Salmon Shares member Dara Chapman grew up in California with a passion for cooking with fresh, healthy ingredients. She moved to Chicago and attended culinary school, and now spends her free time cooking. In the summer, she grows vegetables in her backyard garden plot. Finding new ways to pair our fish with the fresh vegetables from her garden sythesizes both hobbies, and this recipe is a product of that effort. Tomatoes and chives - both abundant during summer months - go beautifully with salmon, and it doesn’t get much better than king. Enjoy this simple, delicious, and healthy recipe with some fresh bread & remaining chive butter, on a warm, summer evening, “al fresco,” with friends.
Ingredients
King Salmon:
1 (1-pound) king salmon fillet Available In Our Premium Subscription Box
1 tablespoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
Chive Butter:
½ pound salted butter, softened
½ cup chives, minced
Oven-Dried Tomatoes:
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
⅓ cup olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, smashed
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
Directions
Mix together chives & softened butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or by hand. Form into a log and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until set.
Preheat oven to 250°. Mix tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, thyme, and a pinch of salt + pepper. Spread tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet. Roast 3-4 hours until dry and sweet.
Pat the fillet dry and season with salt + sugar. Let rest 10 minutes. Rinse off salt and sugar and pat dry once again.
Heat 1-2 tbsp oil from the oven-dried tomatoes in a skillet over medium heat. Sear salmon skin-side down for 5 minutes.
Add oven-dried tomatoes and 2 tbsp of chive butter, then flip the salmon to flesh-side down and cook an additional 2 minutes.
Serve skin-side up, spooning melted chive butter and tomatoes over the salmon.
Dara's pro cooking tip: “Curing” the salmon for 10 minutes with the salt and sugar rub helps keep the flesh firm and slows the albumin release (the white goo extruded by cooked fish) during cooking.
