One Strong Siren: Let's make some salmon...

Garlic Dijon Smothered Salmon with Lemon Herb Essence

I purchase my salmon from the local farmer's market in Kensington, MD. The seafood guy there has an amazing selection of fish, shrimp, scallops, etc. I email him by Thursday of that week and tell him how big of a piece I want as most times I don't get there until later and all of the salmon is sold out. When I make this recipe I generally get a piece of salmon as long as the tip of my middle finger, up to my elbow. Then I slice it in smaller pieces, coat and bake them and then freeze them. I take them out the day before I want to eat them and they reheat very nicely in a pan, or are even delicious cold. =)

Remove the skin from the bottom of the salmon and slice into single serving strips. Here is a linked video to help you accomplish this task easily.

You will need:

Organic Garlic - I generally use 2 cloves per salmon piece

Organic Lemons - 1 lemon for every two salmon pieces

Organic Dijon Mustard (no calories, if your mustard has calories - read the label)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Coconut Oil (1 tsp for every two salmon pieces)

Mrs. Dash or some type of non-salt herb mixture.

Instructions:

Chop garlic very fine - use a spoon or a knife to crush the diced garlic until it gets pasty. I use the Slap Chop and then I crush with a spoon in a shallow bowl.

Add 2 TBSP Dijon mustard per two salmon pieces

Add 1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil per 3 salmon pieces

Mix together. Let rest while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Roll lemons while pressing down on them on the counter to help soften the pulp/fibers inside and release some of the juice.

Slice lemons into semi thick slices. You should get 5 - 6 slices per lemon. See bottom photo for example of thickness. If the slices are too thin they will dry out and do not release as much lemon flavor/essence into the bottom of the salmon.

Place lemons on the bottom of a pan covering the entire bottom of the pan.

FYI - Try not to use aluminum foil when cooking fish as it effects the taste of the fish. Try to use a glass or pyrex pan if possible. If you have extra lemon slices that is great. You can place them on top of the fillets after they are in the pan and sprinkle with some more herb mixture. If not, no biggie. =)

Sprinkle the herb mixture on top of the lemons in the pan. Again, the ideas is that as the lemons heat, their moisture will help create the herb-lemon essence moving up through the fish as it bakes.

Smear the garlic/dijon mixture onto each piece of salmon. Place them on top of the rows of lemon slices in the pan.