I got home late last night, craving something healthy, hearty, and full of Americana. I brought one of those little tin tubs of Old Bay back on my last flight, thinking I might conjure up some homemade fish sticks or something like that. But last night, confronted with a slab of fresh British salmon, I decided to go a different route.
I slathered the Old Bay on the salmon, and blackened it in a pan, finishing it off simply in the oven. I have a really soft spot for the single ‘side’ of salmon that you divvy up around the table. This wasn’t quite a side, but for me and Mr. English, it had the same effect. And to go with it, a Greek yogurt tartare sauce stuffed with cornichons, green onions, parsley, and lemon.
I love that smell of Old Bay–nothing quite like it, is there, kind of sweet, fresh, briny, and savory–charring in the pan. I love the bite and coolness of the yogurt tartare (I actually exclaimed to Mr. English that I may never go back to mayo–we’ll if that lasts, but this was a great sauce). And I served with with Bon Appetit’s Snap Pea and Cabbage Slaw.
It was the perfect dinner. Bright, filling, and I think pretty healthy!
INGREDIENTS
- One 1-pound piece of skin-on, boneless salmon fillet
- 2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tablespoons olive or canola oil
- 8 cornichons
- 2 scallions, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley
- The juice from 1/4 lemon
- One 7-ounce container of 2% Greek yogurt
- S&P
PROCEDURE
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Rub the salmon all over with the Old Bay seasoning. Preheat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and quickly add the oil. Add the salmon, flesh-side-down, and sear for 5 minutes. Carefully flip over, and put in the oven for 10 minutes for salmon that is cooked through. For the yogurt tartare sauce, blitz the cornichons, scallions, and parsley in the food process until roughly chopped. Add the lemon juice, yogurt, salt, and pepper, and blitz until combined but still just a bit chunky. Serve together with lemon wedges!print this recipe
Yum. I always have some Old Bay on hand but never know what to do with it outside of seafood boils or seafood butter.
And on the note of tartar sauce, I stole the idea from WD’s new Alder in NY of blending sweet peas in as a sort of mash-up between mushy peas and tartar sauce. It’s so good, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to make normal tartar sauce again (I just use really good frozen petit green peas that I always have onhand). But I’m trying to work more greek yogurt into my life (why not!) so I’m definitely going to have to try your yogurt sauce asap! Thanks, Kerry.
Oh I LOVE this green pea tartare idea. What else do they put in there?
I think that’s it. SE did a bit on it: http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2013/06/alder-wylie-dufresne-wd-50-new-restaurant-bar-review-slideshow.html#show-333835
When I made it (both times, so far), I just chucked a whole lot of peas into the mixer with the mayo before I added the other stuff. It adds sweetness and a new rich profile to the sauce.
I’m sure you’ll find plenty of pea-complimentary things to add in and round it out (and share with the rest of us!). But I like it as just peas + basic tartar sauce. It’s new and interesting enough to liven up even boiled potatoes. Plus, all that vegetation cancels out the mayo and makes it healthy, right? 😛
Um, yes! Definitely cancels out the mayo. I love the idea of it on little boiled new potatoes. How good.
Old Bay is my boyfriend’s favorite seasoning! He even likes it on his bloody marys — I’ll have to try making this for him sometime. Perfect for summer grilling too.
I would never have thought of putting it in a Bloody Mary. And I am a Virgin Mary addict. Such a great idea. Thank you!