Salmon: A Multi-Faceted Friend

Can enough good be said about salmon? It’s high in Omega 3’s, it is heart-friendly, glucose-friendly, it is versatile and easy to fix, and it is easy to digest. It contains NO gluten so it is the Celiac’s friend. We could go on and on, but instead, we’ll share some easy and wonderful recipes we think you’ll like—complete with gluten-free sauces.

Grilled Salmon with Lemon Butter

One of the reasons Grilled salmon is easy and quick is because you can do it indoors in the oven, on your countertop grill, or out on the patio, and all you need for seasoning is salt and pepper.

For a special touch, try Lemon Butter—it adds a fine twist to this traditional entrée.

Lemon Butter:
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Place the egg yolks in a saucepan. Cut the butter into pieces and add to the saucepan. Heat the ingredients over medium-low heat while whisking the melting butter and egg yolks together. Continue whisking until the mixture turns lemony-colored and thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Place in a container and refrigerate until firm or serve immediately as a sauce.

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Salmon in Dill Sauce

Pan fry four salmon fillet—just over 1/2 pound each—in a couple tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet. Heat the oil, and cook the fish for about five minutes on each side or until done. Be sure and salt and pepper the fillets generously when you begin to cook.

For the white sauce:
Melt four tablespoons of butter in a heavy skillet. Stir in three tablespoons of gluten-free flour until you have a smooth, pasty slurry. Whisk in a cup of cream and then add a cup of milk (or use half-and-half). Cook over medium heat, stirring with a whisk, until the starches gelatinize and the sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper and dilute with additional milk to reach the desired consistency.

Add a couple tablespoons of lemon, just enough to lend a little tang, and snipped, fresh dill.

Spoon hot sauce over each serving fish.

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Whenever we cook salmon on the stovetop, our husbands complain, “Whew! It smells fishy!” They’re right. Salmon is a very fatty fish and searing a salmon fillet in a hot skillet does create an odor. However, they don’t complain when we bake salmon.

It’s easy to bake salmon fillets. Place the skinned fillets in a shallow baking dish and bake for 12 to 16 minutes at 400°. (It’s done when it flakes easily with a fork.) When you remove the pan from the oven, pour off any moisture or remove the fish from the pan so that the fish does not become soggy, and serve. That’s all there is to it at its basic best.

One of the wonderful aspects of salmon is how well it does with flavorings, so be adventurous and try some flavoring, such as MAPLE, for instance:

Maple Glazed Baked Salmon

1 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon San-J (gluten-free) soy sauce (found in natural food stores)
1-1/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 salmon filets with the skin removed, about 10 ounces each
salt and pepper
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1 teaspoon cornstarch (Corn starch does not trigger the autoimmune response in celiac disease. It contains a form of gluten, a type of combined grain protein, but not the same form as wheat, barley, rye, kamut, spelt, and triticale.)
1/3 cup heavy cream

Mix the maple syrup, lemon juice, gluten-free soy sauce, ginger, and mustard together. Set aside 1/2 cup of the mixture in the refrigerator. With the remaining mixture, marinate the fish by placing the fillets in a sealable plastic bag with the mixture, sealing, and refrigerating for several hours.

To prepare the fish, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the fish in a shallow baking dish. Baste the fish with the marinade from the bag. Salt and pepper each fillet. (The soy sauce in the marinade will add a bit of sodium but not much.)

Bake the fish for a total of 12 to 16 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. After the fish has baked for 8 minutes, open the oven door and sprinkle the fish with nuts. Close the door and continue baking. Do not over bake.

While the fish is baking, prepare the sauce from the 1/2 cup set aside mixture. Place the cornstarch in a small bowl or cup. Add just enough marinade to make a thick paste of the cornstarch. Gradually stir in the rest. Remove the sauce mixture to a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a whisk, until the sauce begins to bubble and is thickened. Stir in the cream. Set aside.

When the fish is done, immediately remove the fillets to serving plates and drizzle with the prepared sauce. (Serves 4)

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