Mexican Corn Salad with Salmon (or Shrimp)

Sometimes we (and when I say "we," I really just mean "I) just get lazy.  We make great food, but forget to take a picture or we put the "recipe to blog" on a to do list that never gets done.  Or we start a blog entry with said good food and get interrupted and never quite get back to it.  So many reasons, so little time.  But I happened to bring a corn salad with salmon to my Friends of Westwood Library board meeting and people really liked it and requested the recipe.  Luckily, I had the forethought to have snapped a photo with my trusty iPhone (no fancy food styling photos for me!) and I had a few minutes to put this entry together.

I made the salad for my camping trip last weekend (sans the salmon....just served some TJ's carne asada with tortillas and the salad) and was so happy that there were enough corn salad leftovers for me to scarf down the next day for a pre dinner snack.  And while it is called "Mexican," that seems to merely be a function of the lime and jalapeño ingredients...it doesn't come off that specific in flavor.  Which is why I paired it with a simple seared and flaked salmon for the meeting.  But I think sauteed or grilled shrimp would be equally delicious.

And considering the insane amount of pork product that I ate on the camping trip (scrambled eggs cooked in bacon fat and laced with andouille sausage, anyone?) this seemed like a nice antidote to start the week off on a better foot, healthy heartwise.

I adapted the recipe from a fab blog called Serious Eats.

• Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 ears fresh corn, shucked,  (I use a pie tin to catch the kernels as I slice them vertically off the cob.)
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I was tempted to disregard this as I am not a big mayo fan, but it really really works well.)
• 2 ounces feta or cotija cheese, finely crumbled..I have also used queso fresco cheese
• 1/2 cup finely sliced scallion greens
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped (I have omitted this as not everyone is a big cilantro fan, but if I were making it just for me and Jeff, I would go nuts on this one.)
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and stemmed, finely chopped (doesn't end up that spicy...in spite of the whole pepper chopped.)
• 1 to 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced on a microplane grater (about 1 to 2 teaspoons)
• 1 tablespoon fresh juice from 1 lime
• Chili powder or hot chili flakes, to taste
• 
  

   Directions

  1.  Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering. Add corn kernels, season to taste with salt, toss once or twice, and cook without moving until charred on one side, about 2 minutes. Toss corn, stir, and repeat until charred on second side, about 2 minutes longer. Continue tossing and charring until well charred all over, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a large bowl.

 2.   Add mayonnaise, cheese, scallions, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, lime juice, and chili powder and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and more chili powder to taste. Add flaked seared salmon or shrimp.  Serve immediately.  Eat and get seconds.

Salmon Hash

Yeah, it has been a while. I swore I wasn't going to post any new recipes until I got the new iPhone, but it the phone has already sold out and I have had some good meals to share in the meantime. Plus, the webpage got some new fancy design elements for me to play with, so there you go. You can more easily access past recipes with the new template when you fool around with it. Expect many more recipes once that fancy dancy phone is in my hot little hands.

In the meantime, this recipe, adapted from my new favorite cookbook, Plenty, by Diana Henry, is all about the leftovers. Leftover salmon, leftover potatoes. But we rarely have leftover salmon since I buy it in small quantities at the Japanese market and we NEVER have leftover potatoes since they are the only vegetable my son is willing to eat happily. So I made everything from scratch before I assembled the recipe and it was still pretty easy. With real leftovers, it will be a cinch.

2 tbsp unsalted butter (I used one tbsp)
1 1/2 tsp oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 1/2 c cooked potatoes in chunks (I roasted them at 425 degrees for 20 min or so)
12 oz cooked salmon (I pan roasted it over medium high heat for 10 min or so) AND smoked salmon (NOT lox) in a 2:1 ratio
10 oz spinach leaves (yes, I just emptied a bag o' spinach for this)
salt and pepper
squeeze of lemon juice
small bunch of dill, finely chopped

1. Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet and add the onion and potatoes. Fry over medium heat until the onion is soft and golden.

2. Flake the cooked salmon into large chunks, discarding the skin and stir this in along with the smoked salmon and spinach until the spinach has wilted.

3. Season to taste, add the lemon juice and dill.

Grilled Salmon with Charred Corn Relish

First, I am going to apologize to all the folks out there who a) don't really like salmon and b) are looking for a little diversity in their blog recipes.  Because, yes, so close on the heels of another salmon recipe I am showing off one more.  And yes, this one has cherry tomatoes, too.  I know I should be a responsible blogger and spread out the salmon recipes among other more chicken/steak/pasta type recipes, but I just made this one tonight and I am too darn excited to wait.  Excited because the ingredients are so in season right this very minute and excited because it is pretty healthy and very, very delicious.  So at the risk ob sounding like a one note kind of gal, I give you Grilled Salmon with Charred Corn Relish (original publisher unknown.)

4 ears shucked corn
Cooking spray
3/4 t kosher salt DIVIDED
3/4 t pepper DIVIDED
1 pt cherry tomatoes, halved
2 T olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
3 T sliced basil
4 4oz salmon fillets

Prepare grill.  Soak corn in water for 15 minutes.  Remove and pat dry.  Spray corn on all sides w/spray oil and sprinkle with 1/4 t salt and 1/4 t pepper.  Grill for 15 minutes, turning until charred on all sides.  Remove from grill and slice kernels from cob.  Place in bowl with tomatoes, oil, vinegar, sliced basil and 1/4 t salt and 1/4 t pepper.  Let sit for 15 min.

In the meantime, spray salmon fillets with oil and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 t salt and 1/4 t pepper.  Grill for 3-4 min, flip and grill 3 min more.

Serve salmon along side charred corn relish.  Makes a great salad the next day if you are lucky enough to have leftovers.

Salmon en Papillote

adapted from Simply Organic by Jesse Ziff Cool.

This terrific salmon recipe sounded pretty weird to me (goat cheese and salmon, are you kidding?) but I took a chance with it and it turned out to be one of my favorite ways to prepare salmon.  Serve it with white rice (or brown if you are just one of those people who HAS to do the right thing) to soak up the yummy juices.  Make sure you have parchment paper for this.  I buy rectangular sheets of the stuff but you can use the rolled up grocery store stuff, too.  If worse comes to worse, foil will do as well.

4 oz goat cheese
1/2 c raisins
1/8 t nutmeg (preferably freshly grated...easy to do with big seeds and microplane grater)
1 1/2 T capers
4 salmon fillets (about 1 lb. total)
salt
freshly ground pepper
juice of one orange
2 T finely chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine the cheese, raisins, nutmeg and capers (yeah, I know it sounds weird, but it totally works!)

Cut 4 sheets of parchment, approximately one foot longish off the roll or cut a rectangular sheet in half.  Rinse the salmon and pat dry.  Place each one one fillet in each sheet, about 1 1/2 - 2 inches from one of the edges of the paper.  Sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper.

Place one quarter of the cheese mixture on top of each fillet.  Sprinkle with one quarter of the orange juice and the chives.  Fold the parchment in half and starting in one corner, make small folds to seal the  parchment paper into a half circle.  Place the packets on a baking sheet and cook for 5 minutes.

Mound some of your rice on the side of a plate and put a parchment packet on it as well.  Instruct your guests to open their packs and wait for them to say...oooh and ahhhh... because everyone likes getting a wrapped present for dinner!

Salmon with Agrodolce Sauce

from Melissa Roberts at Gourmet Magazine

yield: Makes 4 servings
active time: 15 min
total time: 35 min

"This classic Italian sauce, with its combination of balsamic vinegar and a touch of sugar, lends deep sweetness and a hit of acidity to the meaty sautéed fish." It is super crazy easy and quick to boot. I served it on Father's Day after coming home from camping. Put the salmon and the red onions on the grocery list and you should be good to go.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets (1 inch thick) with skin
• 2 medium red onions (about 1 pound total), each cut into 8 wedges
• 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar (use the cheap stuff here)
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preparation

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Pat salmon dry and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, then cook, skin side up, until undersides form a golden crust, 12 to 15 minutes. Turn fish over and cook until just cooked through, about 3 minutes more.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté onions until golden brown and crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until sauce is syrupy, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter.

Spoon onions with sauce onto plates and top with salmon, skin side down.