4.29.2008

Trader Joe Salmon with baked asparagus and green beans

So I was shopping at Trader Joe's and I found this Atlantic Coho Salmon. The price was unbeatable (10 ounces for $4.30) but I was very skeptical about the flavor. I put it down and kept shopping. Right before checkout, I became the crazy person who bolts out of line when you are in it longer than anyone should stand in the grocery store, but with good reason. For $4 salmon, hell if it really is that bad, I can toss it or hide it in a salad or something. Well it definitely didn't let me down, and I ate that baby baked and whole. The recipe you ask, here it is:

I decided to season the salmon with simple spices to give it a nice herb taste, but not too overpowering. I think the combo of italian seasoning, all spice, and cinnamon is a nice set of spices that always goes good together. Then I made a tahini based sauce to go over the salmon, that is really simple and tasty. It's a Lebanese recipe, called tarratour, that my mom has been making forever, and the way it compliments fish, salmon especially, is pretty unbelievable. I could lick the bowl with this stuff.

THE SALMON
Defrost, obviously.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray or drizzle fish with olive oil
Season the fish with salt, pepper, italian seasoning, all spice, and cinnamon.
Let it bake for about 15-20 minutes. I found it perfect at about 20 minutes, but it all depends
on the weight and thickness of the fish, and the hotness of your oven.

TARRATOUR (heavenly sauce...my own nickname)
Since the majority of the ingredients with volume is the tahini, pour some tahini into a bowl
(amount of tahini in the bowl with be about the same amount as the sauce, maybe a little
less cause we will also be adding a little water and lemon juice)
Pound some garlic pieces to taste. I like a lot, and the flavor of the tahini meshes nice with the
garlic so if you happen to put a little too much I think it'll be ok.
Add the garlic to the tahini.
Keep adding small amounts of water to the mixture and keep stirring until you reach a liquidy
consistency, like a thick soup.
Add some lemon juice, and stir again...and your done!

For the vegetable side dish, I like to keep it simple. There is nothing like clashing flavors that can ruin a meal. One of my favorite ways to cook asparagus and green beans is to bake them. It's healthy and lets the simple seasoning absorb much better.

ASPARAGUS AND GREEN BEANS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Snap the asparagus at the right level by holding the thick side and bending the tree side. It will
snap perfectly!
Trim your green beans.
Lay out the asparagus and beans on the cooking tray and spray or drizzle them with olive oil.
Season them with salt and pepper.
Let them bake for about 15 minutes.


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