Soy Ginger Salmon with Rice & Broccoli

Warm days are coming. And boy, do we need it. Because while many of us are still practicing stay-at-home or safer-at-home, the outdoors are a welcome breath of literal fresh air. Why not take advantage of the sunny days to come and also cook outside? And if you can—if you also have a picnic table, or even just an accommodating step, eat outside, too.

This salmon: smothered in a salty-umami-sweet-sticky sauce, is served over rice with a side of grilled broccoli. It couldn’t be more simple. But a good fillet of salmon doesn’t need much to shine, and this sauce—well, you’ll want to make some extra. Drizzle it over the broccoli for an extra pop of flavor there, too.

Soy Ginger Salmon with Rice & Broccoli

Published May 12, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoon maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon corn starch

1 teaspoon Sriracha

1 clove garlic, finely grated (on a microplane)

4 quarter-sized sliced of fresh ginger

4 four-ounce pieces of salmon

1 head of broccoli, roughly chopped into large pieces

2 tablespoons cooking oil, such as avocado or olive

Generous pinch of salt

2-3 cups rice, cooked

3 green onions, sliced

2 toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, whisk together soy sauce, maple syrup, corn starch, Sriracha, and finely grated garlic. Place on stove over medium heat. Add ginger coins, and bring to a simmer. As the sauce bubbles, it will thicken. Cook sauce, stirring frequently, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon well. Remove from heat, and use a fork or spoon to remove and discard the ginger coins.
2. Heat grill to about 450°F.
3. While grill heats, toss the broccoli with the cooking oil to coat, and season with a generous pinch of salt.
4. Use a brush to coat the top of the salmon with about half of the soy sauce mixture. Using tongs, place salmon on pre-heated grill, skin-side down, along with broccoli
5. Turn flame down to medium, and close lid, cooking the salmon for 6-8 minutes.
6. Using tongs, turn broccoli to the second side. Then, brush the salmon with remaining soy sauce mixture, and close grill lid again, cooking for another 4-5 minutes, or until internal temperature of salmon reaches 130°F, easily flakes, and is opaque in the center. Transfer to a plate and allow to rest for 1-2 minutes.
7. While the salmon and broccoli cook, prepare rice according to your preferences.
8. Divide rice among serving plates. Top with salmon and broccoli. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Serve.

Potato Galette with Lox (AKA Giant Latke)

It's hard not to immediately fall in love with a dish that is crispy, fried potatoes topped with crème fraiche and lox. Virtually impossible, really. But with a fancy name like "Potato Galette" it would be easy to be scared off by this one, because it sounds hard to make. Which is why, after explaining this dish to several people as "a giant latke," I thought it should be included in the title. 

The word galette cues visions of beautifully free-form pies in my mind's eye, but according to wiki it's a lot less specific than that. Galettes are various types of flat round or freeform crusty cakes, and this crispy potato cake a perfect fit to that description. 

Call it whatever you want. In my book, crispy potatoes = winning, and lox for breakfast (or brinner) = winning, no matter what name you give it. 

I admit, the first time I made a potato galette I was nervous it wouldn't flip out of the pan. For one, I was making it for a party -- a potato themed party, thanks for asking - and didn't want to screw it up. But also, I used a cast iron pan while most recipes recommend a non-stick. I don't own any non-stick pans though (probably hard to believe when you see how full our cupboards are), so I made do with what I had. 

On that note, no matter the pan you use, please don't hold back on the oil/butter here, even though I know it's tempting. It's what makes the potatoes crispy, and will allow you to flip the galette out the pan in one fell swoop. 

Potato Galette with Lox

Published May 15, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 6-8   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the Lamb:
• 2 Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1/4 cup avocado oil or melted butter, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 ounces lox
• 1/4 cup creme fraiche, sour cream or plain greek yogurt
• Optional, for serving: minced chives, capers

Directions:

1. Wash potatoes, and peel. Then, shred (I use a food processor (affiliate link!) for this step).
2. Heat 3 tablespoons oil or butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat until oil glistens. Tilt the skillet back and forth to cover the entire bottom.
3. When the oil is hot, sprinkle have of the shredded potato into the pan. It should sizzle a little bit as it hits — if it does not, the oil is not hot enough yet. Ensure the potato is in an even layer, and sprinkle with half of the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Using a metal spatula, press the potatoes down. Then, continue with the second half of the shredded potatoes, sprinkling them in an even layer. Top with remaining salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Again, press down with the spatula. Now, drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter or oil around the edge of the pan to help ensure it flips out easily.
4. Cover pan with lid and turn heat down to medium-low. Cook for 10-13 minutes. Potatoes should be cooked through, and browning on the bottom. Now, use the metal spatula to loosen the potato galette from the pan, working your way around the edge and under the galette. Once the galette is loose, get a plate, and flip the galette over onto the plate so that it sites browned-side-up on the plate.
5. To serve: slice into wedges, and top with a dollop of crème fraiche, minced chives, a slice of lox, and a few capers. Enjoy!

Spring Salmon Burgers Made with Canned Salmon

I loooove salmon burgers but pre-cooking a fillet and using that to make burgers -- or mincing up raw fish - is too much to ask of me on a weeknight. So, this recipe uses canned salmon instead. If you make them I think you’ll be amazed at how fancy a simple can of salmon can become with just a few extra ingredients!

Mix in fresh herbs for a burst of flavor: these burgers use parsley and fresh baby dill, which gives each bite a pop or flavor. Onion, garlic and cayenne help too!

Use something that will give the burgers a crispy crust. You can use almond flour or bread crumbs, but my favorite is cornmeal. It toasts up on the edges, giving the burgers a nice crispy finish. Plus, I pretty much always have a quarter cup of cornmeal laying around.

Keep it all together: Because this recipe uses canned salmon, you need something to glue everything together. For this recipe, you need to add an egg into the mix. If you were using raw salmon, you might be able to skip this, but here you need it.

Stir, but not too much: This is more of a personal preference. I mash the mixture with a fork, but only just enough to get the egg, cornmeal, and herbs mixed in. I try to leave some of the salmon in small chunks because it gives the final burgers a flakey texture. If you mash the fish too much, the burgers will still taste fine, they’ll just be lacking some flakiness.

Serve with a creamy, tart sauce. These are served with a lemon-yogurt and dill sauce, which brightens up the dish and compliments the herbs in the burger. Tradition tartar sauce would work too.

In these pictures, I served the burgers over baby greens with radishes and sprouts, but they'd also be fantastic over Green Machine Slaw, or Roasted Asparagus and Raw Radish Salad. Plus, a glass of rosé, which really made my canned salmon meal feel extra fancy 😉

Spring Salmon Burgers Made with Canned Salmon

Published April 17, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 3   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the Salmon Burgers:
• 1 six ounce can of salmon, juices drained
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup cornmeal or almond meal
• 1 tablespoon minced parsley
• 1 teaspoon minced dill or 1/4 teaspoon dried dill 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoon minced onion
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

For the Yougurt Sauce:
• 3 tablespoons greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh dill, minced, OR 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/16 teaspoon each salt & ground cayenne

Directions:

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine salmon, egg, cornmeal, parsley, dill, salt, cayenne, and minced garlic & onion. Using a fork, mash just enough to incorporate the ingredients, leaving the fish flakey still.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. When the oil glistens, shape salmon mixture into three equally-sized patties, about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick, and place in skillet. Cook on the first side for about 7 minutes, then, use a spatula to flip to second side. Outside should be crispy and golden.
3. While the salmon burgers cook, make the yogurt sauce: combine ingredients in small bowl and stir until smooth.
4. Serve salmon burgers as desired — on buns, over greens, etc - with a smear of yogurt sauce on top, and extra dill or cayenne if desired.