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Sockeye Salmon with Tomato and Basil

Tonight is the first night I’ve had sockeye salmon. I went to the fish counter at the store and saw this was at season’s peak and drastically on sale so I bought two fillets on the good faith that they would taste as good as they look. After a quick wiki search that didn’t tell me how they would taste, I decided to stick with what works with most anything. The last of the tomatoes from the garden need some special attention or they will be a special addition to the trash. Sliced tomatoes, chopped basil, salt and pepper. Keep it simple. And….then I had to do a quick search for what in the name of all that’s good and holy is that white stuff?????

I found out it’s harmless and a sign of a healthy wild fatty fish. The good fat. One that won’t turn me into a fatty (unless I eat 10 pieces a day or something). After blessing the advancement of technology or else I wouldn’t cook anything new, I went ahead and ate it.

Wow. No wonder it’s only in season a few weeks a year. The flavor is clean and not fishy at all. I should have known this couldn’t be a staple every couple of weeks. All the good food in life is either rare, requires a second mortgage, causes slow painful death, or is illegal in most states.

This was denser cut of fish but had more flavor than regular Atlantic salmon. The tomatoes roasted on top gave a sweeter background. The only thing I didn’t like was the skin didn’t get as crispy and therefore it wasn’t as easy to remove.

Just look at the color out of wrapper.

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Slice tomatoes and basil on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.

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Bake at 400* for 15 minutes.

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Now that I’ve had part of my weekly allotment of Omega 3’s, I need to use all this fantastic technology to find other ways to make sockeye. I’m not letting this fish get away.

It’s been a long hot day, but I spent most of it inside…and it was still hot. I went to crossfit this morning for workout that kicked my tail.

1000m row, 80 squats, 60 situps, 40 push ups, 20 pull ups. I was too queasy after to run, so I ran 4 miles later on the treadmill. Not ideal, but better than nothing.

Now, sleep so I can do it all again tomorrow.

Pikagirl

Wednesday 20th of July 2011

I wicked love fresh sockeye and coho salmon this time of year. I love the flavor and versatility of this fish sooooo much!

Another thing to try: pick up a bag of rainbow coleslaw or broccoli slaw mix and some citrus. Lay down a long strip of foil and toss the slaw (or chopped veggies whatever floats your boat) with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and spices up in the cabinet. Make a bed of the veggies on the foil and slice your citrus nice and thin. I like limes, my husband prefers lemons and Gazelle Boy likes oranges - it works with all of them. Lay the citrus slices on top of the veggies and then lay the salmon, skin side toward the veggies, on top of the citrus. Brush the fish with a little olive oil (or teriyaki sauce or whatever) and lay the rest of the citrus slices on top of the fish. Bring the foil up and around the fish to make a loose packet/envelope and then toss it on the grill for about 15-20 minutes. You want the fish to register 125*F on a meat thermometer. When it does, take it off the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes.

By the way, this works for cod and with winter veggies as well.