Quick, easy, healthful, scrumptious, and comes together in 30 minutes.
This is the salmon recipe you want in your arsenal. Perfect for any weeknight family meal but equally exquisite for company, this dish can be served warm, room temperature, or cold. Make it for one, two, or twelve; all the elements of the recipe scale effortlessly, from the sauce to the salad. The crisp and crunchy salad contrasts perfectly with the tender and lacquered salmon. It’s pictured here formally plated with mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach, but it doesn’t need these embellishments and could be served just as beautifully on a buffet platter. The two-ingredient sauce made of just pure maple syrup and whole-grain mustard is not just for salmon, by the way. Try it with another fish like arctic char, or chicken or pork.
Equipment: cutting board; chef’s knife; mandoline (optional); measuring spoons; dry and wet measuring cups; large mixing bowl; tongs; small saucepan; whisk; rimmed sheet pan; aluminum foil; pastry brush; offset spatula; spoon
Salad Ingredients: 1 crisp apple, julienne
¼ cup julienne radish
1 large stalk celery, julienne
juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup microgreens
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Salmon Ingredients: ½ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
4, 6-ounce pieces of salmon
2 tablespoons avocado or vegetable oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Position oven rack 6 inches from the broiler. Preheat the oven to broil. Line a rimmed sheet pan with aluminum foil. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Place the salmon on top of the seasoned foil a few inches apart from one another. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the julienned apple, radish, and celery. Toss with the lemon juice and olive oil. Season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
"Any radish will work with this recipe in terms of flavor, but watermelon radish will make the most vibrant and colorful contribution visually."
3. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the maple syrup and mustard. Cook, for 1-2 minutes undisturbed. Once the mixture begins to bubble, reduce the heat to medium and cook stirring frequently for 1-2 minutes more, or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Immediately remove from the heat.
ILOC tip: if the maple-mustard sauce is reduced too much it will become thick and tacky, too thick to brush on the salmon or spoon on the plate. Should this happen, add warm water to the sauce pan, a few tablespoon at a time and stir constantly over low heat until the sauce thins.
4. Drizzle the remaining oil over the salmon and season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the pan in the oven and broil for 2 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the oven and brush each piece of fish with the maple-mustard sauce. Return to the oven and broil for 1-2 minutes more. Remove the pan from the oven and brush the salmon with more sauce. Return to the oven and broil for 1-2 minutes more. Remove from the oven and set aside.
5. Gently toss the microgreens in the apple-radish-celery salad. Serve either beneath or atop the salmon, drizzled with the remaining maple-mustard sauce.
Makes 2 servings.
