Slow Roasted Wild Salmon with Mango-Cucumber Salsa Recipe

slow roasted salmon with mango-cucumber salsa

When I was about 10 years old, I decided I disliked beef and poultry enough that I would give them up for good.  I was a pre-teen pescatarian, limiting my “animal” consumption to fish alone which created a bit of anxiety for my parents.  The concern was that I wouldn’t get enough protein since I was still growing.  Of course I was quite fine since I ate plenty of eggs, cheese, yogurt, legumes and nuts in addition to fish once a week.  But I have always preferred seafood to animal protein, even to this day.

wild sockeye salmon

Then I met a cute boy in college who asked me out to dinner and I said yes and he took me to a…steak house.  Hmmmmm……..A cute boy is a cute boy, so off I went.  Ironically, the boy was a meat and poultry-eater, but not a fish eater.  Opposites attract, I thought.  Or hoped.  That night I had my first bite of steak in many years and I actually thought it was delicious.  Not delicious enough to turn me into a full-fledged carnivore, but I did continue to eat a little beef and chicken until very recently when I decided, once again, that I just don’t like beef at all and I only like chicken enough to have a bite.  After all these years, I’m still a fish girl.

mango salsa

If you’ve hung around this blog long enough, you know that I married “the boy” and I’ve turned him on to almost all fish, except salmon. Once in a while he’ll have a bite to be nice, but he just can’t get into it.  We tell the kids he’s “allergic.”  But I absolutely love wild salmon and believe it or not, so does Mr. Picky!  (“Love” might be a strong word, admittedly, but he always eats it.)  We both think it’s delicious and since it’s so rich in important Omega-3 fats and a powerful antioxidant called astaxanthin, I like to find new ways to make it.  (By the way, this is not the case with farm-raised salmon.  Not healthy for you and bad for the environment.)

cooked!

Slow roasting salmon is practically the only way I have cooked salmon in the last year.  I just taught this method in my classes last month and everyone was so excited it.  By cooking the salmon at a super low temperature (250 degrees) for a longer period of time, the fat just kind of melts into the fish and you don’t dry it out the way you might at 400 degrees which can cause the proteins to seize up a bit.  I find wild fish to be a little tricky to get just right where it’s still moist and succulent, as opposed to tough and dry.  Slow roasting is a dream and results in the most velvety salmon!  Plus a bonus is that at such a low temp, you don’t damage the delicate Omega-3 fats.  My son says he also likes this method because the house never smells like fish afterwards.  It’s truly the perfect way to cook wild salmon!

slow roasted wild salon with mango-cucumber salsa | pamela salzman

Like I told my classes last month, this recipe is more about trying the technique of slow roasting and it’s not about the mango salsa here.  I serve slow roasted salmon with lots of different salsas (try this one with corn and black beans), sauces ( I like this one with dill and cucumbers), dressings, or just a squeeze of citrus.  Since it’s wild salmon season right now, I bet you can get your hands on some fantastic fish.  I normally buy my wild salmon during the year from vitalchoice.com which ships it frozen on dry ice.  It’s the best quality fish I can find.  But starting in May, Grow in Manhattan Beach and Santa Monica Seafood have outstanding salmon and I haven’t been disappointed.

Needless to say, I will not be making salmon on Sunday for Father’s Day, but you certainly can.  I guarantee, slow roasting is a game-changer!

slow roasted wild salmon with mango-cucumber salsa | pamela salzman

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Slow Roasted Wild Salmon with Mango-Cucumber Salsa
Author: 
Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • For the salsa:
  • ½ cup diced cucumber (If you use a variety like Persian or Hothouse, you can leave the seeds and skin on.)
  • 1 mango, firm, but ripe, peeled and diced
  • ½ jalapeno, minced, seeds removed for less heat
  • 1 scallion, finely chopped or 3 Tablespoons finely diced red onion (this measurement is really according to taste)
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (tender stems are ok)
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 24 ounce fillet of wild salmon*(leave out of refrigerator 20 minutes before roasting)
  • unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the salmon on the baking sheet and drizzle with enough olive oil to coat the top of the fish lightly. You can use your hands to oil the fish. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until center of salmon is rare and starting to flake when you poke it with a paring knife. The amount of time it takes to cook the salmon perfectly depends on the temperature of the fish when you place it in the oven and the thickness of the fish.
  3. While the salmon cooks, prepare the salsa. Mix all the salsa ingredients in a medium nonreactive bowl and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Serve salmon warm, room temperature or cold with salsa.
Notes
*If you use individual fillets, adjust cook time accordingly.  6 ounce fillets will take approximately 20 minutes.

If you’re really not sure if the salmon is done, you can roast until the thickest part registers 125 degrees on an instant read thermometer.

  

 

Southwestern Quinoa Salad Recipe

Have you ever read a cookbook or food blog where an unbelievable, creative recipe was put together with “odds and ends” from the pantry or produce bin?  I am always in awe of people who can do that.  Those same people go grocery shopping without a list and simply buy what looks good and then create a meal around it.   I too can use bits of this or that and turn it into something fairly tasty, but it usually ends up as a frittata, Pantry Pasta, or some sort of fried rice dish.  Definitely enough to get an acceptable dinner on the table, but nothing that will win me any accolades.

 

One day a few years ago, I decided to try my hand at “throwing something together.”  I figured I had done this many a time at salad bars, I should be able to do this within the limitations of my own pantry and refrigerator.  Whereas I pride myself on keeping things simple,  on this particular day I got a little carried away.  It all started with some quinoa, corn and cilantro which sounded Southwestern to me.  Pretty soon I was dicing up red pepper, red onion and opening a can of black beans.  Just when I thought I was done, I spied a mango and that went into the mix, too. After squeezing in some lime juice, olive oil and cumin, I had myself one fresh and tasty salad that I could happily bring to a backyard barbeque or serve to guests, even that same day to my mother-in-law who is slightly skeptical of quinoa.

I’ve made this salad countless times since then and changed it up every time.  Red onion has been replaced with scallions or shallots.  Ripe avocado and toasted pumpkin seeds have found their way in on many an occasion.  When corn is crazy fresh and sweet, I just cut it off the cob raw and use it that way.  With Father’s Day coming up, I am thinking about including this on the menu, but I might just leave out the quinoa entirely since I made quinoa tabbouleh last year on Father’s Day.  Although my husband likes quinoa just fine, he doesn’t consider it very “manly.”  Please.  I keep trying to tell him how much protein it has — it’s like eating meat, but without the saturated fat and cholesterol.  But it’s his day and I aim to please!  So I think next weekend I’ll make this with extra corn and beans and thrown in some “manly” diced up grilled chicken.  Regardless, “creating” this salad was a good exercise for me in learning how to be flexible, but also gave me some confidence to use what I’ve got — in more ways than one.

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Southwestern Quinoa Salad
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Serves: 6-8
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 ½ cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed if canned (1 can)
  • 1 ½ cups fresh or cooked corn (cut from 2 large ears)
  • ¾ cup diced red pepper (1 small pepper or ½ large)
  • ½ large red onion, diced (soaked in ice water if you want to cut the harsh onion flavor)
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)
  • ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ⅓ cup fresh lime juice (about 1 ½ limes)
  • ⅓ cup unrefined, extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. Rinse quinoa in a bowl with water or place quinoa in a fine mesh sieve and rinse under cold water until water runs clear. Transfer to a saucepan and add a healthy pinch of sea salt and 1 ¾ cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and place a kitchen towel over the pot. Place the lid over the towel and let sit covered for 5 -10 minutes.
  2. Transfer quinoa to a serving bowl, fluff with a fork and cool slightly. Add beans, corn, red pepper, onion, (optional) jalapeno and cilantro. Sprinkle with cumin and sea salt.
  3. In a small bowl combine lime juice and olive oil. Pour over salad and mix well. Taste for seasoning.
Notes
Options for substitutions/additions: Also delicious in this salad are sautéed zucchini, diced celery, diced fresh mango, sliced scallions, diced tomato or diced avocado.

Avocado, jicama and mango salad recipe

Mexico is close to Southern California, right?  They share a border for goodness sake.  Dare I say Mexico is almost local?  Well, this is convincing I do with myself during April and May.  Why? Because it’s mango season in Mexico and I am MAD for mangos.  Yes, we grow mangos in Southern California, but the season is waaaaaay too short for me and the kids. So I’m basically a hypocrite for a few months to satisfy my addiction to a luscious, fleshy, sweet fruit while the other 10 months of the year I turn my nose at melons in the winter or produce from South America.  I’m downright indignant when I see Chilean plums in February.  Can’t you people wait a few measly months until they’re in season here??

Listen, I’m no Barbara Kingsolver and in as much as I admire her quest to go truly local for a year, except for coffee, I buy plenty of goods that are outside of the 100 mile-radius from where I live.  Those foods include flours, grains and fish from Alaska.  But there are many reasons I believe in buying local produce.  In general:

  • local is fresher, which very often means better taste and higher nutritional value.
  • I like supporting local farms and local businesses.
  • local usually equates to eating seasonally which is a more healthful and more balanced way to stay in harmony with nature.  We are given exactly what we need to eat at just the right time of the year.  For example, melons and cucumbers are cooling foods and are very appropriate to eat during the summer months.  In contrast, pumpkin and butternut squash have a warming thermal nature and help us out in the winter.
  • buying local can have a lighter environmental impact versus importing produce.

But at the moment, I am buying 10 mangos every week for snacks, mixing them with yogurt, blending them in smoothies and using them in this scrumptious salad.  You know how I feel about a good dressing and this one is a favorite.  I actually like it just as much as a dip for crudite.  There is a bit of cilantro in the dressing, but I have had many cilantro-haters come over to the other side after trying this dressing.  Choose a crisp lettuce such as a romaine or butter lettuce and feel free to come up with your own creation.  Other possibilities include tomatoes, cucumbers, cooked pinto beans, grilled shrimp or chicken, toasted pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds).

While I’m coming clean about the mangos, did I mention the jicama is from Mexico, too?

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Avocado, Jicama and Mango Salad
Author: 
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • Dressing:
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon raw honey
  • 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt plus more to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¾ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems (lightly packed)
  • ½ cup unrefined, cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 head romaine lettuce, thinly sliced, about 8 cups
  • 2 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, cut into ½-inch cubes
  • ½ medium jicama, julienned or cut into ½-inch cubes
  • 1 mango, peeled, pitted and cut into ½-inch cubes
  • Crispy tortilla strips (optional) see below
Instructions
  1. In a blender combine lime and lemon juices, honey, salt, pepper and cumin. Add the cilantro and blend. With the motor running, pour in the olive oil in a slow, steady stream and blend until emulsified.
  2. Arrange the lettuce on a large platter and drizzle enough dressing to coat lightly. Place avocado in a bowl and gently toss with enough dressing to coat lightly. Arrange avocado on top of lettuce. Repeat with the jicama and mango. Sprinkle with crispy tortilla strips.

CRISPY TORTILLA STRIPS

 

1 Tablespoon unrefined olive oil

3 6-inch corn tortillas

Fine grain sea salt or additive-free kosher salt

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brush the oil over both sides of the tortillas.  Stack the tortillas on top of each other and cut the stack in half.  Then cut the halves crosswise into 1/8-inch thick strips.

Spread the tortillas on a heavy, rimmed baking sheet (lined with parchment if desired) and arrange them evenly.  Sprinkle with salt and bake, tossing occasionally for 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and cool.