*Sigh*
It’s a kinda long story. This was supposed to be ‘roasted salmon with walnut-pepper relish’ from the nice folk at foodnetwork.com; but I had wild salmon filets, not a 2 to 3 pound piece. OK, no worries, it’ll be baked salmon with… but then I could not find that bag of English walnuts I knew I had stashed in the nut bin. Still, no problem-o, pecans would more than likely work a treat!
NEXT, I went in search of that jar of fire roasted peppers that must be in the fridge. No? All-righty then! A bag of Balsamic Roasted Peppers fresh from the freezer will be just. fine.
Nuthin’. Not so much as a pimiento.
There was, however, that jar of Peppadews I had picked up for Rich at the last European Imports Sale.
Welcome to my kitchen.
At this point, salmon was going to be made, and there was going to be a nut-based relish with a pepper-product component, just not quite as originally intended.
INGREDIENTS
Relish:
•1/2 cup pecans
•Pinch of Cayenne pepper
•2 tbsp chives
•1 tsp lemon zest
•1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
•1 tsp honey
•2 tbsp diced Peppadews – or roasted pepper
•1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
•1 tbsp walnut oil – guess what? – correct in one – I was out – so 2 tbsp of olive oil it was
Salmon:
•Skinless, wild-caught salmon filets
•Extra virgin olive oil
•Salt and pepper
•1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Let’s begin with the nuts, shall we?
Heat oven to 350°.
Arrange raw pecan halves on a parchment paper lined baking pan and toast just until they become aromatic – no more than 5 minutes – you need to watch them carefully so they don’t burn.
So, nut replacement well and truly taken care of, let’s make relish, shall we?
Allow the toasted pecans to cool, then coarsely chop and stir together with with Cayenne, chives, lemon zest and juice, honey, olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper.
By the way – did I mention that I had also misread the original recipe, and had been meant to save the lemon zest, chives, and 1 tbsp of the olive oil for the salmon?
Bean dip! I don’t care, it tasted just. fine.
On to the salmon!
Heat oven to 425°.
Brush a baking pan with olive oil and add the salmon filets.
Season with a bit of salt and pepper, brush some of the olive oil up and over the salmon, and top with the parsley.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Serve topped with the relish – YUM!
For a recipe so fraught with problems at the onset, this turned out full of great flavor and texture, and – if you discount having to scavenge for substitute ingredients – it is a snap to put together!
We had ours with the last of the Sweet Potato Poutine and a spinach salad with toasted pecans, and strawberries.