Tonight I decided to check out this recipe from the January 2012 issue of Bon Appétit. It seemed like the perfect winter fish dish: spicy, hearty, and rustic. I paired it with steam green beans, and a nice rice pilaf. So tasty!
Shop till you drop: This dish calls for Sunflower oil, but many other oils can be substituted. I would stick with those that are not full bodied - i.e. olive oil - as you do not want to disturb the balance of flavors between the sauce and the fish. I used avocado oil, which has a high flashpoint - making it great for the sear portion of this recipe - and is still very healthy. Corn or canola oil would work well too.
The dish calls for bone-in salmon steaks, and while you could use boneless, I would opt against it. Just like with beef short-ribs, or bone-in pork chops, the bones lend quite a bit of flavor. Just pick them out... it's not too hard!
As for the spice mill, you can also get by with a mortar and pestle, or coffee grinder. If you decided on the coffee grinder, just make sure to clean any coffee out.
Tips & tricks: I would tackle this dish into three steps: 1. make the garlic paste, 2. sear the fish, and 3. make the sauce and cook the fish in it. For the garlic paste, you can make it ahead of time and store in the fridge. The longer it chills, the better the flavors will meld. 3 - 24hrs is a suitable window.
Another key thing to think about is the temperature differential between searing the fish, and cooking the sauce/fish. Because you sear the fish over medium-high heat, but cook the sauce/fish over medium fish, make sure you use a separate burner or allow the pan to cool a bit. This way you do not burn the garlic paste with a super-hot skillet.
The result? Another solid dish from Bon Appétit, with great depth of flavor. The caraway and cinnamon lends earthy notes, which is complimented with the freshness of the cilantro and lemon. The salmon seals the deal by adding buttery notes from its natural oils, while the cayenne and paprika make it zesty and fun. Definitely will be adding this to my repertoire!
