I mentioned other ways to cook salmon, but this new way is by far my favorite. Warning: It is a little scary to do at first with the super high temperature.
I got the recipe from "Forever Young" by Nicholas Perricone, where I get most of my recipes for salmon and chicken.
The recipe is called "Salmon Fillets with Puy Lentils." However, Perricone got the recipe from Williams-Sonoma New Healthy Kitchen: Main Dishes." It was featured in at least two cookbooks, so that must mean it is pretty tasty.
1 and 1/2 cups Puy lentils
1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
two tablespoons minced shallots or yellow onions (you know I used onion)
salt
4 skin on salmon fillets (4 to 6 ounces each) [I only made two]
freshly ground pepper
1 cup arugula or mixed greens (use the arugula!)
So first, lets tackle the lentils side of the recipe. The recipe calls for one and a half cups of puy lentils. What the hell are puy lentils you ask? They are "the best, most delicate lentils" and a peppery French green lentil. They were originally grown in the volcanic soils of Puy in France, but now are also grown in North America and Italy. Perricone says they are especially good in salads, because they remain firm after cooking and have a rich flavor.
I spent about two seconds looking for these lentils at my grocery store, and quickly decided the store did not carry them, so I used the lentils that are very cheap and still very delicious. Lentils are great for you -- low in fat and high in protein and fiber (plus easy to cook).
To start, you are supposed to pick over the lentils, then rinse and drain them well. I didn't bother to "pick over them" and they turned out fine.
Then, heat one tablespoon of the oil in a saucepan over high heat. Add the onion and lentils, and cook, stirring until the onions are translucent and the lentils glisten, about two minutes. I don't think my lentils started to glisten, but they did start to burn...I would recommend medium high and stir the lentils a lot.
Then, add four cups water, with some salt. Bring it to a boil, reduce it to a simmer (medium low), and cover for for about thirty five minutes.
In the meantime, take your salmon fillets and rub some olive oil on them. The recipe says a half tablespoon...I put more than that and it definitely freaked me out because the oven started smoking a bit, so I would totally recommend going on the lighter side with the olive oil. Then, coat both sides with salt and pepper. I rarely add salt to many things, but this is one time I would say add as much salt as you want -- lots of it!
Heat your oven to 500 degrees and put the salmon in a greased baking dish. This is where I got nervous...I don't think I have ever cooked anything that high!
I cooked mine for fifteen minutes and kept checking on them because the temperature freaked me out a bit. I would say if you start noticing the oil smoking a bit, turn the fan on high, and open the oven periodically so all the smoke doesn't come out at once and turn your smoke alarm on.
As you can see, I was taste testing :)
On another note entirely, I have been watching 20/20 tonight, about criminals using internet dating sites to target victims. It is pretty interesting and pretty sad. I also go to one of the gossip websites it mentioned, so it was really interesting to see how a supposedly unbiased (or maybe they don't even bother to claim that) news source can clearly pick a side. The saddest was the women and men who have been scammed on dating sites. Hard to believe it happens though -- one lady sent 20 iPhones to a man and said it was because the government was holding his gold and diamonds (whatever that means).
Tomorrow? Birds of Prey, people watching at Thomas Hammer (maybe the saturday market), and seeing if the gargoyle store is open. EXCITED!
1 comment:
That looks delish! I'm gonna have to try that. Alton Brown did the high temp with a Turkey too. You cook it on 500 degrees, then turn it down and cover it with foil till it cooks through! SOOOOO Good! We tried it on Thanksgiving and loved it. Definitely will have to try it with Salmon. :)
Post a Comment