This is a simple, simple dish. The instructions could read mix up sauce, grill salmon, then eat; but that would not be a very fun blog post. So I will tell you about this recipe’s inspiration. It started from a watching this strange daytime show The Chew that has Mario Batali and Michael Simon on it. I guess they are why I find myself watching it even though I am not sure if I like it or not. In the episode that day Mario made salad dressing and plank cooked salmon. I needed a date night dinner so I just mixed the two items together into one dish. I had my husband grill the fish while I used up some leftover cilantro to make a tangy vinaigrette sauce for it. Astonishingly the flavors were great and the meal has become a family favorite. I serve the fish with mixed grilled veggies, crusty bread and white sangria, a perfect dinner to serve on the patio.
If you would like a more detailed discussion of how to grill fish please watch the video link below, it’s hard to beat advice from Mario Batali and it’s the segment inspired this recipe: The Chew: Mario’s Plank Salmon.
Cilantro Dijon Salmon
Ingredients
- 4 6-8 oz Salmon steaks with skin on
- ¼ cup of diced fresh cilantro
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1-2 Tbsp of Dijon mustard
- ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil if you have lemon flavored olive oil feel free to use some here
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
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Pre heat your grill or grill pan. Rinse your fish and pat dry. Check for any extra scales or bones. Then salt and pepper your fish well. Set the fish aside and make your sauce.
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Dice your cilantro (don’t use the stuff in the tube) whisk the herbs into the olive oil, lemon juice and one tablespoon of the mustard.
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Taste the sauce and adjust the mustard and salt and pepper to your taste. I like mine with more pepper and not too much mustard.
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Now it’s time to grill that fish. If you have a perfect fish grilling system please use it. Otherwise what we do is grill the fish skin side down over high heat for about 6-8 minutes, cooking the fish most of the way. Then we flip and sear the other side just long enough to mark the flesh 1-2 minutes.
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Spoon a little of the sauce over each slice of fish and serve the extra sauce on the table so people can add more if they would like it.
Here’s a really stupid question…I don’t have (nor have I ever had) a BBQ, or grill of any sort. Never. Silly, right? However, this recipe looks marvelous and I love salmon. So what’s a non-griller to do? Fry the fish? Salmon dries out so easily…advice, pleasse!
Do you have one of those indoor grill pans? I know a lot of people that love them for fish. I even knew a guy in college that used a George Foreman type grill for fish, non stick and easy clean up. You can also make a boiler pan by taking foil and covering a pie plate with it, then stick a few holes in it spray the top with Pam and place the fish on the top of the foil and cook it close to the element of your indoor oven. We tend to grill our fish just because we love sitting on the patio and we don’t like the smell in the house. Hope these ideas help.