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| photo: Cooking Light |
CRUSTED SALMON
My favorite way to prepare is I take about a half cup of flour( I use brown rice flour, but other flours work just as well), and I add salt, pepper, and any spices I have- oregano, thyme, dill, paprika etc. and I mix this all together in a thin layer on a plate. I dredge the salmon ( Cut into portions if it is one piece from the pkg) on all sides until lightly coated.
In a stainless steel skillet, I put in about 2 tbsp of olive oil, and I get it nice and hot, coating the whole bottom of the pan. I want it to be hot enough that the salmon sizzles when it touches the pan, but not smoking. I place all the portions of coated salmon in the pan watching for when they need to be flipped. There is no science to this, it is like flipping a burger, or hashbrowns or anything else. I probable cook it 8-10 min on the first side and 5-8 min on the second. both sides should be crispy and golden.
I have had the greatest success with this recipe- we haven't gotten tired of it and we eat it many times a week! I love to serve it with a green salad, but it goes with any side dishes you can dream up. The one down side is cleaning the pan, but if the fish didn't stick (enough oil and hot enough when you put the fish in), you should be able to wipe out the remaining oil and wash up like a normal dish.
This is an easy and crowd pleasing way to get salmon and non-salmon eaters to enjoy their dinner. If anyone tries this recipe, send a comment and let me know how it turns out!!
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| ill. Bill Casselman |
These days everyone knows salmon is healthy. I commonly hear complaints like, "it's so expensive, "it's too fishy, I don't like fish" and "I don't know how to prepare it". I have been making salmon for my husband for years, and now that we have kids, I still make it all the time for lunch and for dinners. It is my oldest son's favorite meal, and he is a picky eater!! I have to agree that depending on where you get your salmon the quality can be a little questionable, and fresh sockeye salmon from the butcher can be expensive. I have found that frozen salmon is your best bet for all around freshness and afordability. The quality of frozen salmon is also very consistent.
As far as I know you can buy three different types of frozen Salmon at Trader Joe's. The Sockeye, which is dark pink in color, is pricey, and very healthy for you and has tons of omega 3 and antioxidants. There is also Coho Salmon which also has the dark pink color- this is what I usually buy. It is more affordable than the sockeye and still very healthy and delicious!! The other lighter salmon is a fine choice as well. As far as salmon goes, the things you need to look for are: Wild Caught and from the Pacific Ocean. This is extreemely important. Farm raised fish is not healthy for you, your family or the environment, and as far as I know, Atlantic salmon is questionable. Sometimes colorants (you want to avoid this) are added to give it that pink color, but it will say on the package. As far as I know, all three from TJ's are good to go and great to try. Whole Foods also has frozen salmon, and this is worth trying also.
I defrost the frozen package in a bowl in the sink, and I run cold water from the faucet over it for a while until it is defrosted. It defrosts quickly- 10-15 min. I cut open the package and get the pieces of salmon out with a fork.
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| photo: Cooking Light |
In a stainless steel skillet, I put in about 2 tbsp of olive oil, and I get it nice and hot, coating the whole bottom of the pan. I want it to be hot enough that the salmon sizzles when it touches the pan, but not smoking. I place all the portions of coated salmon in the pan watching for when they need to be flipped. There is no science to this, it is like flipping a burger, or hashbrowns or anything else. I probable cook it 8-10 min on the first side and 5-8 min on the second. both sides should be crispy and golden.
I have had the greatest success with this recipe- we haven't gotten tired of it and we eat it many times a week! I love to serve it with a green salad, but it goes with any side dishes you can dream up. The one down side is cleaning the pan, but if the fish didn't stick (enough oil and hot enough when you put the fish in), you should be able to wipe out the remaining oil and wash up like a normal dish.
This is an easy and crowd pleasing way to get salmon and non-salmon eaters to enjoy their dinner. If anyone tries this recipe, send a comment and let me know how it turns out!!
