GRILLED SESAME GINGER SALMON

I've been trying to get this recipe posted for a few weeks.  First, a repetitive stress injury flared up, making computer work impossible.  Then I sliced my finger by accident and the bandage was so large, I couldn't type.  The bandage is off, but my shoulder and neck are still acting up, so I'm not sure how much typing I'll be doing this summer.  (Before you all start telling me how to treat this RSI, please know that I have a chiropractor, massage therapist and a physiatrist all working on it.  And I alternate cold packs with moist heat.  I also use Biofreeze.)

This is my own recipe, one that I’ve developed through trial and error.  I like it a lot.  The marinade has a citrus-y, lightly sweet flavor with spicy heat. 

Of course, you can cook the salmon inside in a skillet, in the oven, or under the broiler instead of outside on the grill.  I always make sure I have enough for leftovers, because it’s great the next day, cold and cut up in a tossed salad.  Let me know what you think.

Grilled Sesame Ginger Salmon Rating:  9.5 out of 10

MARINADE: 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger 1/2 tsp. grated fresh garlic 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil 1/2 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest 1 Tbsp. lemon juice  3 Tbsp. Ponzu citrus-seasoned dressing and sauce big pinch of crushed red pepper 1 Tbsp. honey 1/4 tsp. kosher salt 1/8 tsp. white pepper 1/2- 3/4 lb. Alaskan wild-caught salmon fillet, center cut additional 1/4 tsp. kosher salt and 1/8 tsp. white pepper 2 tsp. freshly chopped parsley 1/2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds (or more if desired) Combine marinade ingredients in resealable plastic bag, reserving about 1 Tbsp. for basting. Add fish; seal bag.  Marinate 30 minutes, or up to 1 hour.  Remove fish from marinade; sprinkle with additional 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/8 tsp. white pepper.  Grill, skin side down, on hot (400-425F) grill, 8-10 minutes, or till red in center, basting with reserved  marinade if desired.  Transfer to plate and keep warm for 5-6 minutes.  (I put mine in the microwave, turned off, of course.)  Before serving, garnish each piece of salmon with parsley and sesame seeds.  Yield:  2-3 servings

MOM AND DAD’S MAPLE-GLAZED SALMON

Here’s an easy recipe for salmon.  You can cook it in the oven, but I prefer cooking mine on the grill.  The spices impart a smoky flavor with some heat; and the maple syrup adds that little touch of sweet. 

Mom and Dad’s Maple-Glazed Salmon Adapted from Penzey’s Rating:  8 out of 10 PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:  4 (6 oz.) salmon fillets 1 tsp. Hungarian sweet paprika (Szeged, preferably) 1 tsp. chili powder 1 tsp. ground ancho pepper (I used chipotle) 1/2 tsp. ground cumin 1/2 tsp. brown sugar About 1 tsp. sea salt 1 tsp. pure maple syrup (I used 1 Tbsp.) Rinse fillets under cool running water; pat dry with paper towels.  Combine spices and sugar.  Sprinkle the fish with the sea salt; rub with the spice mixture.  Place salmon on broiler rack lined with tinfoil or coated with cooking spray.  Broil for 8-10 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.  Drizzle with maple syrup about 1 minute before fish is cooked.  For grill:  Place salmon, skin side down, on hot grill (about 400-425F) over indirect heat.  Cook for about 8 minutes, or till fish is done.  (Note:  Salmon is best when it’s slightly undercooked, or red in the middle.  It will continue to cook as it sits.)

TANDOORI-SPICED SALMON WITH CILANTRO-MINT DRIZZLE

Salmon gets to be like chicken after awhile -- boring unless you find new recipes. This one is courtesy of Coastal Living Magazine, April 2009, and it's anything but boring. The flavors are decidedly different and perky, a nice change from the same old, same old. It starts with a rub before grilling, then a mixture of herbs and flavorings provide a drizzle to accompany each bite. This one's a keeper.

Tandoori-Spiced Salmon with Cilantro-Mint Drizzle
Source: Coastal Living Magazine
Rating: 8 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: TANDOORI RUB:
1 tsp. curry powder (yellow, mild Indian curry powder)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
1/4 tsp. sugar

Combine all ingredients in small bowl.


CILANTRO-MINT DRIZZLE:
2 cups fresh cilantro
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup slivered toasted almonds
2 tsp. grated peeled ginger
1-1/2 tsp. lime juice
1/4 - 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and chopped
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. chopped garlic
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup canola oil

Combine all ingredients except oil in work bowl of food processor; pulse till smooth. Add oil in slow, steady stream through chute with motor running. Cover; let stand at room temp 30 minutes. Makes 1 cup. Use as dip for veggies, pot stickers, or samosas, in addition to serving over top of fish

Sprinkle Tandoori rub evenly on tops of four (6-8 oz.) salmon fillets. Grill to desired doneness (best if slightly undercooked, just a bit red in the centers). Top fillets with cilantro-mint drizzle and a dollop of Greek yogurt, if desired. Serve with Basmati rice. Yield: 4 servings

EASY GRILLED SALMON

This is about as easy as it gets. All I did for this piece of wild-caught salmon fillet was mix equal parts of Lawry's Louisiana Pepper Marinade with honey. I marinated the salmon in the mixture while the grill was heating, then grilled it, skin-side down, for about 8 minutes on a very hot grill (about 425F), till fish was just a little red inside. Served on a bed of fresh baby spinach, this was delicious. I had some left over, so I mixed it with leftover
seafood salad for lunch the next day and enjoyed it again. Can't go wrong with salmon. It's so satisfying, so good for you and so yumm-o.

ROASTED or GRILLED SALMON WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND FIGS

My husband was waxing nostalgic recently, after I mentioned that our local Harris Teeter had fresh figs. He told me about his uncle, who had a fig tree in Trenton, New Jersey; and how he enjoyed eating the fresh figs from his uncle's tree.

So I bought him some figs. And he kept forgetting to eat them. So I salvaged the figs with this recipe and some nice wild-caught salmon.

I felt like I was eating at a 5-star restaurant with this entree. The sweetness of the caramelized onions
and the delicate figs with the herbs and wine -- voila, magnifique! After I finished, I thanked my hubby for not eating his figs.

Really, try this recipe...it's wonderful...and this is one for which you need no special equipment. You can grill the salmon as I did, or you can roast it in a 450F oven for 7-10 minutes, till it's medium-rare. And if you have leftover salmon, it makes great sandwiches; or use it as a salad topping.

This would also make a nice company dish because it's special. It's not much work. The hardest part is waiting for the onions to caramelize. You can't rush them or they won't develop that sweetness that makes them so special. But if you have some patience, you will be amply rewarded.

----Roasted or Grilled Salmon With Caramelized Onions and Figs
(Recipe #103255, recipezaar)
(Rating: 9 out of 10)
INGREDIENTS: 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups peeled, halved and thinly sliced Vidalia onion
Sea salt, to taste
8 fresh figs, washed, stemmed, cut in half
1/2 cup drinking quality dry white wine
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
fresh ground black pepper
1-1/3 lb. salmon fillet, skinned, cut into 4 portions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in bottom of large, heavy skillet or saute pan. Add onions and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. salt. Cover and cook over medium-low-heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft,about 10 minutes. Remove cover and cook, stirring often, until onions are golden, 20-25 minutes.

Stir in figs, wine, broth, vinegar and fresh rosemary. Increase heat to high
and simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. (My sauce never thickened.)
Adjust seasonings, adding more saltand/or pepper as needed. Keep the fig sauce warm. Cook salmon, either in the oven or on a charcoal grill, cooking only till rare and seasoning the salmon only with sea salt and pepper. Serve the salmon over the fig sauce and sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley. Serves 4

ORANGE-MUSTARD GRILLED SALMON

I'm not crazy about fish, except for salmon and tuna. I gravitate towards wild-caught salmon because it's not supposed to have mercury. (Farm-raised salmon that has been fed pellets and antibiotics holds no interest for me; our local Harris Teeter offers organic farm-raised salmon, but it can't match the flavor of wild-caught.) I'm always looking for new ways to enjoy salmon. I eat it alone, because Guy prefers crustaceans, and calls them "fish." I told him they're seafood, not fish because they have no fins. He doesn't care, he still calls them "fish." In fact, crustaceans and mollusks are the only types of seafood he really likes, neither of which are fish, and both of which are high in pollutants and should be avoided. But Guy has never been persuaded by statistics or facts, and says that both our sets of parents ate whatever they wanted and lived into their 80's and 90's. So I eat salmon alone. And inspiration hit me this week when I grilled some. This marinade recipe is really good and works well with the mild flavor of salmon. (And, P. S., on the same night, I made a different very good lemon marinade for Guy's wild-caught shrimp. He made it into a "shrimp-ka-bob" with pepper and onions and was a very happy guy.)

ORANGE-MUSTARD GRILLED SALMON

2 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. orange juice concentrate
2 Tbsp. honey mustard (I used French's)
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. minced fresh garlic
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 pinches sea salt and pepper
1 wild-caught salmon fillet with skin on bottom (allow 6 oz. per person because of the skin)

In resealable plastic bag combine all marinade ingredients and massage to distribute well. Add salmon. Close bag and refrigerate for 1/2 hour. Grill, covered, skin-side down, at 400F over a turned-off burner with your other burners providing heat. Allow about 6-7 minutes, turning salmon over midway through cooking time. When you flip it over, the skin will come off. (The marinade is thick, and the recipe above should provide enough for 2 servings, or about 12 oz. of salmon.)

SMOKED PAPRIKA ROASTED SALMON WITH WILTED SPINACH

The good people at McCormick have developed a salmon recipe that's quite good. It's supposed to be roasted in the oven, but I grilled it outside. And I don't have any smoked paprika, only regular paprika. Since I want to use the regular paprika up before I buy anything else, I subbed with half regular paprika, half chipotle chile pepper, thinking I would get the smokiness and a little heat which I like. Since I have fresh thyme in my herb garden, I used that instead of the dried thyme. Lastly, I had my spinach in a salad, instead of wilted under the salmon. Even with my changes, I liked this. It's a welcome change from the norm. The leftovers made a great sandwich the next day. I'm giving you McCormick's recipe as written, with none of my changes. More recipes are available at their website -- go to this link: http://mccormickgourmet.com/.

Smoked Paprika Roasted Salmon with Wilted Spinach

INGREDIENTS: 1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. olive oil, divided
2 tsp. McCormick Gourmet Collection Thyme leaves, divided
2 lbs. salmon fillets
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. McCormick Gourmet Collection Smoked Paprika
1 tsp. McCormick Gourmet Collection Saigon Cinnamon
1 tsp. grated orange peel
1/2 tsp. McCormick Gourmet Collection Sicilian Sea Salt
1 bag (10 oz.) spinach leaves

DIRECTIONS: Mix orange juice, 2 Tbsp. of the oil and 1 tsp. of the thyme in small bowl. Place salmon in large glass dish. Add marinade; turn to coat well. Cover. Refrigerate 30 min. or longer for extra flavor. (I marinated for 1/2 hour and couldn't taste any of the marinade, so I think a longer marinating -- 2-3 hours would give better results. Also, I put everything in a plastic resealable bag instead of a dish.)

Mix sugar, paprika, cinnamon, orange peel, remaining 1 tsp. thyme and sea salt in small bowl. Remove salmon from marinade. Place in greased foil-lined baking pan. Discard any remaining marinade. Rub top of salmon evenly with smoked paprika mixture.

Roast salmon in preheated 400 degree F oven 10-15 minutes, or til fish flakes easily with a fork. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tsp. oil in large skilled on medium heat. Add spinach; cook and stir 2 min., or til wilted. Serve salmon over spinach. Serves 8.

GRILLED MARINATED SALMON

Here's an easy recipe for salmon marinade that gives the fish a nice flavor:

Grilled Marinated Salmon

INGREDIENTS: 1/4 cup honey
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. crushed fresh garlic
1-1/2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sea salt
2-3 fresh salmon fillets or steaks
DIRECTIONS: Mix all ingredients in a medium resealable plastic bag. Massage to combine well. Add fish and massage again to cover fish well. Refrigerate 5-10 minutes or up to 1 hour, no longer. Remove fish from marinade and place on hot grill (400-450 degrees F.) Depending on thickness, salmon should take no longer than about 8 minutes. It should be pink in center (rare) and will continue to cook as it stands. I like to spray a piece of aluminum foil with non-stick cooking spray and cook the salmon on that. Clean up is easier because the skin doesn't stick to the grill grates. However, as you can see, there are no appetizing grill marks when cooked this way. If you care about that, just grill the salmon, skin side up, for a minute or so or until a nice grill mark shows, then flip it over and put it on the tinfoil to finish cooking. Any leftover salmon makes a great lunch the next day (salmon salad, or green salad with salmon or salmon sandwich)