Salmon is a great fish. Cheap and plentiful if farm-raised, it doesn’t have a very strong “fishy” flavor. In fact, it’s very good at absorbing flavors, which is what makes steaming it so much fun. You can experiment with all sorts of liquids. I find that sherry gives the salmon a pleasant sweetness. I have a bit of a sweet tooth, so this recipe is a bit like candy. If you want to eat more like an adult, there are simple modifications that you can make to this recipe that suggest themselves.
Ingredients:
1 lbs of Salmon fillets
1 and 3/4 cups Sherry
3 tablespoons Pecans
1 tablespoon of butter
1/4 cup of Honey
Dash of Paprika
1. Slice the salmon filets into strips that are no thicker than 1 and 1/2 inch. Brush the scaly bottom of the filets with olive oil. This won’t necessarily prevent the fish from sticking to your steamer tray, but it will make it easier to clean. Lightly sprinkle the fillets with paprika and place on steamer tray.
2. Pour 1 and 1/2 cups of sherry in steamer pot. Place steamer tray, with fish, in the pot and cover. Put on high heat and cook for 14 minutes. Note: you can’t really “oversteam” the fish; it will merely get softer. However, after about 14 minutes, the fish will be steamed all the way through and the wine will begin to evaporate.
3. Chop the pecans into quarters and place on a cookie tray. Toast them in the oven for 10 minutes on 300 degree heat.
4. To make the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Mix in the honey and a little bit of sherry. When the sauce starts to bubble up, add the toasted pecans. Don’t keep the sauce on the burner for more than four or five minutes, or it will carmelize.
5. Spoon the honey sauce over the salmon fillets. I would also recommend cooking up some greens as a side (asparagus is good, but I prefer string beans). You can spoon the honey sauce over the greens, too, if you are a big kid like me and won’t eat your veggies unless they taste like candy.
6. Enjoy! Tell me what you think.