It's king salmon season!

It's California king salmon season! Everyone here is excited about our local salmon. The market price reflects this excitement - the whole fish goes at $10.99 a pound, and fillets are $17.99 a pound. Bu the glorious fish is totally worth it, and we can afford it once a year, right?



The fishermen bring the salmon in early in the morning, it hits the Bay Area stores a couple of hours later, and then you have to catch it the second time: it's usually gone by noon.



This morning I caught about 1.5 pounds of the freshest local king salmon fillets at Sigona's Farmers Market in Redwood City. I cut it into 6-ounce portions, and made a healthy version of the classic salmon with dill sauce for 4.

Salmon with Dill Sauce
Serves 4

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
4 salmon fillets, skin on
Salt, pepper

6 oz plain Greek yogurt
1 small bunch fresh dill, finely chopped
2 strips of lemon rind, yellow part only, cut with vegetable peeler, very finely chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt

Heat olive oil and butter in a large non-stick skillet. Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Place fillets flesh side down in the skillet; let them sizzle without disturbing for 2-3 minutes. Using a large spatula, carefully turn the fish over. Cook for 2-3 minutes more, or until just cooked through but still juicy.

Mix yogurt, dill, lemon rind and lemon juice. Season to taste.

Spoon the sauce over the fish, garnish with lemon slices and dill sprigs.




Other ideas for cooking your local fresh salmon:

Poach it. Prepare court bouillon with white wine, lemon, black peppercorns, carrots, celery, parsley, onion, bay leaf, and enough water to cover the fish, in a deep sauté pan. Simmer 20-25 minutes to extract the flavor from the vegetables, season to taste. Remove and discard the vegetables. Place the fish fillets in the court bouillon skin side down. Simmer until just cooked, about 10 minutes, more or less depending on the thickness of the fish. Serve in soup bowls, with strained court bouillon and julienned blanched carrots and celery.



Grill it. Season the fillets with salt and pepper, brush with olive oil. Grill on preheated medium grill until just cooked, 6-8 minutes, turning (carefully, with a large spatula) once.



Here grilled king salmon is served with grilled yellow squash and a sauce of fava beans with tarragon and lemon.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Redwood City, CA