Recipe #84 - Spicy Blackened Salmon Tacos w/ Cilantro Aioli and Charred Corn Salsa

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For the Spicy Blackened Salmon Tacos:

Heat oil in heavy-bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium high heat until smoking.

Meanwhile, mix chili powder, cayenne, sugar and salt with the flour in a shallow bowl. Dredge salmon in flour mixture and transfer to hot skillet.

Cook until very brown, then flip. Continue cooking till flesh is just opaque. Set aside to cool.

Once the fish has cooled, tear it into small chunks.

Wipe oil from skillet, and throw in tortillas to warm. Arrange the fish, flanked into chunks, Charred Corn Salsa, and desired toppings on one half of a warmed tortilla and drizzle aioli. Fold in half to serve.

For the Charred Corn Salsa:

Preheat broiler and put oven rack in highest position. Toss corn, tomatoes, onion and jalapeno with olive oil in a zip lock bag. Salt to taste. Shake to combine.

Transfer corn mixture to a shallow baking pan. Broil until tomatoes are soft and corn is charred, 5-8 minutes.

For the Cilantro Aioli: 

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Keep chilled until ready to serve (can be made ahead). Top tacos with generous spoonfuls.

Rating: 10
Time: 2 hours
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
Spicy Blackened Salmon Tacos:
1 pound of salmon, or other firm-fleshed fish
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Large flour tortillas
Avocado, cilantro, and green onions for topping
Lime wedges
Charred Corn Salsa
Cilantro Aioli

For the Charred Corn Salsa:
1 cup corn kernels (I used frozen)
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup red onions, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt, to taste

For the Cilantro Aioli:
1/2 cup sour cream
Juice of 2 limes
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove, minced

Recipe #35 - Blackened Salmon

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This is a very simple and extremely flavorful recipe. It's one of my mom's personal creations. She watched a friends make it once a few years back. She changed up a few of the technics and used different seasoning. I've had it quite a few times over the years, so I thought it was my turn to give it a go!

Start by rinsing the salmon off. Remove as many scales as possible from the side with the skin. Pat salmon dry with a paper towel. Leaving the skin on, rub all sides of the salmon with the olive oil. Then sprinkle salmon with the creole seasoning, pat in well.

This part can get really messy! 

(I recommend doing this next step outdoors because the skillet puts off a lot of smoke.)

Melt the butter on a heavy skillet. Place the salmon in the skillet and cook on one side until dark brown, about 7 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side until dark brown and cooked through.

And you're finished!

I know it looks burnt, but it's really not. It turned out very well. The salmon fell apart perfectly in my mouth, accompanied by the little crunch of the skin.

I served the Blackened Salmon with long grain wild rice and a mixed green salad with sun dried tomato dressing.

Rating: 9
Time: 45 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds salmon (I used Alasken King Salmon)
6 tablespoons butter
Olive oil - as much as necessary
Creole seasoning - as much as necessary (I used Tony's Creole Seasoning - it's the best!!!)

Recipe #14 - Salmon Cakes with Lemon-Caper Yogurt Sauce

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Seattle is known for their fresh salmon. When I visited Seattle in October for a website design class (and to visit Forks), I went to Pike's Place Market, which is known for their fresh fish. I bought an entire Alaskan King Salmon, had it cut up into half pound filets, and had it FedExed here.  So, every month or so, we take some outa the freezer and throw it on the grill. Fortunately, we still had some left for this recipe. 

There are three parts to this recipe: the salmon, the patties, and the sauce. 

Salmon: I had to cut the skin off this salmon, as the recipe recommends. Put a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Drizzle the salmon with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill until the flesh is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork, about 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool for 20 minutes.

Patties: Using a fork, flake the salmon into 1/2-inch pieces and put into a medium bowl. Add the egg, chives, 1/2 of the crushed crackers, the corn, mustard, mayonnaise, capers, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix gently until just combined. Form the mixture into 2 1/2-inch diameter patties, about 3/4 inches thick. (If the mixture is too dry to form into patties, add extra mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon at a time,) Carefully coat the patties in the remaining crushed crackers and refrigerate for 1 hour. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium heat. Add the patties and cook until golden and crispy, about 7 to 8 minutes each side. Drain on paper towels.

Sauce: In a small bowl, mix together the yogurt, capers, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Arrange the salmon cakes on a platter and serve alongside the sauce.

I served Recipe #13 - Mediterranean Salad and Pita as the side. They complimented each other well, with the citrusy base. The yogurt sauce was de-licious. I could have eaten it by itself. Actually, I did. I even dipped the pita bread in it after everything else was gone. It had a very bold, piquant flavor that took me by surprise. The lemon zest def made it's presence known.

It's weird putting together these recipes not knowing what to expect at the end. It's like a gamble every time. I could use the same ingredients in different proportions and have a completely different taste. I like it.

Time: Accumatively - 1 hour 30 mins.
Rating: 9
Ingredients:
Salmon:
1 pound skinless salmon fillet 
Olive oil, for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Patties:
1 large egg, beaten
1/3 cup (1/2 counce) chopped fresh chives
26 saltine crackers, crushed, divided
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed 
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 
3 tablespoons mayonnaise, plus more, as needed
1 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Sauce:
1/2 cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained and chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper