Baked Salmon.

So you roasted some vegetables last night and were a little over enthusiastic with the quantity. Now you've got two tupperwares full of leftovers and need something with which to spice them up for supper. Remedy: baked salmon! 

When I say to you that baked salmon is the easiest, tastiest and deceivingly impressive dish you can make for a meal, it is because it's true. I wouldn't lie about such a thing. Truth be told, a major part of the appeal of making this dish for me is going to the fish counter at the market and checking out the goods that day. There's something about milling about the fish counter and judging the assortment of steaks and fillets and choosing the exact piece that I deem worthy to be eaten by me and Schmoobs and then pinpointing the exact one to the fishmonger behind the counter that is very appealing to me (run on sentence alert!). It feels so very elitist and sophisticated. Am I right? Yeah, you know. Also, I get to feel slightly superior to all the other people that are walking by with baskets full of processed foods full of hydrogenated somethings and high fructose whatevers (since they don't know yet that I'm totally going to throw two Almond Joys into my basket at the checkout counter). 

Anyway, I prefer getting fillets as opposed to steaks because there is no risk of death via choking on a fishbone with a fillet. If you happen to have some fish in your freezer ahead of time, remember to put it in the fridge the night before or that morning to thaw. I've made the mistake of forgetting that crucial step one too many times. Then I have to go to Panda Express for dinner. And then I get diarrhea. (TMI?)

So here's all you need to do: Rub the salmon fillet(s) on both sides with olive oil, salt and pepper. THAT'S IT. The thing is, if you focus on starting with good fresh ingredients and find the right cooking method, a lot of foods really shouldn't need much to bring out their naturally awesome flavors. So, place the fillet skin-side down in a standard mid-sized saute pan and put in your oven at a high temperature. I would say in the 450 degree range. Depending on the thickness of your fish, it'll bake happily in there for anywhere from 10 - 15 minutes. The thicker the fish, the longer the time (doy). An alternate method is to set your oven to broil (super high heat) and then only leave the fish in there for 5 - 10 minutes. Either way has worked great for me. 

The key to working with high heat is that it will get the fish golden on the outside edges and cooked but still tender and flaky on the inside. What you want to avoid is baking it on a medium or (gack!) low temperature for a long period of time. You'll end up with a dry, non-orgasmic mess. Anyway.

Serve it with a squeeze of lemon and a slice of lemon on top for garnish. You'll end up with something that looks like this:

I swear, any dinner guests you may have over will love it. True story: Schmoobs and I had some friends over for dinner, drinks and merriment earlier this summer and the girlfriend of one of his friends was raving about this dish. And she had never had seafood before. Like, ever. Did you know that there are people out there that can live on this planet for twenty-five years without ever eating any seafood? I didn't. Anyway. I was glad she liked it. You will, too. 

The beauty of something like this simply delicious dish is that it is so easily adaptable and enhanceable based on your liking and confidence level. Rub some herbs up on that. Add some cloves of garlic for aromatics. Drizzle some honey and a bit of ginger before baking for a sweet glaze. Mmm, yeah. Or do what I did tonight. 

I had the fillet sit in a bath of orange juice (yes) for about five minutes while I braved the hellacious Southern heat to go get the mail outside. Then when I got back inside and regained consciousness, I dumped the orange juice and then went ahead with seasoning the fillet with salt and pepper, drizzling just a bit of olive oil on the flesh side. Commence baking/broiling. I placed it on the plate with a side of last night's roasted veggies and a simple salad of mixed greens, goat cheese and sliced almonds (we'll talk salads...yes, soon...) with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Then I decided I wanted to do some kind of improvised mushroom sauce on the spot. I know I just got finished saying that good dishes don't need to be complicated, but I have a habit of contradicting myself often. No, really, the salmon would have been great on its own, but I was feeling creative tonight. The sauce came out great, so you should try it sometime: In a pan, saute some chopped onion (I used maybe 1/4 cup) and chopped garlic in olive oil. Once they are translucent and your kitchen smells so good you want to eat your face, toss in a spoonful of capers and a handful of sliced mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper. After a couple of minutes, add about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of heavy cream and some Parmesan cheese. Do everything to your taste. Then, let the heat thicken the sauce. 

Dunzo (do people still say 'dunzo'?).