Just one week ago we returned home from a Montana vacation / reunion with my siblings / our anniversary celebration / and upon our arrival from Bozeman to LA , a celebratory brunch in honor of the engagement the evening before of our older son and his girlfriend! Whew!
Yes, we really did celebrate all of the above. So needless to say, it was a pretty good week!
In the car on our way back home to San Luis Obispo my husband and I had an opportunity to blissfully rehash all that had happened.
I would like to think it was all this excitement that caused him to miss our exit, which resulted in neither of us realizing it until it was too late, which resulted in us taking a different route back, one we had not previously traveled, much longer, much hotter, and much less scenic!
But we made it home to begin our 46th year together with the upcoming weddings of both of our sons to look forward to in 2016!
Having done very little cooking on vacation but plenty of eating, I decided we were due a fairly healthy beefless dinner…Montana is known for its Big Sky and its beef, after all, and we enjoyed more than our share of each.
So when I saw this recipe in the new Food and Wine Magazine that topped the pile of mail awaiting us, i defrosted the sockeye salmon fillets I had in the freezer for dinner the next evening.
I adapted the recipe to suit the ingredients I had on hand, and it was pretty delicious. I especially love the cucumber salad, and lately I have a thing for tarragon.
The salmon is simply pan-seared with olive oil, salt and pepper, crispy on the outside (eat the skin, too, it is delicious, and full of healthy fats), and moist on the inside.
Pan-Seared Salmon with Tarragon Cucumber Salad
(adapted from Seared Salmon with Anise-Cucumber Salad, Food and Wine, Sept, 2015)
Four 6-ounce skin-on sockeye salmon fillets
Kosher salt and pepper
4 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup celery, thinly sliced with some leaves
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, chopped (basil, optional)
1 tablespoon anise seeds
¼ – 1/3 cup sour cream ( creme fraiche, optional)
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I used Meyer lemons)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and let stand for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a colander, toss the cucumbers, onion, anise seeds and 2 teaspoons of salt. Let stand for 30 minutes.
3. Gently squeeze the cucumbers dry. In a medium bowl, whisk the sour cream or creme fraiche with the lemon juice. Add the cucumbers, onion, and celery, and mix well. Then gently stir in the parsley and tarragon.
4. In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the salmon, skin side down, and flatten gently with a spatula. Cook over moderate heat until the skin is crisp, 4 minutes. Flip and cook until opaque throughout, 3 minutes. Serve with the salad.
