Barbecued Salmon and an Engagement Celebration!

Spring is in the air – and it is a great time to fire up the grill and try one of Food Snob’s all-time favorite salmon recipes.  The third recipe in Food Snob’s “fish series,” Barbecued Salmon with Rosemary-Smashed Potatoes and Corn, is very user friendly and a wonderful recipe to try on family members who “aren’t sure” they like fish.  It really is hard not to like this simple and delicious dish!

But first, I digress.  Since spring is in the air, romance is also in the air, and lo and behold, Food Snob’s daughter became engaged this weekend to an amazing young man that she met four years ago at Eagle Lake Camp where they worked together as excursion camp counselors.  Food Snob could not resist sharing the photo of daughter Amelie and fiancé Jon right after they became engaged this morning – while hiking at Red Rocks amphitheater!  

We celebrated at noon with a home-cooked meal – what else would you expect from Food Snob?  She served buffalo pot-roast with spicy carrot puree, roasted beets, and asparagus.  Watch for the recipe in a few weeks – adapted from a recipe provided by favorite chef John Broening. 

Now back to the fish.  Food Snob first had this dish at Deluxe on South Broadway, a tiny little restaurant with some very wonderful food.  (If you go, try the oyster shooters!)  It was served in the summer with fresh corn cut off of the cob.  Fresh corn is not in season right now, so keep this recipe in mind when August rolls around.  Food Snob successfully substitutes good quality frozen baby corn kernels when fresh corn is not in season. 

The salmon is delicious on its own, but when Food Snob had it at Deluxe, it was served with fresh corn in a light cream sauce on the bottom of the plate, topped with mashed potatoes, and with the barbecued salmon resting on top.  Food Snob has always made the recipe this way, occasionally substituting mashed sweet potatoes, and it is delicious either way.  She has served it many times for dinner guests and it is always an elegant, company-worthy meal.

A word about the salmon – Food Snob has used Atlantic salmon and sockeye salmon in this recipe, but most recently she has used wild-caught Copper River salmon, which she found flash frozen and individually wrapped at Costco.  Some types of salmon are leaner than others, but all work well in this recipe.  Fresh or flash-frozen—and wild-caught—are important considerations in any fish recipe.

This recipe comes together quickly.  It works well on an outdoor grill, and indoor grill pan (see photo below), or in a heavy-bottom skillet.  You never turn the salmon; once the grill or pan is hot, it cooks for about 8 minutes and it is done!

To serve the corn, potatoes, and salmon together, start with the Rosemary-Smashed Potatoes.  See the recipe on Food Snob’s February 10th posting. While the potatoes are steaming, make the barbecue sauce, heat up the grill or skillet, and get the salmon ready to go.  Mash the potatoes and keep them warm.  Then put the salmon on the grill and while the salmon cooks, heat the corn. 

Since this dish is heavy on the starch side (potatoes and corn), be sure to add a green vegetable. Either roasted asparagus or a green salad would make great accompaniments.

One final word about temperature.   Do you have one of these?  

This thermometer is a lifesaver.  Food Snob bought hers at Macy’s but you can find something similar just about anywhere.  Put the probe in the thickest part of the meat, poultry, or fish, set the monitor for the desired temperature, and the thermometer will beep when the meat or fish has reached the correct temperature.  No more over-cooked fish, pork, chicken, or steak!  For salmon, the desired temperature for medium rare to medium is between 130 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Barbecued Salmon with Rosemary-Smashed Potatoes and Corn – makes four servings

Ingredient List

Barbecue Sauce:

½ cup purchased barbecue sauce (I use Kansas City original, any brand)

½ teaspoon dried mustard

½ teaspoon ground red chile (NOT chili powder)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

2 teaspoons honey

Salmon:

4 four- to six-ounce pieces wild-caught salmon

2 teaspoons olive oil

Kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper

Corn:

2 cups fresh corn, cut from the cob (about 3 ears), or 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 teaspoon olive oil, butter, or heart-healthy spread suitable for cooking

3 scallions (green onions), sliced

¼ cup half and half

½ teaspoon sugar

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

One Recipe Rosemary-Smashed Potatoes, doubled (see February 10th posting.)

Preparation:

1.     Prepare recipe for rosemary-garlic smashed potatoes and keep warm.  While potatoes are steaming, mix all barbecue sauce ingredients together.

2.     Wash and dry salmon, drizzle with olive oil and use fingers to coat each salmon piece thoroughly.  Sprinkle salmon lightly with salt and pepper.

3.     Brush grill, grill pan, or heavy-bottomed skillet lightly with olive oil or spray with cooking spray.  Preheat to medium high. 

4.     If using fresh corn, cut corn kernels off of cob and set aside.

5.     Once potatoes are ready and the grill is hot, carefully spoon the barbecue sauce on top of each salmon piece, reserving about half of the sauce to top the salmon once cooking is finished.  If salmon pieces have skin, put the barbecue sauce on the side of the salmon without the skin.  Carefully place the salmon on the grill, grill pan, or skillet – keep pieces from touching.  If your grill has a lid, put the lid down for quicker cooking.  If using a grill pan or skillet, partially cover with a lid – do not cover tightly – you need to let the steam escape. 

6.     Grill salmon about 7 to 8 minutes without turning – to about 135 degrees.  Use a thermometer if necessary.  When done, remove to a warm dish and top each piece of salmon with remaining barbecue sauce.

7.     While salmon is cooking, heat a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add olive oil or butter.  Once oil is warm or butter has melted, add scallions and sauté for about 2 minutes.  Add corn, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Allow corn to heat through (corn cooks quickly, so you just want it to get hot – no need to boil). 

8.     As soon as the corn is hot, stir in the half-and-half, allow the mixture to warm through, and taste for seasoning.

To serve on plates, layer the corn with the cream sauce, top with Rosemary-Smashed Potatoes, and top with the barbecued salmon.

Congratulations, Amelie and Jon! 

Next week’s final entry in Food Snob’s fish series features Brown Sugar- and Spice- Rubbed Salmon – this fantastic dish can be on the table in 15 minutes!

Two Dinners in Under 30 Minutes Each - You Can Do It!

Lack of time is the enemy of healthy eating.  When it is late in the day, when we have too much to do, when cooking dinner feels like yet another chore, that’s when we give into the mac and cheese, the hotdogs, the frozen dinner, or the fast food line. 

When life seems impossible, you need an arsenal of recipes that you can cook in very little time – before your energy left from the day is completely gone!  This week, Food Snob has the answer for you:  TWO recipes that can be made in 30 minutes or less.  Both have leftovers that reheat well for lunch or dinner on another night.  Both are foolproof.

The first recipe is one by J. M. Hirsch, the Food Editor for the Associated Press, which Food Snob found in the Denver Post Food Section a few weeks ago.  J. M. Hirsch says about himself:  “I’m just a dorky dad trying to feed my son a great dinner and pack him a lunch he’ll eat and I’ll feel good about . . . ” J. M. Hirsch captures the sentiments of most of us walking in the door at 6 p.m. on a weeknight – we’ve got hungry mouths to feed, even if it is only ours!  Food Snob has made J. M. Hirsch’s chicken curry several times during the past few weeks – and served it to others to great reviews – it’s a great dish to add to your weeknight repertoire.

Food Snob created the second recipe on a snowy winter evening when she craved clam chowder but didn’t have any clams in the house.  (Actually, Food Snob NEVER has clams in the house, but she craved clam chowder anyway!) Simple Fish Chowder is almost as delicious as clam chowder and tastes wonderful when freshly made and is even better the next day.  It is a wonderful “entry level” recipe for anyone who isn’t confident in his or her fish-cooking skills – TRUST me, you CAN’T ruin this recipe.  Food Snob made the chowder again Friday night as the temperatures were dropping and the snow was starting to fall – it was delicious and there was plenty left for lunch this week! 

Enjoy these recipes – and skip the fast food PLEASE!!!

Speedy and Light Chicken Curry – makes 6 to 8 servings

Recipe by J. M Hirsch, Associated Press – adapted by Food Snob

Preparation Notes:  Food Snob made this recipe once with organic chicken thighs purchased from Vitamin Cottage and once with natural chicken thighs purchased from King Soopers.  There was no comparison – the dish made with the organic chicken was much better - there is no substitute for quality ingredients!  She also made the dish once with fresh lemon grass and once with grated lemon rind.  The dish was better with the fresh lemon grass, but still very good when lemon rind was substituted.  Finally, Food Snob prepared the thighs by browning them first before adding the other ingredients.  Browning the thighs takes a little more time, but Food Snob preferred the flavor.  If you are in a hurry, skip the browning.  (J. M. Hirsch’s recipe omits the browning step.)  Better to get something on the table that is fresh and delicious!  Food Snob served the chicken curry over brown rice – when she doesn’t have time to cook brown rice from scratch, she “cheats” and uses “Success” brand brown rice, which is available at your supermarket and can be prepared in minutes while the chicken is cooking.  She served the chicken curry with steamed broccoli.

Ingredients

12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (organic preferred)

Kosher salt to taste

One 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained

1 small onion, coarsely chopped

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

½ cup light coconut milk

2 to 3 teaspoons curry powder (use less if you want a milder curry)

Three 3-inch lengths fresh lemon grass (essential ingredient – if you can’t find it, substitute grated rind from one lemon and about 1 tablespoon lemon juice

One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained (no salt preferred)

1 cup grated carrots

Directions:

1.  Heat two large skillets over medium high heat; spray lightly with cooking spray or brush with canola oil. 

2.  Meanwhile, wash and dry the chicken thighs thoroughly.  Sprinkle chicken thighs lightly with kosher salt.  Once the skillets are hot, add chicken; keep pieces from touching.  Turn chicken when golden brown; allow chicken to brown on both sides, about 10 minutes.

3.  While chicken is cooking, place roasted red pepper, onion, chicken broth, coconut milk, and curry powder in a blender or a food processor and process or puree until smooth.  Transfer to a large, heavy-bottom pot or sauté pan.  Bring mixture to a simmer over medium high heat. 

4.  Crush the lemon grass with a meat mallet or rolling pin; add to sauce.  Stir in chickpeas and grated carrots.  Add the browned chicken and nestle into the sauce.  Alternatively, if you are in a hurry, skip steps 1 and 2 and nestle the raw chicken thighs into the sauce.  Be sure the chicken thighs are immersed.

5.  Set heat to maintain a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes.  Taste for seasoning; add kosher salt as needed.  Discard the lemon grass before serving.  Serve the chicken over brown rice, if desired, with the vegetables and the sauce spooned over the top. 

Simple Fish Chowder – makes 8 servings

Preparation Notes:  Food Snob used wild-caught cod fillets for this recipe. The fillets were individually wrapped and flash frozen.  She thawed them in cold water right before cooking - only enough to get a knife through them – it is much easier to cube the fish if the pieces are still partially frozen.  If you have a gluten allergy, substitute cornstarch for the flour.  To add richness to the soup, Food Snob used one tablespoon of butter and 3 tablespoons of cream.  These ingredients add a small amount of fat but greatly improve the consistency and flavor.

Ingredients

2 slices lean turkey bacon, chopped (optional)

1 Tablespoon butter

1 onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, diced

2 carrots, grated

4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced in ½-inch pieces

Four 4- to 6-ounce pieces of wild-caught cod fillets, diced in ½ inch pieces

3 Tablespoons flour (use cornstarch if you want to make chowder gluten free)

4 cups skim milk

2 chicken bouillon cubes

¼ teaspoon smoked paprika (substitute regular paprika if you don’t have smoked)

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf

1 cup reserved potato water (see instructions)

3 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1 Tablespoon cognac (do not omit this  essential ingredient!)

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Heat a large, heavy-bottom soup or stockpot over medium high heat.  Add bacon pieces and sauté until brown and crisp.  Remove bacon pieces and drain on paper towel.

2.  Melt butter in bottom of pot; add onion, celery, and carrots.  Cut parchment paper to fit the circumference of the pot; nestle parchment paper over the vegetables and “sweat” them until soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.  The parchment paper lets out just the right amount of steam without allowing the vegetables to dry out. 

3.  Meanwhile, place potatoes in a separate pot and cover with water, add a little kosher salt.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer, cook covered until potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes.  Check with a knife.

4.  When vegetables in the soup pot have softened, stir in the browned bacon pieces and the diced cod and cook for one to two minutes.  Stir in the 3 tablespoons of flour and mix well.  Immediately add the skim milk, chicken bouillon cubes, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf.  Allow mixture to come to a boil; mixture will thicken slightly.  Reduce heat to simmer. Stir occasionally.

5.  Drain potatoes; reserve one cup of potato water.  Add potato water and diced potatoes to soup.

6.  Add the whipping cream and the cognac; season with fresh ground pepper.  Taste for seasoning and add more kosher salt if needed.  Ladle into bowls and serve with crusty bread or oyster crackers. 

Food Snob tried chef John Broening’s "Short Ribs with Smoked Ham and Horseradish Gremolata" for dinner Saturday night – substituting lean bison pot roast.  It was incredible and well worth the time in the oven.  Find the recipe at: http://www.denverpost.com/food/ci_22716668/nbsp-short-ribs-smoked-ham-and-horseradish-gremolata.

Next week Food Snob continues her fish series and features “Barbecued Salmon with Smashed Rosemary Garlic Potatoes and Corn.” This recipe is Food Snob’s attempt to emulate a dish featured at Deluxe on South Broadway – one of Food Snob’s favorite restaurants.

Eat More Fish - the Ultimate Fast Food!

Food Snob is feeling a bit clairvoyant today as she continues her series on fish – the ultimate fast food.   On Tuesday this past week, the New York Times reported the results of a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, which included THREE SERVINGS OF FISH PER WEEK, for reducing the risk of heart disease. As Mark Bittman wrote in the New York Times food section the next day: “It’s as straightforward as it is un-American: low in red meat, low in sugar and hyperprocessed carbs, low in junk. High in just about everything else — healthful fat (especially olive oil), vegetables, fruits, legumes and what the people who designed the diet determined to be beneficial, or at least less-harmful, animal products; in this case fish, eggs and low-fat dairy.”   He goes on to say . . . “This is real food, delicious food, mostly easy-to-make food. You can eat this way without guilt and be happy and healthy. Unless you’re committed to a diet big on junk and red meat, or you don’t like to cook, there is little downside.”

Food Snob agrees:  there is little downside to eating a diet composed of “real food” that you have cooked yourself.  And since cooking during weeknights is a challenge for anyone who works or has had a busy day (and aren’t most days busy days?), Food Snob introduces this week’s take on fast fish – Orange Roughy with White Wine, Tomatoes, and Spinach prepared quickly and deliciously from fresh ingredients.   

Food Snob first had a version of this dish at Maggiano’s Little Italy – it was the special at lunch one day.  Maggiano’s prepared the dish with tilapia, lightly breaded and served over a bed of spinach with tomato, white wine, and butter sauce on top.  Now, tilapia is not one of Food Snob’s favorite types of fish because tilapia is thin, cooks too quickly, and turns mushy before you have time to count to 3.  Still, the preparation was delicious and Food Snob convinced the chef to tell her how he made it.  Food Snob went home, made a few modifications (there is no butter in this recipe, for example!), and has served it many times to both guests and family members to rave reviews. 

Food Snob has tried a number of types of firm white fish to prepare this dish, including cod, halibut, and orange roughy.  Orange roughy is her favorite.  Orange roughy is a mild fish that works well with the more intense tomato, wine, and spinach flavors.  If you are new to cooking fish, orange roughy is a good choice, and it is almost impossible to ruin this dish.  Orange roughy is very forgiving, and even if you overcook your fish a little, the results will still be delicious.  Also, although the ingredient list looks a little lengthy, the dish is not difficult and comes together easily and quickly.  Gluten free note:  you can prepare the fish without the breading – the fish will lack the crunchy coating but the flavors are still delicious.

Food Snob usually serves this dish with oven-grilled potato spears, a delicious side that can be cooked in about ten minutes.  You can use either sweet potatoes or regular potatoes (such as Yukon gold) for the potato spears – if you use sweet potatoes you will need to reduce the cooking time.

Orange Roughy with White Wine, Tomatoes, and Spinach (serves 4)

Ingredient List

Sauce:

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons onion, chopped

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

½ cup white wine

1 can low-salt chicken broth

1 cup diced tomatoes (canned, organic, no-salt or fresh)

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Juice from one-half lemon

Fish:

1 Tablespoon flour

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

2 Tablespoons dried breadcrumbs

2 Tablespoons panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1 Tablespoon parmesan cheese

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 egg white

1 Tablespoon water

1 to 2 Tablespoons olive oil

4 four- to six-ounce pieces orange roughy or other firm fish

1 12-ounce bag of organic baby spinach, arugula, or one bunch rainbow chard, washed, with center stems removed and sliced thinly and leaves chopped coarsely

Preparation:

Sauce: Lightly coat a medium saucepan with cooking spray and place over medium high heat.  Add chopped onion and sauté about 2 minutes.  Add minced garlic and sauté 30 seconds.  Add chicken broth and white wine and bring to boil – reduce the sauce to about half its volume.  While broth and white wine are reducing, prepare the breading for the fish, below.  After white wine mixture has reduced, add tomatoes and bay leaf; allow the mixture to continue cooking.  Remove about 2 to 3 tablespoon of the sauce to a small bowl, allow the mixture to cool slightly.  Whisk in 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and mix thoroughly until smooth.  Add the cornstarch mixture to the wine and tomato sauce; allow the sauce to come to a boil and thicken.  Stir in the lemon juice and taste for seasoning; add salt and pepper if needed; keep sauce warm over low heat.

Breading:  To prepare breading, place flour, cornstarch, breadcrumbs, panko, parmesan, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt in a pie pan or flat dish.  In another pie pan or flat dish, mix together the egg white and water with a fork.

Fish:   Coat a large, heavy-bottom skillet with cooking spray and place over medium high heat.  Add a little olive oil (one tablespoon or less).  Wash and dry the fish pieces thoroughly and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Dip each fish piece first into the egg white mixture (coat both sides) and then into the breading mixture (coat both sides).  Don’t worry if breading doesn’t cover every single part of the fish.  The goal is to “lightly coat” the fish with the breading mixture.  Place the fish in the skillet – keep fish pieces from touching each other.  Brown the fish for about 3 to 4 minutes, depending on thickness.  When fish is golden, flip over, adding more olive oil if necessary.  The trick is to use only as much oil as is needed to brown the breading, and no more.  Cook another 3 to 4 minutes and remove the fish to a pan or casserole and keep warm.  A toaster oven set at 200 degrees works perfectly for keeping the fish warm.

Spinach:  Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium and pour in about half of the wine and tomato sauce.  Immediately add the spinach or arugula.  Stir quickly so the greens wilt evenly.  Remove from heat as soon as the greens have wilted.  If using rainbow chard, start by adding the chopped stems to the wine and tomato sauce first; cook for about two minutes and then add the chopped leaves.  Allow the mixture to cook about two to three minutes longer.  It will take longer to cook the rainbow chard than it will take to cook the spinach or arugula.

Assembly:  Divide the spinach, wine, and tomato sauce mixture between four large flat pasta bowls or plates.  Top with a piece of fish.  Pour remaining sauce on top of fish, dividing evenly among plates.  Serve potato spears on the side, if desired (recipe follows).

Oven grilled potato spears:  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line a large pan with a rim (such as an 11x15x1 inch pan) with foil; coat foil lightly with cooking spray.  Scrub one large, or two medium, potatoes (use any type of potato you would like, including sweet potatoes) – do not  peel.  Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, and then into wedges.  Place the potato wedges on the foil-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil; sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Using clean hands, mix the potatoes so they are evenly coated with the oil, salt, and pepper.  Spread them out so they are flat in the pan, one layer thick.  Bake in the oven five minutes; then remove and use a large spatula or pancake turner to flip the spears over.  Bake another 5 minutes (less for sweet potatoes).  Test for doneness and seasoning; add more salt if necessary, and bake a little longer if potatoes are not tender.  Baking time will vary depending on the thickness of the spears and the type of potato.  When potatoes are tender, remove from oven and serve. 

Next week:  Food Snob will take a break from her fish series and feature a recipe for "Quick Chicken Curry."  You can have this fantastic dish on the table in 30 minutes or less!  

Fish - Fast Food on Steroids!

OK - it's a weeknight and you just don't feel like cooking, right?  Are you thinking about making a run to the local fast food restaurant and picking up take-out? Are you thinking you might order a pizza (of course, you will have to wait while the restaurant cooks the pizza and delivers it to you . . . )?  Well, in the time it takes to jump in your car and pick up take-out, or to wait for the pizza delivery guy, you can have dinner on the table - and since you made it yourself, you will know what is in it, and it will be delicious and good for you!

Fish is Food Snob's "go-to" meal when she needs to get dinner on the table in a hurry.  Most fish and seafood cooks in about six to eight minutes, so with a simple preparation and a few sides, you can serve yourself, your loved ones, or your guests in record time.  Over the next few weeks, Food Snob will share some of her favorite fish recipes with you - most of them are from restaurants where Food Snob convinced the chef to "share."  All of them are wonderful!

Now, Food Snob knows what some of you are thinking right now - you are thinking that you don't really LIKE fish.  You may not have read further than the headline. Please read on - Food Snob would like to change your attitude about eating and preparing fish.

First, if you think you don't like fish, you probably haven't had it prepared very well.  Food Snob grew up in the west and midwest, and when she was a child (a very long time ago), high-quality fresh fish was not available, unless it was a trout caught from a local stream.  Most fish she ate was NOT fresh, or even fresh-frozen, and usually, it was overcooked.

About 10 years ago, Food Snob was told by her doctor to add fish to her diet about three times a week to help combat high cholesterol.  Food Snob did not like fish and had no idea how she would be able to eat it three times a week.  So, she started out by reading about how to cook fish and trying fish dishes prepared by restaurants.  She had some wonderful fish dishes when eating out and soon learned how to make some of them herself.  If you don't have much experience cooking fish and you need a boost of confidence, here are some tips:

• DO NOT overcook fish.  Follow cooking times carefully and err on the side of undercooking rather than overcooking.  You can always cook a little longer if necessary.  As noted above, most fish cooks in 6 to 8 minutes; very thin fish requires almost no time to cook.
• Invest in quality.  Find out from your supermarket or grocer when the fish came in, how it was transported, when it was caught, how long it has been sitting in the cooler at the fish market.  If you aren't comfortable with the answer, shop elsewhere.  
• Invest in wild-caught fish.  Studies tell us that wild-caught fish is leaner, has more protein, more omega-3 fatty acids, and has not been subjected to antibiotics and pesticides.
• Don't ignore high-quality frozen fish if it is wild-caught.  Individually-wrapped, high-quality fish frozen just after being caught can be delicious.  Thaw it in cold water just before cooking - a tip provided by my foodie-cousin Dan.  He was right.
• Wash the fish and dry it very thoroughly before preparation.  Fish will not brown if it is not dry.

The recipe that follows, "Grilled Salmon with Marinated Vegetables and Wasabi Cream Sauce," is from  Bang! restaurant in the Highland neighborhood of Denver.  Food Snob has ordered this dish at Bang! many times - and a few years ago, the recipe was featured in the food section of the Denver Post. Food Snob snapped it up.  The recipe calls for a cup of heavy cream for four servings.  That is a whopping 200 calories. 20 grams of fat, and 15 grams of saturated fat per serving - just for the sauce!  Food Snob reworked the sauce and makes it instead with a little butter, some skim milk, and fat-free plain greek yogurt.  Food Snob's modified version of the cream sauce is 56 calories, 3 grams of fat, and 2.4 grams of saturated fat per serving.  Now, Food Snob knows you are wondering whether the wasabi cream sauce made WITHOUT heavy cream is as good as the wasabi sauce made WITH heavy cream. Of course not!  But it is still darn good, and it is infinitely better for you.  If you want to splurge for a special occasion, by all means, eat the sauce with the heavy cream.  The rest of the time, make the substitution and feel good about what you are eating.

Bang! serves this grilled salmon recipe over jasmine rice.  Food Snob likes it with basmati rice.  If you have time to prepare jasmine rice, basmati rice, brown rice, quinoa pilaf, or any other type of grain, by all means, do so - the dish will be delicious.  Keep the portions of the rice or pilaf relatively small.  But if you don't have the time, focus on preparing the salmon, the sauce, and the marinated vegetables.  The combination of temperature, texture, and flavor is amazing.  These three elements will make your meal delicious and your dinner a success! 

Grilled Salmon with Marinated Vegetables and Wasabi Cream Sauce (serves 4)

Marinated Vegetables:

Prepare the marinated vegetables first.  Peel and slice thinly into a large bowl, using a box grater with slicer or a food processor:

1 english cucumber (these are the long cucumbers wrapped in plastic wrap at the supermarket)

Add to the cucumbers:

1 medium carrot, peeled and grated or julienned

1/4 cup diced red onion

2 to 3 radishes, sliced thinly

If you don't have radishes or carrots, you can leave these ingredients out.  The most important ingredients in the marinated vegetable salad are the cucumbers and the onion.  Add to the vegetables:

1/4 cup champagne vinegar (if you don't have champagne vinegar, your next best choice is white wine vinegar, and if all you have is white distilled vinegar, that works too!)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 Tablespoons sugar (or organic agave nectar, or honey)

pinch of crushed red chile flakes

Stir the vegetables and set aside to marinate while you finish the rest of the meal.  

Wasabi Cream Sauce:

To make the sauce, melt in a small saucepan over medium heat:

1 Tablespoon butter

As soon as the butter has melted, quickly add:

2 teaspoons flour (if you are on a gluten free diet, use cornstarch)

Stir the flour into the butter until the mixture is very smooth and it begins to bubble.  Remove it from the heat and add:

3/4 cup skim milk (you can use 1% or 2% milk also, if you don't have skim milk)

2 teaspoons wasabi paste (Japanese horseradish)

2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar, agave nectar, or honey

fresh ground pepper

Return mixture to the stove and allow it to boil until thick, then remove from heat and keep warm over very low heat.  Just before fish is done (explained below), add:

1/4 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt

Stir in yogurt and allow mixture to become hot, but do not boil, as the sauce will curdle easily.  Taste for seasoning; add salt, more wasabi, or more pepper depending on your taste.  NOTE:  if you decide to make this sauce with heavy cream, you simply combine 1 cup heavy cream with the wasabi paste, soy sauce, sugar, and fresh ground pepper; simmer for about 5 minutes, and adjust for seasoning.

Grilled Salmon:

To make the salmon, heat a grill pan, frying pan, or your outdoor grill to medium high heat.  Spray pan or grill lightly with cooking spray or brush with a little oil to keep fish from sticking.  Wash and dry throughly:

4 - 6-ounce pieces of skinless wild salmon fillets

Coat the salmon very lightly with olive oil (use 1 to 2 teaspoons at most). Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Grill salmon for 3 to 4 minutes per side, depending on thickness.  Food Snob prefers her salmon medium rare, with just a little bit of transparency in the center (between 125 and 130 degrees).  When salmon is cooked too long, it dries out.  Cut into fish if necessary to check for doneness.  

For each serving, place a small amount of basmati rice (if you prepared it) on the bottom of the plate or bowl and top with salmon fillet.  Drizzle each piece of salmon with about 1/4 of the wasabi cream sauce.  Top the salmon with 1/4 of the marinated vegetables, draining them thoroughly (use a fork or a slotted spoon) and serve.  Food Snob added baked asparagus to her salmon dish in the photo above.  See her February 10, 2013 blog posting for the recipe, which takes all of 5 minutes.  

Nutritional information for one serving of salmon, wasabi cream sauce, and marinated vegetables:  438 calories, 20.5 grams of fat (most of which is heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids), of which 4.33 is saturated fat.

Bang! is participating in Denver Restaurant Week if you decide you want to try this delicious salmon dish "in person."  Watch for next week's featured fish recipe: Orange Roughy with White Wine Sauce, Spinach, and Grilled Potato Spears.