2011-07-15

Salmon with Blueberry Sauce


One of the few benefits of my son's food allergies is they've given me the excuse I needed to experiment wildly in the kitchen.  Right now blueberries are in season, and I was considering combining them in some way with ginger and lemon as I worked my way through the produce section of the grocery store.  I turned a few corners and found sockeye salmon also in season and on sale.  I started thinking, maybe I could do something with salmon and ginger and lemon...

Then it hit me, a lemon and ginger blueberry sauce for salmon.  I hesitated, because these weren't cheap ingredients, and not all of my past experiments have been successful.  (We do not ever mention the "jellyfish sandwich" disaster.)  Still, the vision of pink salmon with a purple sauce was just too tempting for me to resist.

I'm glad I have such poor impulse control, since the savory sweet flavor combination was both surprising and delicious.


Salmon with Blueberry Sauce
(Click here for printable recipe.)

Salmon:
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 lbs salmon fillet, skin removed
2 Tbs olive oil

Sauce:
1 pint fresh blueberries, washed
thumb size piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 C coconut milk
juice of a lemon (about 3 Tbs)

Combine salt, garlic powder, cumin, cinnamon and nutmeg in  a small bowl.  Place salmon fillet on a large cutting board.  Gently spread seasonings onto both sides of the salmon.  (Technically it's a rub, but a light patting motion works better than a full on massage.)  Cut salmon into four, roughly equal sized pieces.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or fry pan over medium to medium high heat.  Saute salmon a few minutes on each side until cooked through.  Remove fillets from pan and set aside.  (You may want to cover salmon to keep it warm.)

Keep pan on heat, and add blueberries and ginger.  Cook while stirring until blueberries begin to burst open.  Stir in coconut milk, then lemon juice and watch the color explode.

Serve salmon and sauce immediately over rice.

I'm serving up my dinnertime creation to:

3 comments:

Corina said...

I love blueberries but I'd never have thought of pairing them with salmon. I love the colours in this.

Maggie said...

Sounds wonderful! I've been looking for a something savory to do with blueberries too.

Dental assistant said...

Wow! I have never thought of salmon and blueberry combination. Love the colors, will try the recipe one day. Thanks for the post.