Almond Encrusted Salmon with Sunshine Salsa
By: Rachel Bailiff
The other day I found myself thinking, “I really want something fresh… something satisfying and springy; something I could easily tote out to the terrace and enjoy.”
Though at times the weather would seem to suggest that Winter still has Spring in a steely-cold chokehold, I thought to myself,
“Even if I can’t yet feel the sun on my face I’m going to enjoy the beauty of spring on my plate!”
Thus my “Almond Encrusted Salmon with Sunshine Salsa” was born. The textural play between the fork tender salmon and the crunchy almond crust is a match made in mouthwatering heaven. And the crisp salmon nuggets with the bright yellow salsa (both perfectly delicious on their own) come together to create a harmonious symphony of complimentary flavors that will have your taste buds singing, “SPRING!!!!!”
SALSA
Ingredients:
- 2 yellow peppers
- 1 ear corn
- 1 lg. jalapeño
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 lg. yellow heirloom tomatoes
- ¼ c. red onion
- ½ c. fresh cilantro
- about 1 tsp. worth of fresh ginger
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 3 Tbl. sugar
Preparation:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cover two medium cookie sheets with aluminum foil. Rinse peppers; remove stem and seeds, slice into spears and spread evenly on one cookie sheet. Clean corn. With large serrated knife cut kernels away from cob. Rinse jalapeño and remove stem; cut into rounds. Peel and mince garlic cloves. Combine corn kernels, jalapeño, and garlic on second cookie sheet. Place in oven cooking corn/jalapeño/garlic for 25 minutes and peppers for 35 minutes.
While veggies bake, toss tomatoes in food processor and pulse until somewhere between chunky and smooth. You don’t want to pulverize the tomatoes. Finely chop red onion and cilantro; set aside.
Once cooked, combine corn, jalapeño, garlic, and ginger in food processor and pulse until well minced. Toss in a large bowl with diced tomatoes. Remove peppers from cookie sheet and transfer to food processor, pulsing into a still-slightly-chunky puree. Combine with tomato mixture. Fold remaining ingredients of red onion, cilantro, paprika and sugar into tomato/pepper mix; chill.
SALMON
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. wild salmon filet, skinned (1 lb. makes about 2 servings)
- ½ c. slivered almonds
- 2 Tbl. olive oil
Preparation:
On cookie sheet, spread out slivered almonds and broil until golden brown (about 5 minutes but watch to make sure they don’t burn). Place in food processor and pulse into a fine dust. Set aside in a small bowl. Pour olive oil into separate small bowl. Cut salmon filet into 8 -10 pieces. Coat both sides of each piece in olive oil, then in almond dust. Place in saucepan on stovetop over medium-low heat. Cook time will vary depending on the size of each piece but will generally take between 5 – 8 minutes per side. The fish is cooked when it turns from dark coral to light pink and is fork tender.
Top salmon with a spoonful of salsa (or three or four) and enjoy this dish outdoors, with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio on the side.
Rachel Killmer Bailiff is a freelance writer who specializes in food, nutrition, and health and wellness. She produces and writes for her blog Surprisingly Satisfying found at surprisinglysatisfying.blogspot.com.