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.

Salmon with Brazilian Garlic and Lime Marinade

In my ongoing attempt to find random recipes to inspire my generally uninspired palate, I stumbled across Worldwide Recipes and signed up for their mailing list. The intent was for them to provide me with ideas, as I rarely come up with them on my own. This serves the dual purpose of pushing me to experiment with new flavors as well as preventing me from eating sandwiches 5 nights a week.

The recipes provided by the list so far have been surprisingly accessible and, perhaps more importantly, quite global in theme. Last week's theme was "marinades and sauces", and I copied at least two of them down for future use (more on the second coming soon). I made small modifications to the mixing of the ingredients, so my recipe is below. This version turned out very nice, but rather overpowering for salmon (or indeed, most any fish that I can think of; it might pair well with swordfish, or something with a *very* distinct flavor to it) as the lime comes through quite strongly. My roommate and I agreed it would go much better with a more "robust" meat--oddly, we both agreed that lamb would be the best choice, so I may give that a shot sometime in the future.

Brazilian Garlic and Lime Marinade

4-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbs (15 ml) coarse salt
3/4 cup (180 ml) lime juice
1/4 cup (60 ml) dry white wine
1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped fresh parsley
2 scallions (spring onions), green and white parts,
finely chopped
1 Tbs (15 ml) chopped fresh rosemary
Cayenne pepper or hot sauce to taste (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a plastic zip-top bag or a bowl that has a lid and set the meat in it to marinate. For fish (fillets especially, as I was using), I'd suggest marinating no longer than 30-60 minutes, as the fish can get rubbery from the acids. For red meat, you could probably marinate for up to 6-8 hours, depending on the thickness of the cut and how tender you like the meat. I generally set steaks to marinate overnight anyway, so 18-24 hours might be OK, but I haven't tried it myself with this particular marinade.


After marinating the salmon, broil for about 20 minutes or until the color has changed from a solid pink to a somewhat muted peachish, depending on the thickness of the fillets (mine were about 3/4in. thick, and came out just about perfect) and salt to taste. I garnished it with remnants of the marinade as well as a sage chiffonade for a little extra zing.


The sage was probably unnecessary, as it got rather overwhelmed by the very strong lime flavor. I served the salmon with some garlic bread, which actually helped keep the lime from overpowering things, so it made a surprisingly good side dish. It would also pair well with other salty foods: perhaps some potatoes au gratin, asparagus simmered in butter, or wild rice.

Lessons learned:
Not a lot of lessons, so much as modifications for next time. Perhaps this would be better titled "future improvements". Regardless, I would probably actually cut the lime juice down to 1/2c and add 1tbsp of Worcestershire sauce for some added salt, but that probably detracts from the Brazilian theme. Also, as I mentioned before, I would definitely use this with a stronger meat, such as lamb or beef (or perhaps buffalo, but that's not really my taste, and I don't know how many buffalo are left roaming about the broad open plains of Brazil). As a final addition, I would add a bit more spice to the marinade; I was somewhat shy with my rooster sauce this time, and it didn't really come through at all. Cayenne pepper might have been a bit stronger.