Category: Fish

Salmon with Creamy Spinach and Tomatoes

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Another delicious salmon recipe – and this one has plenty of veggies, with a delicious, creamy sauce – so it’s just the kind of recipe we love.

I made it last night, and we finished the whole thing – leaving not so much as a drop. It’s even possible that someone went after the skillet with a rubber spatula. So truly, not a drop was left, and yes it was me! Yum!

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
4 4-oz piece of salmon fillet, skin removed
2 Tbsp butter
1 chopped onion
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, or other tomatoes, cut into roughly 1″ chunks
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup half & half
1 tsp lemon zest
4-5 cups baby spinach

Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Cook salmon for 7-8 minutes, gently flipping half way through. Remove salmon from skillet, and keep on a plate.

Add butter, and sauté onion for several minutes until softened. Stir in the flour and spices and stir for another minute or two. Add tomatoes, and cook 3-4 minutes or until softened a bit. Add wine and Dijon mustard. turn heat to low, and cook five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Slowly stir in the half & half and lemon zest, and continue cooking another minute until it starts to thicken. Add spinach and stir until spinach is mostly wilted.

Return salmon fillets to the skillet, and cook two minutes or so until the salmon is heated through. So good!

Pan Seared Salmon with Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

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My dear friend Tammy came over yesterday and we made dinner together. Fresh asparagus from the garden, roasted butternut squash salad, and this amazing salmon dish, cooked in a cast iron skillet. We ate in the backyard as the sun slowly set and it was truly magical.

Tammy actually made the salmon dish and it was just incredible! Kumy said, “this is it – we don’t need to try any other salmon recipes” and I have to say I agree! We got the recipe from Katerina on Diethood.com, with a few modifications.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
4 (6 oz. each) skin-on salmon fillets
salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste

For the Lemon Garlic Cream Sauce

1 Tbsp butter
1 cup half & half
1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour (or 3/4 tsp cornstarch for a gluten-free version)
1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano (or Parmesan) cheese
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3 big cloves garlic, roughly minced
1 tsp dried dill
3/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high heat and add the olive oil. Season the salmon on both sides with salt and pepper and add the salmon fillets, skin side down. Let cook for 6 minutes without moving or lifting the fish.

Gently flip the fish over and let it cook 2 more minutes, then remove to a plate.

While fish is cooking, whisk together the half & half, flour, cheese, lemon juice, garlic, dill and thyme in a small bowl. Add ½ tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper to start. (You can always add more salt and pepper at the end.)

Remove any skin that has stuck to the skillet, and reduce the temperature to medium. Add the butter, let it melt and then pour in the sauce. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, whisking constantly for a minute or so until the sauce starts to thicken. Add the fish carefully into the sauce, skin side down, and cook for 2-3 minutes. Leave the tops of the salmon uncovered so it looks pretty.

So good!

Brazilian Seafood Stew (Moqueca)

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I made this remarkably delicious stew last night and it’s a keeper. With a coconutty, fresh lime and cilantro focus, it’s light and the fish and shrimp taste wonderful with it. I’ve tweaked a recipe originally from the New York Times, and everything is very easily available except Dende oil. It may be worth ordering some – since I will definitely make this again.

Ingredients

12 oz peeled, deveined shrimp
12 oz cod fillet, cut into 1″ pieces
kosher salt
2 limes (juice of one and the other cut into wedges)
2 Tbsp olive oil (Or Dende oil – traditional but less easily available)
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 large bell peppers, cut into 1/4″ slices, and halved
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes, drained and juice reserved (Or 1 lb. tomatoes, cut in 1″ wedges, and 1 Scotch Bonnet pepper, whole and pricked all over with a a knife.)
1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
steamed rice for serving

Directions

In a bowl, squeeze the juice of one lime and add 1 tsp salt. Place fish chunks in bowl and let marinate.

In a large, deep frying pan, heat olive oil. Add garlic and cook for a minute, then add onions and cook another few minutes. Turn heat up a bit and add the peppers and drained Ro-tel tomatoes. (Save the juice!) Saute for 5 minutes or so, until the peppers are starting to soften.

Reduce heat and add the coconut milk, the Ro-tel juice and simmer about 10 minutes. Add half the chopped cilantro, and the shrimp and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Gently place fish and marinade into the pan, and cook 2-3 more minutes until fish is cooked through. Taste and add salt if needed.

To serve, place some steamed rice in the bottom of the bowl and ladle stew over. Top with a squeeze of fresh lime and more chopped cilantro. Delish!

Thai Salmon Red Curry or Vegetable Curry

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Salmon by Caroline Attwood on Unsplash

We love Mae Ploy Curry pastes, and Red Curry Paste is used in one of our favorite Thai dishes from a wonderful local Thai restaurant, Khao Niao Thai-Lao.  (If you are ever in Omaha, don’t miss it. It is amazing!) Salmon works beautifully in this curry, but you could really use any firmer fish, or no fish at all. It’s a great vegetarian Thai curry. 

The Red Curry Paste is pretty spicy – so go easy on it the first time.  Love the heat?  Go for the full 1 1/2 Tablespoons! Serve over rice.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup mushrooms, halved
1  to 1 1/2 Tbsp Mae Ploy Red Curry Paste (use less if you don’t like it too spicy!)
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup eggplant, cut into 1″ pieces
1″ piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut in slivers
1 can coconut milk
1/2 can water
2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar
1 cup fresh baby spinach
1/2 to 1 lb salmon fillet, skin removed and cut into 1″ pieces
Fresh lime juice (1/2 lime, plus more sliced for the table)
toasted cashews (optional, but wonderful if making a vegetarian version)
fresh basil (optional)

In a large, deep frying pan, heat oil and sautee onions for 3-4 minutes until softened.  Add peppers and sautee another couple minutes.  Add mushrooms and any other veggies (except cauliflower and spinach) and continue sauteeing 3-4 minutes until the water has released and partially dried up.

Form a well in the middle of the veggies and add a little more oil.  Add the curry paste and cook lightly for a minute or so.  Stir to combine with all veggies.  Add cauliflower and ginger and stir again. Add coconut milk, water, sugar and fish sauce.  Bring to a simmer and let cook for 3-4 minutes.  Add spinach and salmon and cook 3-4 minutes, or until salmon pieces are pink through.

Serve over rice, with a squeeze of fresh lime juice on top. Sprinkle with cashews and fresh basil if using.

Skip the salmon for a vegetarian version.  You can use other vegetables if you have them.  If using a stiffer veggie like carrots or potato, cook them in boiling salted water for several minutes until they are just about done, and then add them with the baby spinach.

So, so good!

Ina’s Salmon

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It’s another fabulous Ina Garten recipe – and almost ridiculously easy. When I think how much cooking fish used to scare the heck out of me, I can hardly believe it.

3 lbs. salmon, cut into 2″ slices

2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
3 Tbsp soy sauce
6 Tbsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and garlic powder in a bowl. Pour about half the marinade in a glass baking dish, and let salmon soak in it skin side up for 20-30 minutes. Flip fish back over.

To grill the fish, preheat the grill, and start the fish skin side down. Grill for five minutes. Then brush with more marinade, carefully flip fish over and grill five more minutes. Remove to a serving platter and drizzle on any remaining marinade.

Baking is even easier. Just flip salmon so it’s skin side down in the glass baking dish. Heat oven to 425 and bake the fish for 20 minutes. I like to brush the fish with more glaze about half way through. It’s done when it’s flaky. Yum.