Jamie was watching some Kevin Bacon as a stockbroker-turned-bike-messenger-turned-stockbroker-again movie from the 80s when I got down from putting Jane in her crib. Maybe watching is the wrong word—the TV was on for noise as she folded clothes. But there’s nothing on at 1:30 on a Saturday, which may be why Kevin Bacon was on.
Eventually, when we noticed the movie was still on, she told me I could change the channel. The problem was, it was 1:30 on a Saturday. I finally stopped on a PBS cooking show, as I finished up the week’s menu. I picked five meals, plus fish for that night. I couldn’t find a fish I wanted, so I figured I’d do something with whatever Whole Foods had to offer.
And as I was getting up, I glanced at the TV, and was transfigured. They were making a gorgeous salmon dish, one that used chopped mint. And I’m a sucker for mint. I haven’t done salmon in a while, and never a salmon steak. And salmon is fish, so it was perfect. It was a simple dish, but I didn’t move until the next recipe. We had it tonight. It’s a perfectly springy dish; we had it with lemon spinach couscous, but it would great with quinoa, too. Below, the recipe. (I meant to include a photo, too, but we were running late, so we ate rather than photograph, and were still fifteen minutes late.)
Mint-rubbed Salmon Steaks with Zucchini
For the rub:
One or two clove of garlic, smashed and minced
A handful of mint leaves (say 1/3 cup), chopped
A tablespoon or so of dried oregano
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
For the vegetables:
Two zucchinis, halved and cut into quarter-inch portions
A handful of grape tomatoes, halved
4 green onions, cut into ½ inch sections
Preheat oven to 425
Rub both sides of salmon steak with half of the rub. Put salmon in an oven-proof skillet, then in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
While the salmon cooks, heat olive oil in another skillet. Sauté the zucchini for a couple minutes. Add tomatoes, green onions, reserved rub. Continue to cook for 1 minute.
Plate nicely—I divided the plate into three parts, the couscous on a third of the plate, vegetables on another third, and salmon on the final third. The green, red, and pink (of the salmon) look great. Enjoy!
If only my wife liked fish…
I am going to have to try it – This sounds great! I never do an intresting Salmon recipies…