Jerk!
Oh, please don't leave, I was talking about the spice mixture, not you! You know that lovely Jamaican stuff with some heat in it, right?
Anyway, we had a beautiful piece of salmon just begging for the Caribbean treatment, so who was I to deny it?
I took a few tablespoons of jerk seasoning, made a paste with a tablespoon or so of canola oil, and rubbed it all over the salmon, letting it sit a bit to get the flavour really packed in there.
A quick sear on that spiced side first, then a flip to skin-side down and the pan hit the preheated oven.
Ah, but what to have with it? Why, coconut rice, of course.
I had a bottle of coconut extract in the pantry, and a jar of a great rice mixture, so that was what we did. The Royal Blend rice mixture (white, brown, red, and wild rices) is a quick-cooking product, so into the 2C of water I added a heaping 1/4 t of coconut extract and about a T of butter along with 1C of rice. Once it hit the boil, it simmered - loosely covered - until done. That's about 5 minutes at a guess.
I did add an extra 1/4 t of coconut extract and a scant 1/4 t of vanilla to the rice as it finished - there just wasn't quite enough of the coconut scent for my liking.
I added a pile of blanched peas and some diced cocktail onions to the rice as it finished as well. After all, one can't simply have protein and starch, right?
At any rate, the rice was delicious (it wanted a bit of acid, so a squeeze of lime juice is highly recommended), and the salmon was excellent as well.
It was like eating in Kingston, mon! (OK, I don't really know if it was like Kingston, Jamaica. The only Kingston I recall visiting is in Ontario. It's a very nice place, but I doubt that coconut rice and jerk salmon are high on the list of the local cuisine.)
Enjoy! (we did)
Oh, please don't leave, I was talking about the spice mixture, not you! You know that lovely Jamaican stuff with some heat in it, right?
Anyway, we had a beautiful piece of salmon just begging for the Caribbean treatment, so who was I to deny it?
I took a few tablespoons of jerk seasoning, made a paste with a tablespoon or so of canola oil, and rubbed it all over the salmon, letting it sit a bit to get the flavour really packed in there.
A quick sear on that spiced side first, then a flip to skin-side down and the pan hit the preheated oven.
Ah, but what to have with it? Why, coconut rice, of course.
I had a bottle of coconut extract in the pantry, and a jar of a great rice mixture, so that was what we did. The Royal Blend rice mixture (white, brown, red, and wild rices) is a quick-cooking product, so into the 2C of water I added a heaping 1/4 t of coconut extract and about a T of butter along with 1C of rice. Once it hit the boil, it simmered - loosely covered - until done. That's about 5 minutes at a guess.
I did add an extra 1/4 t of coconut extract and a scant 1/4 t of vanilla to the rice as it finished - there just wasn't quite enough of the coconut scent for my liking.
I added a pile of blanched peas and some diced cocktail onions to the rice as it finished as well. After all, one can't simply have protein and starch, right?
At any rate, the rice was delicious (it wanted a bit of acid, so a squeeze of lime juice is highly recommended), and the salmon was excellent as well.
It was like eating in Kingston, mon! (OK, I don't really know if it was like Kingston, Jamaica. The only Kingston I recall visiting is in Ontario. It's a very nice place, but I doubt that coconut rice and jerk salmon are high on the list of the local cuisine.)
Enjoy! (we did)
