| « Pacific Northwest: Taste |  |
| Ponzu Salmon |
| Serves 4 |
|
4 6-ounce skinless salmon fillets 1 teaspoon fine sea salt 2 tablespoons vegetable oil Pacific Northwest Ponzu Sauce (recipe follows) 1. Rinse the salmon fillets, pat them dry and sprinkle with the sea salt. 2. Put a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and allow the pan to preheat for 1 minute. Put the oil in the pan; it should be almost smoking-hot. 3. Put the salmon skinned-side-up into the pan and allow the salmon to cook undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes or until a crisp brown crust has formed on the underside of the fish. Turn the fillets and cook 5 minutes longer or until fish is just cooked through. 4. Make a puddle of ponzu sauce in the center of four plates and plant the pan-seared fish fillets on top. Garnish the fish with zest from a grapefruit, an orange and a lime (see sauce recipe). |
| Pacific Northwest Ponzu Sauce |
| Makes 1 cup |
|
1 grapefruit 1 orange 1 lime 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1. Use a zester (a special tool for removing the outer rind of citrus fruits) to remove the colorful outer rind from the grapefruit, the orange and the lime; save the zest on the side. If you don't have a zester, use a vegetable peeler to remove the rind, then cut it into julienne strips with a sharp knife. Juice the fruits and combine the juices. 2. Put the sugar in a dry pan over medium-high heat and swirl the pan until the sugar has begun to dissolve; it will be caramel-colored. Pour in the fruit juice and step back because the mixture will boil and steam rapidly before settling into a steady boil. Boil for about 2 minutes, swirling the pan now and then to dissolve the caramelized sugar. 3. When the caramelized sugar has dissolved, add the soy sauce and vinegar. Drop in half of the citrus zest that was set aside before the fruits were juiced and continue boiling the sauce for 2 or 3 minutes, or until it is slightly thickened. The zest may be left in or strained out. Serve the sauce warm or at room temperature with seafood such as pan-seared salmon or scallops. Sprinkle the extra citrus zest over the seafood. |
