sybaritesauvage   Uncorking a Mind Twisted by Wine, Food, Love & Remembrance

The wild-caught Sockeye Salmon looks very good in the markets at this time.  Last night I prepared it as a late al fresco supper for ourselves.  The preparation is relatively simple: seasoned with salt and pepper and pan-seared over high heat in a touch of peanut oil.  Once seared I poured a simple teriyaki sauce over the salmon and cooked it a while longer till the sauce glazed the salmon.  I served the salmon over a bed of sautéed vegetables found in my refrigerator: haricot vert and thinly sliced fennel and green onion. 

By the time dinner made it outside, Ms. R had lit up the deck with all manner of tealights and candelabra.  We sat there to the envy of the neighborhood.  Explain to me why I should ever go out to eat again.  It gets harder and harder to justify.

The fennel worked in counterpoint to the salmon in a very complementary manner.

Kokomo Peter’s Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008.  What else could we drink with this salmon dish?  Translucent red juice with gorgeous red fruits– raspberry, cranberry and a little something more.  Acidity to offset the sweetness of the teriyaki glaze on the sockeye.  All of it wrapping my tongue in a silky red robe.  Joy in a bottle.  Rated ***

Pan-Seared Teriyaki-Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:

For the Teriyaki Glaze:

• 1 tsp. peanut oil
• 1 garlic clove minced and mashed with the side of a knife into a paste
• 1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
• 1/4 cup Ponzu (citrus flavored soy sauce)
• 1/8 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup Mirin (sweetened sake)
• 2 tbsps. honey

For the Salmon:

• 1 lb. of fresh sockeye salmon cut into 1/2 lb. pieces
• 2 tsps. of peanut oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. In a saucepan, heat up 1 tsp. of peanut oil and saute the garlic and ginger without out burning
2. Add the Ponzu, Rice Vinegar and Mirin and bring to a boil– reduce heat to a low simmer.  Add Honey and stir to dissolve.
3. Taste and adjust the sweetness/acidity to your liking by adding more of one of the 4 ingredients in step 2
4. Reduce the sauce by about one-quarter
5. While the sauce is reducing, saute the salmon skin side up in the remaining 2 tsps. of peanut oil.  After the salmon has browned (about 3-5 minutes), turn it over carefully with a spatula so as not to break it apart.  Cook for another 3 minutes.
6. Turn down the heat to low and pour the hot teriyaki sauce over the salmon shaking the frying pan to prevent the sauce from burning which it will do if you’re not careful.  At this point, you want the sauce to turn into a glaze so do not turn you back on the stove as you will go from glaze to burned dinner in an instant.
7. After the sauce reduces further into a glaze, plate the salmon over the vegetables

Serves 2.

© Sybarite Sauvage

Sautéed Fennel, Green Onion and Haricot Vert

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsps. of peanut oil
• 2 cups haricot vert (French green beans) 
• 1 fennel bulb thinly sliced
• 4 green onions (scallions) thinly sliced diagonally

Steps:

1. Heat up the oil in a hot wok
2. Add Fennel and Green Onion and stir fry for one minute
3. Add the haricot vert and season with salt and pepper
4. Continue stir frying until done
5. Remove to serving platter/dinner plates

Serves 2.

© Sybarite Sauvage