salmon – Busy in Brooklyn

If you’re familiar with Nish Nosh salad, you’re probably doing the happy dance right now. Nish Noshim are these buttery sour cream and onion crackers that are made in Israel and the dish gets it’s name because it’s smothered in these addictive crackers. The salad is as popular for it’s crackers as it is for it’s dressing, which includes soy sauce, mustard and garlic for a rich savory flavor. The dressing is so delicious in it’s own right that it’s been packaged and sold in stories under the name Nish Nosh dressing.

Of course Nish Nosh salad has made an appearance on my Shabbat table, and it always gets finished to the last drop. The salad itself includes romaine lettuce, red cabbage and grape tomatoes, along with the crackers and salad dressing. Being the blogger that I am, I decided to turn the dish into an entree using salmon! I even roasted the cabbage and tomatoes for a full baking sheet dinner that is light, simple and pretty healthy if you don’t eat the whole bag of crackers while you’re prepping ;)

Roasted cabbage has become a healthy staple for me thanks to my friend Mel who makes it regularly. I love that you can dress it up with different spices (most recently I used Montreal Steak Seasoning) and it’s super quick and easy. The cabbage takes on a great texture, and if you cook it long enough, it starts to brown and caramelize. My only caveat: don’t use the prepackaged shredded cabbage. You’ll definitely want to use a fresh head and slice it yourself (no need to use a machine for this, just your trusty old kitchen knife).

We’re not that big into fish in my house since my kids don’t like it, but I’m definitely trying to work it in to the weekly rotation. Baked salmon is really the easiest way to go, and throwing it on a sheet pan with all the other ingredients make it a super quick dinner. You can serve this with some quinoa if you want to bulk up the dish, or treat yourself to a healthy and delicious lunch. Of course it works great for Shabbat too!

If you want to serve it up buffet style for a party, here’s a great idea: Roast the cabbage and tomatoes on their own sheet tray. Cut the salmon into cubes and coat them fully in the mayo and crumbs. Bake the salmon until opaque (about 10 minutes, depending on the size of your cubes) and roast the cabbage and tomatoes until they start to caramelize. Spread the cabbage out onto a platter and top with the salmon cubes. Then stand back and enjoy the compliments!

Nish Nosh Salmon

4 slices salmon fillet
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 cup Nishnosh sour cream and onion crackers, crushed
1/4 cabbage, shredded
1 pkg grape tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, garlic, soy sauce, lemon juice, mustard and a pinch of black pepper.

Place the salmon slices on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread the cabbage and tomatoes around the salmon. Brush the salmon with the mayonnaise mixture and top with crushed Nishnosh crackers. Drizzle the cabbage with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

NOTE: If you’d like to roast the cabbage and tomatoes for longer, remove the salmon and continue cooking until desired doneness is reached.

VARIATION: If you don’t have Nish Nosh crackers, you may use flavored panko crumbs or French fried onions instead.

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Honey Fig Roasted Salmon

On August 27, 2015August 31, 2015

by chanie

in Appetizer, Brunch, Fish, Fruit, Recipes, Rosh Hashanah, Shabbos

35 Comments

Excuse me while I type while my mouth is full. [gulp]

I don’t usually eat the recipe I’m posting while I’m posting it, but I seriously can’t get enough of this salmon. Who knew figs and salmon would go so well together, right?

The truth is, I would eat figs over cardboard. They’re that good. And with Rosh Hashanah coming, I couldn’t think of a sweeter fruit to incorporate into my holiday meal. Fig season is short, and I want to make the most of it before it’s gone!

It’s hard to believe that summer is really coming to an end, and the High Holidays are almost upon us. I see it in the seasonal fruit that’s making it’s way into the stores (yay for honeycrisp apples!), I feel it while I shop around for school supplies, uniforms and Yom Tov clothes. And I even smell it in the air as the summer days turn to cool nights, and the scent of fall creeps in. It’s sad to see summer go, but the New Year brings with it a fresh start and new possibilities.

I feel about the The High Holidays, the same way I feel about the first day of school. It gives me butterflies. And even though I’m way past the school-era (thank G-d!!), I still get those butterflies when I take my kids to orientation on the first day. I never realized the benefits of marrying someone whose last name begins with an “A”, until my kids started school. Thankfully, I don’t have to sit there for hours until their name is called!

I may not be in school anymore, but the truth is, my name is still called, each year, on high. As we read in the prayer of “Unesanneh Tokef“, “All created beings pass before you, one-by-one, like a flock of sheep…You count, reckon, and are mindful of them, and you allocate the fixed portion for the needs of all your creatures”.

May we all be blessed, that as our names gets called by the ultimate principal, may we be inscribed for a SWEET (and figgy) New Year filled with healthy, happiness, peace and of course, good food!

I’d like to think that this holiday isn’t just about the food, but the truth is, it is so much a part of it. We celebrate Rosh Hashanah through an assortment of symbolic foods, including the head of a fish and sweet, sticky honey. This recipe uses a whole side of salmon, but you can feel free to cook the fish head along with it, for a beautiful presentation. I love how festive and elegant this is, not to mention sweet! It is sure to be a show stopper on your holiday table.

Honey Fig Roasted Salmon

1 whole side of salmon
8 oz. fresh Black Mission figs, stem removed and quartered
1/3 cup orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp orange zest
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
2 scallions, thinly sliced, for garnish
fresh orange slices, for garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the salmon on a parchment-lined baking sheet and set aside.

Place the figs, orange juice, soy sauce, honey, ginger and garlic in a saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until figs have softened and the mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the sauce over the salmon and bake for 20 minutes, or until salmon is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

Garnish with scallions and orange slices.

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Pesto Baked Salmon

On May 8, 2014March 12, 2015

by chanie

in Appetizer, Dairy, Dinner, Fish, Lunch, Paleo, Passover, Recipes, Shavuous, The Nine Days, Whole30

10 Comments

Of all the recipe requests I receive, it seems like salmon is that one dish that people get bored of rather quickly – me included. I’ve had my fill of honey mustard salmon, I’d rather not look at another piece of teriyaki salmon, and I’m all magic-salmoned-out. The good news is, I’ve got an endless variety of salmon ideas, so I can always pick something from under my chef’s hat (figuratively speaking, of course).

Truth be told, I’m really not the biggest fish person altogether. I won’t touch tilapia (bottom feeders freak me out), I don’t like sole, and I usually stay away from gefilte (is that even considered fish?). I tend to lean towards salmon, flounder, red snapper or seabass, when available. I’ve always wanted to try different types of fish, but they’re not readily available where I live. I’ve had whole bronzino in restaurants and halibut at my mom’s (she loves it!), but I’ve never tried grouper or mahimahi. Arctic Char is one of the best pieces of fish I’ve ever tried – I would love to find a place that carries it!

I’ve always wanted to bake my own whole fish stuffed with lemon and herbs – better yet, catch and fillet it myself. It’s just another one of those things on my bucket list – and I hope to do it one day. I’ve heard that the taste of freshly caught fish doesn’t compare to what we buy at the fishmonger. I can just imagine it smelling of the ocean istead of, well, fish. Don’t you just hate it when you open up a package and a fishy stench just hits you like a fishing rod!?

Back to the salmon – since it’s one of the few types of fish that I eat, I’m always coming up with new ways to eat it. This pesto-smothered-recipe came to me when I was on the South Beach diet and I needed to stay away from sweet sauces and sugar. For added crunch (without the panko carbs), I grind up some nuts (whichever nuts are in the pesto) and sprinkle it over the top. It adds great texture to the salmon!

Pesto Baked Salmon

salmon fillets
your favorite homemade or store-bought pesto
roughly chopped nuts (I like to use the same nuts that are in the pesto, to complement it)
grated parmesan cheese, optional
olive oil
lemon slices, for serving

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the salmon and pat dry. Spread pesto over the salmon slices and sprinkle with chopped nuts and parmesan (if using). Drizzle olive oil over the fish and bake for 15-20 minutes, until salmon is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

PAREVE VARIATION: to make this dish nondairy – use a pareve pesto and omit parmesan cheese.

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Busy in Brooklyn

Tag: salmon

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