white miso grilled salmon + pear and sorrel salad

As much as Bobby Flay irritates me (am I the only one?), I have to admit that he does have some good ideas. He introduced me to the idea of grilling peaches--if you haven't done this, you need to--and he cottoned on to poblanos and tomatillos long before I did (and now they are almost always in my fridge!) And, my greatest confession--I don't really know my way around the grill too well. But he does.

So...this recipe was inspired by one of Mr. Flay's, who I begrudgingly admit is pretty awesome at cooking stuff on a mesh of bars over fire.

White miso may be an expensive ingredient to buy initially, but it quite literally can be used anywhere--marinades, salad dressings, soups, sauces, noodles...when I was traveling recently I even went to a bakery that had red miso bread. (Yes, it was fabulous!)

It's savory, salty, and almost indescribably delicious. 

And when whacked around with a few other choice ingredients and allowed to meld into some fresh PNW Coho salmon...well, it doesn't really get much better than that.

~*~

Adapted from Bobby Flay

Serves 2

2 filets salmon (I used center-cut coho--really the only requirement is that it be a piece of relatively equal thickness so it cooks evenly)

3 tbsp white miso paste

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tbsp honey

~1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

1 grated garlic clove

1/3 cup white wine or mirin (optional)

1 tbsp butter (optional)

pear & sorrel salad:

2 ripe pears

1 bunch sorrel (arugula would do fine, too)

juice of 1/2 a lemon

whole grain mustard

rice wine vinegar

honey

olive oil

In a small dish, spoon in your miso, soy sauce, vinegar, and honey. Cut a piece of ginger about the size of a ping-pong ball from your branch and peel it (small knife works best). Using a microplane, grate your ginger and your garlic in. Stir it all up.

The raw materials.

Place your salmon in a container--a medium-sized tupperware does fine--and pour the marinade over it. Make sure it coats the fish on all sides. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 day.

Salmon takes a bath.

In the meantime, prep your salad. Slice pears in half, cut off stem and bottom and slice out core with a small knife. Slice and place in bowl, then juice 1/2 lemon over slices to keep pears from turning brown. Chop sorrel into bite-sized pieces over top of the pears.

Pears getting the citrus treatment!

Sorrel...snappy, lemony, and perfect for cutting through the fattiness of the fish.

To prepare vinaigrette, mix about a tbsp of mustard and honey. Add about 1.5 tbsps of rice wine vinegar. Adjust the proportions to your liking. Use a tbsp of hot water if needed to facilitate mixing. While adding 1/2 cup of olive oil, continue to stir vigorously until everything is well mixed. Pour over salad at last possible moment, and toss well before serving.

Dressing at the ready.

Once you're ready to cook your salmon, pull it out of the fridge. You can salt and pepper your fish if you'd like, but be careful since miso is a little salty on its own. I didn't bother.

If you've got a grill, grill your salmon skin side down first, with the cover closed, for 4 minutes, then flip and finish it in another four.

If you've got a griddle pan like me, or a regular non-stick pan, get your pan nice and hot. Add in a tablespoon of oil so your salmon doesn't stick. Start your salmon skin-side down and let it cook for 4 minutes. Scrape in your remaining marinade on top of your fish. Turn over (you can use a fish turner if you have one--I just delicately use a spatula and a fork) your fish and let it cook for another 4 minutes. Turn it back onto its front side, let the skin crisp up for one more moment, then lift it onto your plate.

Now, you could serve up your salmon and salad and eat it as it is, but if you're like me and you looked sadly at your pan thinking it's a shame to waste all that caramelized miso, follow these next steps:

Pour in 1/3 cup of wine and stir up the juices at the bottom of the pan--in a griddle pan it's a little hard, but try to gather all those tasty bits together as best you can. After letting the alcohol cook for about 30 seconds, add the butter. Stir until butter is melted, then pour your sauce into a small bowl. Serve up your fish with salad and sauce either on top or on the side. (It packs a big flavor punch, so drizzle sparingly. If you're a miso fiend like me, go crazy!)

Delicious!