Baked Salmon with Parsley-Garlic Crust

You can bake, broil, sauté, braise or grille it. You can find it on virtually any menu at any restaurant. It is plentiful and relatively inexpensive. It can be a “family” dinner or a “company” meal. It tastes great hot or cold. It’s one of our most versatile dishes and best of all, it is easy to prepare by following some simple rules. It is salmon and here are some interesting facts about this wonderful fish.

Wild or farm-raised?

Virtually all salmon sold in local supermarkets is farm-raised. All Atlantic salmon is farmed and don’t be fooled by “Norwegian” salmon. It is merely farm-raised in Norwegian waters. Wild salmon comes from the Pacific or Alaskan waters and can be found, occasionally, at better fish counters. “Fresh” salmon simply means “not previously frozen.”

Can I tell the difference?

Not easily. Color is added to farm-raised salmon to appear like wild salmon in stores. The price of farmed salmon ($7 - $9 per pound) is a good indicator, but wild salmon sold at twice the price may not be what you think. Recent surveys in the New York area disclosed that many fish mongers were selling “wild” salmon that turned out to be farmed. Sometimes, farmed salmon escape from their confining nets and mix with wild fish to cause this confusion. It pays to know your dealer. There is a difference in taste between wild and farmed, but marinades and sauces will disguise the subtle difference.

Steaks or fillets?  How much should I buy?

Steaks are cut from the whole fish and contain a large bone. Fillets may contain some small pin bones which should be removed with tweezers or pliers before cooking. Skin on or off is a personal preference. I remove mine at home since some of my guests prefer it that way. Figure one-third pound per person for fillets. Salmon freezes well, so buy extra when you find it on sale. Properly wrapped, it can be kept for several weeks.

Here is an easy recipe that I have served many times at parties for company and is one of my wife’s favorite requests.

Baked Salmon with Parsley-Garlic Crust

(serves four)

Ingredients:

1-2           Large cloves of garlic finely chopped

2        Tbsp. finely chopped marjoram or 1 tbsp. dried marjoram  

          (I use a generous tbsp. of dried)

4        Tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley

3-4           Tbsp. breadcrumbs

          Salt & pepper to taste

1 ½    Pounds salmon skinned and cut into four equal steaks

          (Ask for center cut)

4        Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mash the chopped garlic with the back of a spoon until it is paste-like. I use a mortar and pestle. Next, combine the garlic with the marjoram, parsley, breadcrumbs, ½ teaspoon of salt and the olive oil. Add a little fresh ground pepper and mix until you have a stiff paste.

Lightly grease a baking pan and place the salmon pieces about one inch apart. Fold the thin end of the salmon underneath itself so that each fillet is of even thickness. You can prepare the recipe up to this point in the morning. Just cover and refrigerate. Take it out while the oven is heating so that the dish reaches room temperature.

Bake the salmon about five minutes and remove to spread the garlic-herb mixture. Add about a tablespoon to each piece, spreading the top with your fingers. Finish baking for another five to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice and enjoy.

This makes a nice cold luncheon dish, so make a little extra and enjoy it the next day, as well.

Seafood Paella

Seafood Paella (with Pasta!) – serves 12

          It was New Year’s Eve—we had 12 people coming for a “special” dinner.  A survey of the guests’ dietary preferences eliminated meats, mushrooms, raw tomatoes, rice and a few more obscure items that I had no intention of using anyway. Common recipes for seafood seemed to satisfy everyone, except for the rice. In an old Food & Wine annual cookbook, I found a recipe for something called “Sardinan Style Paella,” which called for a pasta called “fregola” (instead of rice).

          Using this as a frame work, I came up with a variation that was a winner with all. It does require considerable timing challenges in adding the ingredients properly so that the pasta is cooked but not dry and the seafood cooked just right. The ingredients made this a special dish for a special occasion!

          Often, paella served in restaurants comes with overcooked seafood and sticky rice. This version avoids these pitfalls and is worth the extra effort.

          Since all of you can read a recipe—ingredients and measurements—I will concentrate on the techniques of cooking and assembling this dish. The ingredients listed were my choice and the ingredients in the original recipe are listed in parentheses—but be creative and make it “your way.”

Ingredients:

·        Large pinch of saffron threads

·        3-4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

·        1 medium/large onion finely chopped

·        4-5 large garlic cloves thinly sliced

·        2 ½ c orzo (or 1 lb. fregola*)

·        ¾ lb. turkey sausage, casing removed and crumbled (1/2 lb chorizo thinly sliced*)

·        1 cup canned diced tomatoes drained

·        1 cup dry white wine

·        Salt & pepper to taste

·        2 lbs. large shrimp (at least 2 per person), shelled and deveined (I used shrimp sized 8-15/lb.)

·        1 ½ lb. large sea scallops (at least 2 per person) (2 lb. red snapper, cod or monk fish *)

·        1 lb. mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded

·        ¾ lb. cooked crabmeat (1 lb. cockles, scrubbed *)

·        1 lobster weighing 1 ½ lbs cooked and cooled

·        2-3 tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley

Note:  Before proceeding, steam clean mussels for 4-5 minutes. Discard unopened mussels and remove from heat. Remove lobster meat from pre-cooked lobster. Cut into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

Directions:

1.     In a small bowl, crumble saffron threads in half cup warm water. Let stand 10 minutes.

2.     Cook orzo according to directions on box but cook pasta half the time called for on the box and remove from heat.

3.     Head extra virgin olive oil in a very large, deep sauté pan. Add onion and garlic, cooking over high heat, stirring until lightly browned, about 2-3 minutes.

4.     Add crumbled turkey sausage and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes.

5.     Add tomatoes, wine, saffron and its warming liquid plus 1 ½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper.

6.     Stir in the half-cooked orzo and add a little water if needed. Mix well and tuck shrimp and scallops into mixture for the last half of the orzo’s cooking time—about 5 minutes.

7.     Add crab meat, lobster meat and mix. Tuck pre-cooked mussels into mixture—cover and continue cooking under low heat for 2 minutes or until all flavors are combined. This method cooks the orzo just right while just heating the shrimp and scallops properly.

This recipe is a lot of work timing everything correctly, but it is worth it.  The dish is great the next day because the orzo has had a chance to absorb all the juices and flavors.  Enjoy!