Rating: 💋 💋 💋 💋
Happy last week of February!
Recently, I cooked for my parents again. It was a race against time. Fish is a special dish as far as I am concerned, so I had to do very well. That added a bit of pressure. I love fish, I chose to make the dish, so I understand that I put this pressure on myself, but still.
This salmon dinner was an important consideration of how to carefully craft a menu. The thing is, fish cooks very quickly, and I needed accompaniments in order to make it into a whole meal. In the kitchen, everything comes down to timing and I had to choose a vegetable that would not only pair well with the flavors of the salmon, but also be easy enough to prepare so that the fish would not overcook or go cold in the meantime.
Oh, and I had never made this recipe before. I had never owned a food processor, so it was not possible. My mom's kitchen equipment is enabling me to try new endeavors. The question is, can I stick the landing? I cooked this salmon with bated breath.
On your mark...get set...go!
The first leg of the race started off well enough. Mixing up the sesame sauce, rubbing it on the filets, and decorating them with sesame seeds was the painless part. Then, all I had to do was pop the fish in the oven and let it do its thing, easy peasy lemon squeezy.
From that point on, though, I had the glaring red oven timer yelling at me. 20...19...18 minutes to go, can you do it???
I raced to chop up the avocado, pour it into the food processor, and scoop plain yogurt into the mixing bowl. Though I had never used a food processor before, my lack of experience could not stop me. It could not even slow me down. There were no minutes to waste.
Now, at this point, I only had one ingredient left for the sauce because I omitted the cilantro. My mom and I have both evolved past the need for that herb in our food. We respect it, but we keep it away from our plates. That left only the lime juice. I love fresh squeezed citrus. I did not factor in though that the lime juice might dribble down my wrists. Why is this a problem, you ask? Well, washing our hands has always been important, even before the CDC made it essential to fighting against the virus. With the virus, I am washing my hands even more. This constant washing of hands + the cold winter air is having an unhappy effect on my skin. You know the drill. Cracked knuckles galore. Once I halved the lime and gripped it into my hands to squeeze into the mixing bowl, I entered the danger zone. The lime juice dribbled into the cuts and cracks on my knuckles. My yelp was unreal. A sound recorder wishes it had picked it up for a new movie soundtrack coming soon to a screen near you.
12 minutes to go.
I had to fight through my wounds and forge ahead. I flipped the food processor on and let the avocado, yogurt, and lime juice blend into a cream while I halved the heirloom tomatoes. I loveee heirloom tomatoes. They are my favorite member of the tomato family. They are so fun and so beautiful and so hard to find. I could not remember the last time I had some so, when I saw a bunch at the market, I had to snap them up. Quick-baking fish? A simple salad seemed like the perfect side, and I thought peppery arugula would go so well with the spicy-sweet salmon recipe.
I have to thank my mom, because I could not have done this without her. While I stuffed arugula into salad bowls and tried to artfully sprinkle the tomato slices over top, she whipped up the best dressing known to man - a simple champagne vinaigrette. While she drizzled that over the salads, I pulled the filets out of the oven, carefully pried them off the aluminum with a spatula, and plated the fish with the avocado crema dolloped on top. I did my best to make it a pretty presentation. For a first try, I think it was okay.
Finished!
So how did this recipe place?
We loved how the sweet creamy avocado cooled down the heat of the chili powder in the salmon's sesame sauce. The plain yogurt tempered the avocado's sweetness as well, rounding out the dish nicely. I also loved how the avocado crema soaked into the crispy outer skin and flaky inside of the salmon. Having a simple salad on the side paired very well with the fish, so I was proud I thought of that. The acidity in the vinaigrette, crisp arugula, and sweet tomatoes mimicked the blend of heat and sweetness in the main course, and the flavors balanced very well together. Since this was a light dinner, we added some bread on the side, and we wound up choosing a phenomenal French baguette. It had a lovely, pillowy center and the Irish butter melting into it turned each bite into a warm, buttery delight. As a whole, this meal made for a really nice, clean Wednesday night dinner.
I cooked salmon for the first time a little less than a year ago, and it is really cool to get more confident with it. I am excited to add this Avocado Lime recipe to my arsenal.
Speaking of cold weather and cracked knuckles, my mom spent this past weekend working as Cinematographer and Actor on my current project. I need to make her another dinner to make up for the fact that she lent me her time and skills, filming me out in the cold all day on Saturday and then helping me with my scenes again on Sunday's indoor shoot. My Dad was a great acting coach as well and did an excellent job on Craft Services. I had so much fun filming and it was special to have them be apart of the process. That footage is off in production now, and I am so excited to see it come together!
I hope you all have a great week full of good news and good vibes 💛
XX,
MK
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