Tag Archives: salmon recipe

A Salute to the Small, But Mighty, Kumquat

A quick and easy, sweet and tangy kumquat sauce dresses up salmon.
A quick and easy, sweet and tangy kumquat sauce dresses up salmon.

In the world of cookbooks, “Citrus, Illustrated” (Chronicle Books) takes up little space.

This compact cookbook, of which I received a review copy, is the size of my outstretched hands and contains all of 35 recipes.

So, in this wisp of a book that spotlights citrus of all sorts, I felt it only appropriate that I hone in on the smallest one: kumquats.

Plus, I think they’re adorable looking, and are so beguiling with their topsy-turvy flesh that’s acidic and rind that’s sweet. Frankly, I just love popping one whole into my mouth to enjoy its burst of flavor.

This fun little book is by George Geary, who was an award-winning pastry chef for a decade with the Walt Disney Company.

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Paula Wolfert’s Oven-Steamed Salmon

Cooked in the oven with a pan of water underneath, salmon fillets steam gently for a incredibly supple texture.
Cooked in the oven with a pan of water underneath, salmon fillets steam gently for a incredibly supple texture.

One of the great joys of summer in the Bay Area is the advent of wild king salmon season.

Few things can top the rich, lush, buttery, deep taste of this magnificent fish.

Generally, I’m all about grilling it, oftentimes on a cedar plank.

But when I spied this recipe for “Oven-Steamed Salmon,” I couldn’t help being intrigued.

It’s featured in the treasured cookbook, “Unforgettable: The Bold Flavors of Paula Wolfert’s Renegade Life” (Grand Central Life & Style, 2017). Food writer extraordinaires Emily Kaiser Thelin and Andrea Nguyen teamed with esteemed food photographer Eric Wolfinger to create this cookbook, which celebrates the delicious life work of Paula Wolfert, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2013.

Wolfert learned this technique for salmon from the legendary French chef Michel Bras.

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The Joys of Summer Salmon

A fun, delicious dish that makes the most of pricey wild King salmon.

A fun, delicious dish that makes the most of pricey wild King salmon.

 

One of the true great pleasures of summer is indulging in local King salmon.

Rich, oily, luscious and deep pinkish-red in color, it’s my favorite fish.

When an assignment took me to Half Moon Bay, I tossed a cooler in the back of my car in hopes of scoring some fresh catch to take home.

I stopped in at Princeton Seafood Company, intent on buying a few fillets. But I walked out with an entire California King salmon instead. At first, the $150 or so total price tag for the nearly 8-pound fish made me gulp. But when you consider that local wild salmon fillets sell for upwards of $28 a pound there and at farmers markets, paying $19 per pound for the entire fish really made more sense, especially if you can’t get enough of salmon like me.

At Princeton Seafood, the friendly fish monger will scale the fish and cut it up however you like. I asked for fillets, skin-on, and for all the bones, too. After all, crispy salmon skin is a true treat to nibble on. I know some people can’t be bothered with the bones, but trust me, they are a trove of meat.

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