Thursday, January 15, 2009

Honey Chile glazed Salmon with Blackberry Salsa




This was one of those rare nights when my husband wasn't home and I could make fish. I'm sure I CAN make fish any night, but Ace doesn't like the smell, or look, or idea of fish. Not a fish fan. I on the other hand, could eat salmon all day. I love the way it tastes. I fished endlessly every summer as a kid. My perfectly amazing dad is an avid fisherman. Oh dad. There are really no words wonderful enough to describe him...

Back to the Salmon. So we had this for dinner last night. Aside from tasting divine and taking me back to fishing with my dad, it was also very healthy. I wanted to share this with everyone. It seems like there is always a need for something new and different. The rice (notice it's green...) was mixed with a tasty tomatillo salsa. A recipe my dear friend Tara found and is wonderful. It came from: http://laylita.com/recipes/2009/01/05/quinoa-with-tomatillo-and-cilantro-sauce/ ...but we used rice. Laylita also made a version of salmon and pomegranate salsa. After searching 3 stores for a pomegranate... I went with my blackberry salsa. How I found blackberries for under a dollar in January I don't know. They where at a local farmers market. I only used a cup, because I ate the rest...I have an uncanny weakness for a good blackberry. Salmon Honey glaze is my recipe too. Here's the scoop...

Blackberry Salsa:
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 green onion, diced
2T lemon juice
1 clove garlic, pressed
dash of salt, pepper
1/4 tsp ancho chile powder

Toss together lightly. Set aside.
Honey Chile Salmon glaze
1/4 cup honey ( I used a buckwheat wildflower honey from Arizona...oh yum)
3 cloves of pressed garlic
zest of 1 lemon or lime
2 tsp ancho chile powder
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
2 T lemon juice
2 tsp salt
Combine together and spread over salmon (I used 2 lbs, cut into 4 steaks without skin). Allow to marinate (fridge...2 hours).
Salmon should be on parchment paper. I also chopped a couple bell peppers and put them around the salmon before I baked it. (350 15-20 minutes...depending on the thickness of the steaks).

Once baked, transfer to a plate and serve with the tomatillo rice or quinoa. Enjoy!!

6 comments:

Kathy said...

That looks great, and aside from the honey i could even eat it...if I liked fish. Sorry Steph i must have been cut from the same cloth as Ace - fish is not an option for me, but I bet Joe would absolutely ♥ this one! :o)
I could do it to chicken...

Goob said...

If you were to ask me "whats your favorite food" I would not answer like most people (mexican, italian, pizza, etc.) I would answer BLACKBERRIES! I used to say either blackberries or mangoes, but now its just blackberries. I can't think of anything I'd rather eat. As for the honey/chile, I'll have to think about that because I recently made the honey-chile chicken enchiladas and I did not love them, but this is a different application, so we'll see. ;)

Goob said...

oh, that's not YOUR honey-chile enchiladas by the way, so don't anybody go looking around for Tess' honey chile enchiladas, because they aren't here...lol

Chef Tess said...

Kathy. I really need to do more low carb stuff for you. Sorry. We do love our carbs around here.

My cave hair friend...the more I read from you the better I feel about my garlic, blackberry and bread obsessions. When is that garlic festival anyway?

Shellee said...

Funny, I would list Ahi Tuna and Salmon as my favorite food in the world.
My BIG question is THIS: WHY, OH WHY would you substitute rice for the quinoa?!? We like quinoa so much more than rice in this house. We eat it with spaghetti sauce and parmesan cheese. It's a superfood, so I ask you, WHY!?!?

Chef Tess said...

Shellee! I love you! So honest and real. We love quinoa sooo much too. I was SO starving when I made dinner that I knew I couldn't wait for it to cook...you're lucky I didn't eat it before I took the final picture. Seriously...that two minutes almost killed me. I had cooked rice in the fridge so it was the practical "have to eat NOW" side of me. I'm with you on the quinoa though...it is awesome!