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PAN ROASTED SALMON

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound piece Scottish farm raised or wild in season salmon fillet, skin removed
  • Pure olive oil or peanut oil for sautéing
  • Garnish: lime (or lemon) twists, thyme

    Marinade:

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne
  • 2 cloves of sliced garlic
  • 1 1/2 tsp minced ginger
  • 1 tbsp chopped cilantro leaves and part of the stem (or parsley if you don't like cilantro, if using parsley, then use just the leaves)

    Procedure:

    Rinse and dry the salmon fillet on paper towels. Place it on a plate. Pre-heat oven to 400°.

    Rub the fish down on both sides with 1 tsp. of olive oil. Mix together the salt and cayenne, then spinkle on the fish. Make slits in the salmon and insert the slices of garlic. This is to prevent the garlic from burning and becoming bitter. Sprinkle on the ginger and cilantro. Allow to marinate at room temperaturefor 30 minutes or up to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

    Open the window, as this dish will create smoke. Place a well seasoned iron skillet over high heat for 2-3 minutes. Add pure olive oil. Immediately after, place the salmon (presentation side down) in the center of the skillet and cook over high heat for 2 minutes. After about 2 minutes, loosen the salmon with a spatula. If the salmon resists, wait another 30 seconds to 1 minute, until you can loosen the salmon easily.

    Then, "Jiggle, Flip and Slide". That's one of the Karen Lee chants. Jiggle the spatula back and forth to see if it is easy to loosen the fish from the skillet. If it is then flip the fish onto a second spatula, and slide it off onto the skillet. Sauté another 2 minutes.

    Turn off the heat. Place in oven for 3-4 minutes to finish cooking if necessary.

    Remove the salmon to a serving dish. Add a dash of lemon or lime juice, sprinkle with a little salt and drizzle with 2 tsp. of extra virgin oil.

    Finish with a lime thyme garnish: slice a lime thinly into circles, then cut each circle in half. Alternate sprigs of thyme and half circles of lime surrounding the fish.