. The red bell pepper and snow peas add color and interest. Other veggies to consider would be zucchini, carrots or green bell pepper. I love a color contrast.

TIPS: I like really spicy food so I added red pepper flakes. For a milder dish, leave them out and use less curry powder, or turn them both up for even more heat. In making ginger rice, I add a one inch piece of fresh peeled ginger to the water as it’s cooking and then remove it before serving. This is an optional step but it adds a nice gingery flavor to the rice without too much extra work.

COCONUT CURRY FISH WITH RED GINGER RICE

2 lbs fresh boneless, skinless, mild fish (halibut, cod, rockfish or salmon)
1 can coconut milk
1 Tbsn fish sauce (optional)
2 tsp ginger paste (or fresh ginger, finely minced)
2 Tbsn red curry paste
1-2 tsp curry powder (preferably Madras)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsn fresh lime juice
1 cup red, black or brown long grained rice
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1″ piece fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp ginger paste)

Optional Veggies: 1 red bell pepper and 20 sugar snap or snow peas

Cook rice according to instructions using vegetable broth instead of water for added flavor. Throw in a piece of peeled ginger but remove before serving

Rinse and dry fish and place it in a baking dish in a single layer

Combine coconut milk, fish sauce, curry powder and paste, garlic, red pepper flakes and lime juice in a small bowl.

Pour coconut curry sauce over fish and lift each piece to allow sauce to cover the underside. Bake fish at 450 degrees for about 5 minutes.

While fish is cooking, slice red bell pepper and sugar snap peas into thick julienne and saute in olive oil, with salt and pepper and a minced clove of garlic on medium heat 4 or 5 minutes or until softened but still al dente and brightly colored. Remove from heat.

Spoon sauce over the fish and broil for another 5 minutes. Fish should be opaque in the center and the sections beginning to pull apart.

To serve, place fish on a bed of rice, spoon sauce over the top and dress with veggies.

Coconut Curry Fish with Red Ginger Rice

Servings: 4
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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Optional Veggies: 1 red bell pepper and 20 sugar snap or snow peas

Rinse and dry fish and place it in a baking dish in a single layer
Combine coconut milk, fish sauce, curry powder and paste, garlic, red pepper flakes and lime juice in a small bowl.
Pour coconut curry sauce over fish and lift each piece to allow sauce to cover the underside.
Cook rice according to instructions using vegetable broth instead of water for added flavor. Throw in a piece of peeled garlic but remove before serving.
Bake fish at 450 degrees for about 5 minutes.
While fish is cooking, slice red bell pepper and sugar snap peas into a thick julienne and saute in olive oil, with salt and pepper and a minced clove of garlic on medium heat 4 or 5 minutes or until softened but still al dente and brightly colored. Remove from heat.
Spoon sauce over the fish and broil for another 5 minutes. Fish should be opaque in the center and the sections beginning to pull apart.
To serve, place fish on a bed of rice, spoon sauce over the top and dress with veggies.