Pecan-Encrusted Salmon

Fish rarely seems to be the most appetizing food to photograph.

In my experience, it is a relatively common occurrence for me to become hungry and have absolutely no inspiration as to what I should conjure forth from my the depleted stores tucked away in my pantry. It is also rather common for me to buy stuff that is supposedly healthy and then proceed to ignore it for months at a time as I consume my usual fare. Now on their own, these two problems are not all that interesting; having random stuff I don't care much for doesn't provide any additional inspiration, and indeed tends to encourage me to seek out external establishments from which to purchase my meals. However, on this particular evening, these two forces combined with a third (and a significantly more powerful) force: convenience.

I can see some explanation is in order. As anyone who has read a handful of my recipes can observe, some of the culinary "tests" I put myself through are designed to stretch my kitchen's horizons and broaden my repertoire. Consequently, when a trial recipe calls for an ingredient I don't really keep on hand (e.g., pecans), I am forced to buy a half-ton of them (because if I buy in bulk, I can save a quarter or two) and am subsequently left with an abundance of what I call "recipe fillers" and no idea how to get rid of them. I'm sure this gives one the picture of my cupboards chuck-full of miscellany and my trash can filled with take-out bags (which is only sometimes the case!). Nonetheless, I am always vigilantly seeking new inspiration from various websites and magazines to help me get rid of both the monotony of sandwiches for dinner and the clutter of my cupboards.

As one might be able to decipher by now, this long-winded buildup is a means of stating that in this particular instance, I managed to find a recipe (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Alaska-Salmon-Bake-with-Pecan-Crunch-Coating/Detail.aspx) that utilized ingredients that I have been attempting to eliminate from my pantry with only a few items that I did not have on hand (the only noteworthy one being dijon mustard, which I have since decided will be a permanent fixture in my refrigerator). Furthermore, the end result was actually rather tasty and allowed me to finish off the accursed bag of frozen salmon fillets that had been mockingly staring back at me whenever I opened the freezer.

Recipe:
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons butter, melted
5 teaspoons honey
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs*
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
3 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
6 (4 ounce) fillets salmon
salt and pepper to taste

* I didn't have bread crumbs on hand, but I did have some saltines that had been sitting in my cupboard for the better part of a decade. I crushed these up into something pretending to be crumbs that called it even. Since this obviously added some salt to the recipe, I simply reduced the amount of salt added directly later on.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

1) In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, butter, and honey. To help the honey dissolve, I heated the entire mixture in the microwave for ~15 seconds or so and stirred again.

Somewhat dull in appearance, but its flavor was terrific!

2) In a zip-top bag, mix together the bread crumbs, pecans, and parsley. Since I had to crush my crackers and pecans by hand, I did both in the bag before chopping the parsley in.

Actual levels of crumblage may vary depending on the tastes and level of frustration of the cook.

3) Season each salmon fillet with salt and pepper and place them in a lightly oiled cast iron skillet. Be sure not to use too much oil here; the goal is not to fry them, simply to keep them from sticking.
4) Brush each fillet evenly with the mustard-honey mixture.

I bet just cooking them like this (without adding the crumbs) would be even better than the actual recipe.

5) Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of the fillets to coat.

No, the bag didn't explode in my kitchen; this was a deliberate and careful effort.

6) Bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness, measured at thickest part, or until salmon just flakes when tested with a fork.

I should note that although this recipe helped me discover I don't think I'll ever really care much for salmon, it was actually very tasty, most especially the honey-dijon glaze. I might consider altering this recipe for use on chicken breasts or even pork chops as I think the sweetness would compliment those meats particularly well. That said, I don't know that it would be suited to most types of fish due to the strength of the dijon flavor.