Cedar Planked Salmon
This is a simple, but yummy dish for Fridays (or any day). You need to soak the plank (cedar, maple or alder are all good) at least an hour or two before you put it on the grill. You could soak it up to 12 hours if needed.
In a small bowl, stir together the sea salt, black pepper, sweet paprika and cayenne pepper. Place your salmon skin side down, and sprinkle liberally on top with the spice mixture. Drizzle olive oil over top and refrigerate until you're ready to use it (up to 2 hours).
Fire up the grill on medium heat. Be sure to have a spray bottle of water at the ready to extinguish any flare ups on the plank (don't panic, this happens usually several times during the cooking, but it's perfectly normal!)
Put the plank on the grill, close the lid, and heat it until the plank begins to smoke and crackle. Place the salmon, skin side down on the plank. Close the lid and grill about 20 minutes, or to your liking. It will be completely cooked when it flakes with a fork. Transfer salmon to plates and drizzle with lime juice. Serve immediately. Try it with the Pico de Gallo (recipe follows).
Cedar Planked Salmon
1 lb. salmon with skin (wild caught, not farmed), cut into three or four pieces
1 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 lime, juiced
serves 3 or 4, depending how large you like your pieces of salmon
Pico De Gallo
This is a fresh salsa I've been making for years. It's delish, and healthy to boot, especially since we'll be scooping it up with freshly baked tortilla chips!
Let's make up a batch, it's super easy.
Chop a pound or so of plum tomatoes into chunks about 1/2" size (tiny multi-colored heirloom cherry tomatoes would work well too, just cut them in half, quarters if they're large) . Then slide them into a large bowl. Sometimes I've cheated and pulsed the tomatoes in the food processor if I'm lazy, but the texture doesn't turn out the same - so if you've got the time, chop them the old fashioned way.
Mince a clove of garlic and add it to the bowl. Then add 1 finely chopped jalapeno pepper (no seeds!). If you're brave, you might try serrano peppers - they pack a wallop. I'm a wuss, so I stick with jalapenos. Oh, be sure to wash your hands after touching the jalapenos (or wear the nitrile or non latex gloves to chop with). Once I forgot and rubbed my eye - never made that mistake again - boy did that burn!
Chop up half of a large vidalia onion and add it (if you like more onion, throw the whole thing in). Grab a handful of cilantro and chop it (eyeball it - about a 1/2 cup), then add it to the bowl too.
Now grab some limes, roll them back and forth on the counter with the palm of your hand a few times (makes juicing easier and more productive), then squeeze the juice into the bowl. Add sea salt to taste and sit aside to let those flavors marry a few minutes while you make the tortilla chips. You'll notice I use a lot of lime - well, I like salsa that way. But you can use as little or as much as you want - just add it to suit your taste.
Pico de Gallo:
1 1b. plum (aka Roma) tomatoes, or cherry heirloom tomatoes, chopped in half or quarters if large
1 clove garlic, minced
about 1/2 of a large vidalia onion, chopped
1 handful of cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeno or serrano pepper, chopped - no seeds!
juice of 5 or 6 limes
Now, if you've got time, you can make some homemade baked tortilla chips in 20 minutes. Oh what was I thinking, I got this backwards. I should have said make the tortilla chips first, then whip up the pico de gallo while they bake. Anyway, here's how:
Baked tortilla chips dusted with garlic, cumin and coriander
1 pkg. corn tortillas (if you can find them, use a combination of yellow, white and blue corn tortillas)
canola oil
sea salt
cumin
garlic powder
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (love that stuff). Dip a pastry brush in canola oil and brush both sides of tortillas with it. Stack 6 tortillas on top of each other and using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into six wedges. Spread them out in a single layer on the cookie sheets. Sprinkle a little cumin, garlic powder, and sea salt on top and pop 1 sheet at a time into the oven (if you're blessed like me, you have double ovens so you can do both at once). Bake for about 8 minutes on one side, flip them over with tongs, and bake an additional 8 minutes or until crisp and lightly golden. Let cool slightly and dig into that pico de gallo! Enjoy! These chips are best if eaten the same day they're made.
Via con Dios amigas!
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