It seems only appropriate to kick off “Love At First Slice” with something simple, yet classic. Everyone needs their Omega-3’s, and salmon seemed like a good starting point. I flipped through some recipes and found one for “baked cilantro salmon” in Betty Crocker’s Quick and Easy. I was also craving some mashed potaters, and they seemed like a good choice to plate with the fishes, although angel hair pasta was probably an even better option.
The salmon is seasoned with a blend of ground cumin and salt (the latter of which was probably slightly lacking), splashed with a good squeeze of lemon juice, and cooked for 20 minutes. The topping is a mix of margarine, cilantro, and lemon zest– very flavorful. The salmon was cooked perfectly, which was a pleasant surprise on my first go.
If you get the chance, I recommend using a potato masher. It’s a lot more fun than you’d think.
The potatoes were just like grandma use to make them, although I opted for half a stick of butter to her minimum of 2 sticks, but only because I’ve grown attached to my arteries. Her version with an extra 100g of saturated fat is obviously better, but I thought mine went quite well with the juicy nature of the fish. Unfortunately, they also could have used a little more salt. All in all, it was a surprisingly good meal, and I would love to try it with pasta again at some point.
-Mel
Tags: mashed potatoes, salmon
