Salmon Provençal

Lucky Day -- my
fishmonger
ticket showed
my birthday
#Maythe4thbewithyou

As we have started spending most weekends (and the occasional weekday evening) at our Fairhaven house near maritime New Bedford -- where we even have a favorite fishmonger -- it is rare for us to eat seafood at our landlocked home in Bridgewater. It is even rarer that we would buy seafood here, so far (almost 20 miles) from the ocean. (This is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but increasingly true.)

Every once in a while, though, circumstances lead to me bringing some seafood to Bridgewater, and when I suggested that I might do so today, Pam looked up a couple of NY Times salmon recipes she had saved. When she read the ingredients list to me, I decided to try Provençal Salmon With Fennel, Rosemary and Orange Zest. The recipe's title is essentially its shopping list, though I'm not sure what it has to do with Provence. 

Fennel, rosemary, orange zest

I followed the recipe rather carefully, including asking the expert at Kyler's Catch to skin the salmon fillet I had chosen. I do not bother with this step when grilling, but since the recipe called for it, I did so, and I learned previously that the combination of super-sharp knife and years of experience means that the job is done quickly and efficiently in the shop.

For the two of us, I used a single, one-pound fillet. I did not divide it until the very end, when I tested it for doneness. Whenever I divide a fillet, by the way, I do so crosswise so that we both end up with the same curve from thick to thin.

I preheated the oven to 400F and then combined the titular flavorings in a small bowl after grinding and mincing them myself. The combined aroma was so beautiful that I paused to take the bowl to Pam so she could appreciate a wafting before the cooking began.

Ready for a hot pan

I lightly applied salt and pepper to both sides of the fillet, and then pressed the spice mixture into one side, being careful to cover it. I then heated our indispensable cast-iron skillet and added oil and butter, heating a bit further. I could have let the pan get just a bit hotter, but it was sizzling decently when I put the fillet in -- orange-spice side down. I carefully flipped it after just over a minute, and a nice crust had indeed formed.

The recipe calls for a non-stick skillet, but seasoned cast-iron is preferable to the Teflon-style coatings, especially since this goes into the oven once the bottom has been seared and the fillet turned once. I kept this in the oven for 6 minutes before dividing it to check doneness. It was perfect after a total of 8 minutes.

Sizzling, crusty side up

The result: even though this was quick and easy, it was among the best salmon dish we have made, and we have made a lot of salmon dishes. This paired beautifully with mashed potatoes (which I prepared using a technique Pam recently posted), an orange (from whence I had garnered the zest), and Malbec. 

Lagniappe

I don't know how I failed to include a map in the original post! Provence is the southeast coast of France, nestled against the Mediterranean and Italy.