After being away for a week I was dying to cook dinner. My fish monger, Sun Fat, is fantastic and since I hadn’t been in a while heading over there to pick up dinner was definitely part of my plan. Usually I let the fish dictate what I will make, but I really wanted some wild salmon. I found this glorious Bobby Flay recipe for grilled salmon with a morel vinaigrette, and decided this would be the recipe.
Wild salmon is not cheap nor are morel mushrooms, so I knew that I had to make this recipe perfectly. I am not particularly comfortable grilling salmon, even though the recipe calls for it. Instead of grilling, I decided to cook my fish in a pan on the stove top and then finish it off in the oven. This decision turned out to be a great one. The recipe is for 4 people, however there are only 2 of us so I cut the recipe in half when I made it.
Ingredients:
2 (8-ounce & 1 1/4 inch thick) wild salmon fillets (must use wild or very strong flavored salmon to match the other flavors)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Heat pan on high heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the pan. Brush salmon on both sides with oil and season with salt and pepper. Place salmon skin side down in to pan and lower the heat to med-high, cook 2 minutes. Carefully turn the salmon over and cook another 2 minutes. Put the pan in to the oven and cook another 4 minutes. After removing the pan from the oven let the salmon sit in the pan another 2 minutes. The residual heat will keep it cooking a little longer and you will end up with a piece of salmon cooked med-rare to medium. Plate fish and top with vinaigrette.
Morel Vinaigrette:
Ingredients:
2 ounces dried morel mushrooms
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar
1/2 small shallot, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Directions:
Place morels in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let sit until soft, about 30 minutes, then drain, reserving liquid, and coarsely chop.
Whisk together vinegar, shallot, mustard and salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified. Use a little of the morel soaking liquid to thin, if needed. Fold in the mushrooms and parsley.
A link to Bobby Flay’s original recipe:
Grilled Salmon with Morel Vinaigrette
