Here Fishy, Fishy!

I am 1000% NOT a fan of fish.  Actually, if it lives in the water, I hate it.  Shrimp, seafood, fresh water fish, oysters, scallops, etc.  **shudder**  So.  So.  Gross.  And I hate that about myself because seafood is so incredibly healthy and good for you.  Very low in calories, very high in protein, fish oils, generally things good for your body.

Despite my (very strong) feelings regarding fish/seafood, Scott does NOT hate it.  In fact, he loves seafood a great deal.  He just never gets it at home because I don't cook it.  I am a good cook and I can cook anything, given a recipe (I can follow instructions pretty well), however, I tend to cook and taste.  It tells me if what I'm making tastes right, or needs more seasoning, or some additional flavor.  True story - I never ever sit down and eat Thanksgiving dinner.  That is because by the time the dinner is placed on the table, I've eaten a full meal while cooking it.  So, since I don't like fish/seafood, and I taste while I cook, I just don't cook it.

Today is Scott's birthday.  He was originally supposed to work kind of late tonight, so I decided to make him a birthday dinner last night.  I decided to make seafood for him.  Oy.  I was nervous!  I ended up making grilled salmon with a compound lemon, garlic, basil butter, roasted asparagus tips and a fresh panzanella salad.  It all came out great - according to him.  :)  I figured I better write it down somewhere so I can do it again!!  :)

SALMON

Compound Butter
4 tbsp butter, room temperature
Zest and juice from one lemon
1 tbsp minced garlic
5 to 6 basil leaves, julienned 
Completely combine all the above ingredients in a small bowl.

Compound butter is a magical thing.  Don't want lemon?  Use oranges.  Don't like basil, use oregano.  The key is that you can use ANY flavor profile when making compound butters.  That above is just what I used (because I have a basil plant in my backyard and have plenty on hand at all times). 

I grilled the fish.  Fish sticks to the grill like crazy.  Try this tip to not only keep it from sticking, but infuse a ton of flavor into your fish as well.  Lay your fish on a bed of sliced citrus fruit.  In this case, because I believe lemon goes best with fish, and I had it in my butter, I used lemons.  You could use oranges (and make your compound butter with oranges) if that is your thing. 

I got a very large salmon filet with the skin on.  I cut it into 3 filets (and froze one) and dried them off a bit.  I liberally covered the non-skin side of the fish with the compound butter. 

I turned just one burner of my grill on so that I could cook this fish on an indirect heat.  That is important.  You do not want flames touching this delicate meat.  Medium high heat.  Line the grill with your lemon slices (and the smell from them instantly beginning to sizzle is amazing!), then lay your filets on top of the lemon slices, skin side down (butter side up) and shut the lid.  Do NOT flip this fish.  No need.  Basically, doing it this way, you are using your grill like an oven.  In my case, it took about 30 minutes to get the fish cooked through.  That time will be less or more depending on the thickness of your filets.

PANZANELLA

Panzanella is an old world peasant dish.  It's bread salad, originating in Italy, with references to it dating back to the 1500s!  People were not wasteful back then, as we are now.  Every single thing was used.  This dish began as a way for the people back then to use up their day old bread and whatever vegetables were laying about.  Traditionally, this salad must include at least the bread and tomatoes to be considered panzanella.  After that, the ingredients are up to you!  I did a fairly simple one last night - not too crazy.

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1 loaf of Italian bread (I bought one from the bakery and only used about 2/3 of it)
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced

Vinegrette
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup olive oil (use good olive oil here, this isn't going to be cooked, you want a flavorful oil)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes.  Warm the 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a pan.  Add the bread and kosher salt to the pan and toss to coat in the oil.  At a medium low temperature, brown the bread, tossing frequently, for about 10 minutes (you may need to add more oil - eye ball it).  Remove from heat.

Make the vinegrette by adding all ingredients except the 1/2 cup olive oil to a bowl.  Combine with a whisk.  Continue whisking while slowly drizzling the olive oil in, until all oil is incorporated and fully combined.

In a large bowl, add all the vegetables, add the bread and toss with the vinegrette.  It's as simple as that.  You can also add things like capers, good olives (like kalamata), anchovies (if you are into that sort of thing....ewww) and fresh herbs.  Due to the above mentioned condition of too much basil at my house, this salad got some julienned basil tossed in for good measure.

You can serve right away, but wow.  Let it sit for 30 minutes and get all the flavors combined?  To.  Die.  For.  It's BREAD SALAD.  How can it possibly be bad???

For the asparagus tips, I simply trimmed the woody part off, coated the tips in olive oil and a little salt and pepper, and tossed them a foil lined sheet pan under the broiler for 8 to 10 minutes.  Pull them out, squeeze a little fresh lemon over them, add a bit of Parmesan cheese and voila!  Done.

It was a wild success, according to him.  He ate every single bite on his plate.  He also thanked me profusely for making him fish, since he knows I can't stand it.

I love that man to pieces.  <3 <3 <3