127. Seared Salmon with Balsamic Glaze (p. 290)

I've mentioned before that I have a special challenged facing me as I work through The Project, and that's my wife's refusal to eat beef, pork or lamb (I'm pretty sure that she won't eat rabbit either, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, on page 408). Well, in recent weeks, The Project has become a bit more challenging. My three-month-old son has developed an allergy or intolerance to dairy, soy and/or wheat. And because my wife is nursing, if he can't eat it, she can't eat it. So, I've been scrutinizing the recipes in The Book to find meals that I can make that we both can eat. And one of the great things about The Book is that there are a surprising number of options that will work. The other good thing is that, this too, will pass, and my wife will be back on butter and flour in good time.

I picked this recipe because it fit within our dietary restrictions, and because it looked pretty easy. The recipe serves four, but because I feel funny about leftover fish (is that unreasonble?), I cut the recipe in half. First, I whisked together some balsamic vinegar (noting fancy, just the cheap supermarket stuff), water, lemon juice and brown sugar, and set it aside. Then I patted dry two salmon fillets (I used frozen wild Alaskan salmon from Whole Foods), and seared them in a pan with a little bit of oil, for a few minutes each side, skin side up first, and then skin side down. I put the salmon on two plates and then put the vinegar mixture in the pan for a few minutes until it had reduced. I spooned the glaze over the salmon, and we enjoyed it.

And did we enjoy it! The salmon was crispy and perfectly cooked. The glaze was light and intensely flavored. The lemon juice gave the dish a surprising brightness. Really very good. We liked it so much that I marched right back to Whole Foods to get more salmon and we had it for dinner the next night. The only drawback to this recipe is the smell. There's a bit of smoke when the fish is cooking, and the next day, there was a distinct odor lingering in the kitchen.

Date Cooked: March 21, 2009
Degree of Difficulty: Very Easy
Rating: A-