Meal of the Week 3: Salmon Steaks

Strawberry Salsa and Salmon Steaks!
This week’s meal is brought to us by none other than the handy-dandy Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. Imagine that? The big old cook book that’s just been sitting collecting dust on your shelf while you scour the internet for another tasty recipe actually has some good eats in it!
For this recipe you will need:
2 Salmon steaks
2 avocados, pitted and peeled (about 1 cup)
2 C of strawberries (preferably overripe) chopped
1/2 C chopped seeded cucumber
2 T honey
1 tsp finely shredded lime peel and
2 T juice of a lime
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, finely chopped (be careful! they’re nasty in the eyes!)
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

Combine all the salsa ingredients. Make sure they’re chopped to your preference consistency. Chill in the fridge for up to 24 hrs.
For a plain salmon (and to experience the salsa most exquisitely) try this baking option:
On a large sheet of tinfoil, dress your salmon steaks (or in my case, fillets) with the salsa. Roll up the foil around the steak. and bake in the oven at 450 for about 20 minutes. Salmon doesn’t have to be cooked through, so use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. I like mine medium well.
For a more luxurious salmon (which is also a little less healthy) Try this pan frying option:
Mix 1/4 C honey, 1 T chili powder, 1 clove of pressed garlic, and 1 T olive oil in a small bowl.

With the heat set to Med/High, pour a little olive oil in a skillet and place salmon steaks/fillets on the skillet skin side up. After about a minute, flip the fillets. Once they are almost cooked through, spoon the honey/chili powder mix over top of the fillets. Lower the heat to Low and continue spooning the mixture as it boils from the pan over the fillets as it becomes a glaze like syrup. Serve immediately.

My Substitutions: First off, I’m just not ready to handle a fresh jalapeno. So instead we just put some Texas Pete’s in the salsa mix. For extra bulk and spice and because I felt like it, I added a small onion. After tasting the mix with the salmon, I’m actually going to recommend that you stick with the base recipe. the onion added too much bulk and the lack of jalapeno made the salsa a little too sweet. It was still good! … it just would have been better if I’d stuck to the recipe.
For chopping convenience I used my Vidalia chop wizard – I love it!! It makes chopping fast, clean, AND!!! it will measure the amount you have chopped for you!!! No more estimating!!

For sides try a nice fresh salad, a side of orzo with lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, or some tortilla chips so you can finish off the rest of your salsa.
Next week we’ll try a butterscotch apple cake. Happy Eats!
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