So I spent most of the day working on a recipe for Irish Soda Bread. Notice the lovely picture of it?
What?
You've not seen Irish Soda Bread that looks quite like that before?
Well the truth is that none of my Irish Soda Bread turned out! I spent a good two hours on Irish Soda bread between the research, shopping, mixing, photographing and baking. I made it TWICE. We have enough lackluster soda bread to last us a week at this point so I had to stop.
Then it became time for supper . . . supper? . . . SUPPER! We NEED supper. The children and menfolk get cranky without it! Occasionally they get cranky with it but that's a whole other issue.
Luckily, my man brought this home for me!
A gorgeous, GORGEOUS, fillet of salmon. I have heard that part of some ancient culture's marriage ceremonies involved the suitor bringing raw meat to his beloved. If she cooked it for him it was tantamount to "I do!"
I'd rather a side of beef than a diamond necklace! Same price! Better value! He has no idea what to do with me.
I was in a hurry. So I actually dumped some cheap soy sauce on the salmon right in it's little Styrofoam tray and let it sit for 10 minutes. This gave me time to line a cookie sheet with foil, preheat my oven, and start some water for rice. I flipped the fillet to make sure the soy got on both sides of course!
Salmon is incredibly meaty and rich. Lots of umami flavors in it. It cries out for balance and I'm willing to supply it. Pictures? I have no stinkin' pictures of this process! I was in a hurry remember? We've got soccer practice to get to!
Salmon loves a little sweetness and a little bit of brown sugar goes a long way towards that! It also makes a nice surface for the heat of the oven to interact with.
I actually just sprinkled a little on the salmon after I laid it on the pan and rubbed it in. It mixed with the soy still pooling on the surface.
Then I threw on a few sesame seeds for attractiveness insurance. I didn't know if the heat I was planning would caramelize the brown sugar or not. I throw sesame seeds on broiled meats quite often. They distract the eye. It makes the eye go "polka dots! I like polka dots!" Who doesn't like polka dots?
Then I threw it in the oven for 15 minutes. Then I shut my oven off and left it there because my man and daughter had ran to the store. I stayed 5-10 minutes. It came out beautiful. We were so hungry that . . .
This is all I've got for a final shot! Salmon is very forgiving. It sat in that hot oven and just finished cooking.
If you are in a super hurry just break into it with a knife and check on it after 15 min. As soon as it's not raw looking you're good to eat! We had some lemon at the table but everybody seemed pretty content with the fish as it was. A nice vinaigrette dressed salad would of been the perfect foil for this dish.
This fish was positively silky on the tongue. It tasted of the sea! There was a hint of sweet saltiness just on the outside before you hit the meaty center! The edges where the fish gets very thin will turn dark crusty brown during baking. They are WONDERFUL to eat. Think salmon jerky! Sweet, salty, meaty and crispy!
Good with a slightly "crisp" wine. I had Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc with it and was delighted! Probably was the reason I didn't dress my salmon with any lemon at the table! If you're a hard core red drinker salmon tolerates red's well too! May I suggest going with a Twisted Cabernet?
Soy-Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon
1 large salmon fillet
1/4 cup of soy
1-2 Tbsp of brown sugar
1 Tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
Sprinkle soy sauce on salmon and allow to sit 5-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Line cookie sheet with foil. Place salmon fillet on foil and sprinkle with sugar. Rub onto fish. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake 15 minutes and then turn heat off. Allow to sit in oven for 5-10 minutes more. Check and make sure fish is done before serving. (You CAN turn the oven back on again if its not done but I can't imagine what type of monstrous size fish you'd have if it wasn't done!) Good warm or cold!
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