Tag Archives: salmon

Salmon with Pepita-Lime Butter

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I love seafood.  And I love a quick and easy salmon recipe even more.  Enter my latest project from eatingwell.com: Salmon with Pepita-Lime Butter.

1 tablespoon unsalted pepitas, (see Tip)
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
8 ounces salmon fillet, skinned (see Tip) and cut into 2 portions
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Toast pepitas (see Tip). Place in a small bowl with butter, lime zest, lime juice and chili powder.

Generously coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook until browned and just cooked through in the center, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the salmon to a plate. Add the butter-lime mixture to the hot pan; stir until the butter is melted. Serve the salmon topped with the sauce.

Tips: Pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds) can be found in the bulk-foods section of natural-foods stores or Mexican groceries.

Place a salmon fillet on a clean cutting board, skin side down. Starting at the tail end, slip the blade of a long, sharp knife between the fish flesh and the skin, holding the skin down firmly with your other hand. Gently push the blade along at a 30° angle, separating the fillet from the skin without cutting through either.

Place pepitas in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

The most time consuming part of the entire process is zesting the lime.  Which goes to say this recipe is easy peasy.

All the ingredients for the sauce measured and ready to go:

The beginnings of a light and flavorful sauce.  Once the toasted pepitas are thrown in, the butter easily melts:

I found a colorful basmati rice medley at Trader Joe’s, and was super easy to make as well:

Getting the salmon nice and crispy in a pan of hot olive oil (I prefer olive oil over cooking spray):

Et voila!  The finished dish:

The dishful thinker’s tips:

  • Use a little less pepitas than the recipe calls for.  Otherwise, you end up with pepita covered salmon!
  • If you’re cooking a side of rice with the dish, start cooking this first.  The salmon truly cooks within a few minutes.  The basmati rice I was making took twice as long to cook.
  • I found my pepitas at Ralphs in the pre-packaged bulk foods section.  No need to go to multiple stores for ingredients.
  • The recipe claims the results feeds 2.  It’ll feed 2 people…as appetizers.  an 8 oz. cut of salmon is a nice solid size, just enough for a solid meal for one.
  • This is now on my short list of quick and easy mid-week meals.  It definitely beats eating cereal for dinner.  I’ve been there (many, many times).

Have 20 minutes?  Give this recipe a try and get your omega 3′s in too:)

A Neighborly Visit to The Little Next Door

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The Little Next Door is one of those restaurants nestled amongst the other yummy places that line 3rd Street between La Cienega and Fairfax.  I’ve driven by it many a time, entranced by the twinkling lights on the trees out front, but never actually made it inside.  TLND is one of those neighbors you know exist, but have never met.  Until this weekend.

We were finally introduced to each other this past Saturday night over a lovely dinner.  After an unsuccessful attempt at trying to find street parking (on a Saturday night on 3rd Street?  I don’t even know why I bothered!), we finally pulled up to valet and walked on up to TLND.  First impression?  It was love at first sight.  Give me a restaurant full of intimate cafe tables, twinkling lights, sidewalk seating and very European cafe-esque decor, and I go weak at the knees.  The small French deli/cafe is reminiscent of the quintessential Parisian sidewalk cafe.  To top it all off, we were greeted with a warm “bonsoir.”

It should be noted that this is very much a European style restaurant.  And by European style, I mean very few interruptions by your waiter and leisurely service.  For some, this may be a nuisance.  But I happen to appreciate this laissez faire approach to service if I’m going out to enjoy a meal and catch up with a friend.  It also helps you feel less like a table hog:)

On to the good stuff–the meal itself.  I went with a Moroccan mint tea, that is simultaneously a cooly refreshing and endlessly comforting cup of joy.  It is a blend of hand brewed green tea, a nice balance of mint, all just slightly sweetened.  I lost count of how many refills I had…I couldn’t stop.

As for the entrees, my friend went with the Roasted Saffron Salmon, served with steamed asparagus and carrots and a bed of basmati rice.  Her review: “flaky, tender to the touch [with my fork] but with a nice crisp on the top.”

I decided to go with the Olive Tapenade Lamb Chops: grilled lamb chops with green lentils and polenta, roasted garlic and rosemary sauce.  The olive tapenade was a very heavy sauce in itself.  But the proportion of the sauce to the few small lamb chops was just right.  Some of the tapenade soaked into the lentils, which was a welcome treat.  However, they went a little lentil crazy, with too many on the plate (you can’t see them all, there were even more underneath the lamb chops).  The polenta in itself was delicious, but in comparison to the olive tapenade, presented itself as too plain.  Maybe next time I’ll start out by eating the polenta and then devour the lamb chops:)

We split an order of Pomme Fritte with melted brie.  Perfectly crisply petite fries with brie on top.  I love cheese, and this side really could have used a lot more brie.  The majority of the cheese was condensed into one area on the dish, leaving several fries too dry and cheese-less.

To finish off, we had some amazing creme brulee.  The combination of crunchy and gooey textures was just perfect.  Super sugary and sweet, and positively mouth-watering.

All in all, a delightful dinner.  The dishes were satisfying overall, with a few slight misses along the way.  But that’s ok.  The tea most definitely made up for them:)  I will be back, hopefully sooner rather than later.  I saw paella on their daily specials menus (Friday nights, for those who are interested), and I want to try it simply out of sheer curiosity how a French restaurant will tackle paella.