Salmon is a red fish of the salmon family. And, like her relatives, she is a delicacy. It is known that salmon conquers cooks not only with its excellent taste, but also with the incredible simplicity of cooking. In addition, it is very useful. Omega-3 fatty amino acids, minerals and vitamins strengthen the walls of blood vessels, break down atherosclerotic plaques, improve brain activity, and normalize blood pressure. If you have brittle nails, loose hair, skin or tooth enamel problems, you should definitely include salmon in your diet. Chefs say that red fish cannot be ruined. And so it is. In any case, this delicacy will come out edible. But in this article we will talk about how to cook salmon deliciously. From this fish you can make a variety of dishes for both the festive table and for everyday family dinner. Sandwiches with salted salmon, salads, fish soup, barbecue, baked fillet with cheese and pineapple, steak - this is not a complete list of dishes from the representative of salmon. This fish goes well in the oven. It does not dry out, its fillet is quite dense, and it does not crawl either in the pan or on the skewer. And the salmon soup will be rich and aromatic. Let's now explore the selection of recipes below.
Salted Salmon
This semi-finished product can be an ingredient for sandwiches, salads, pancake filling. Salted salmon, which is already ready to eat, is sold in stores. But it’s better to cook a home-made product - it will fully justify the effort. However, the whole process will take you a maximum of ten minutes. But to wait until the delicacy is ready, it will take a couple of days. More precisely, from one to three - depending on the desired degree of salting. So, how to cook salmon, how to turn a piece of raw fish into a delicate delicacy? First of all, thoroughly wash the product and dry it with a napkin. If there is a skin, cut it off. We divide the fillet into thin slices with a thickness of not more than half a centimeter. Now we are preparing a mixture of spices. There should not be too many of them, since the smell of spices will easily interrupt the delicate aroma of red fish. A kilogram of salmon will require a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of sugar. And you can take six leaves of laurel. Mix the crystals and rub them with pieces of fish. Put the fillet on a cutting board. When the layer is filled, put a bay leaf on it. You can instead lay several branches of dill. We cover the second layer of fish. Wrap the whole board in baking paper and put it in the refrigerator. After a day, we try whether it’s ready.
Canapes
So, we already have a delicious home-cooked food. Now let's see what can be prepared from salted salmon. Honestly, such a yummy can hardly be called a semi-finished product. So I want to pick up a slice with two fingers, and send it to my mouth. But hold back the first impulse. We’ll prepare sandwiches that will completely surprise the guests. Soft cream cheese like "Philadelphia" (three tablespoons) is mixed with a pinch of zest, a few drops of lemon juice and a teaspoon of soy sauce. Sprinkle with black pepper and chopped dill. Bread - black or gray - cut into thin slices, after cutting off the whole crust from it. Spread a piece of cheese. Put a piece of salmon. Here you have some great canapes. And there is also a banquet option. Put salmon on bread greased with Philadelphia. Then again cheese, and again fish. The last layer is Philadelphia seasoned. This complex design must be sent to the refrigerator. When the guests are on the doorstep, we take out large sandwiches and divide each loaf of bread into six or eight small canapes. On the very top of these elegant products we spread red caviar with a teaspoon. Decorate the edge of the dish on which the canapes are served, decorate with lemon slices.
Alternatively, you can prepare such canapes, as in the photo below. Cut small round bread slices from black bread, lightly fry in olive oil or dry in a toaster. Lubricate them with cream cheese, and on top lay the bud, rolled up from salmon slices. Sprinkle all this beauty with chopped dill.
Salads
Still thinking how to cook salmon as a cold snack? The first thing that comes to mind is salads. Salmon will turn any sliced vegetables into a delicious dish. Do not believe? Then prepare the holiday salad according to the following recipe. Boil in uniform two tubers of potato and one carrot. Separately, cook hard-boiled 2 eggs. We clean and rub all these ingredients in different bowls, as the “Holiday” is a layered salad. At the bottom of the dish we lay out a layer of potatoes. For a layer of salad, mix one hundred grams of mayonnaise and sour cream. We coat each layer with this sauce. On potatoes we place a layer of finely chopped salted salmon. Next, the layers are in this order: carrots, chopped fresh cucumber, straws, eggs. Decorate the salad with slices of salmon. In the center we spread a tablespoon of red caviar.
The Caesar salad option will also be a great solution if you want to cook salmon for a snack. Lubricate the dish with a chopped clove of garlic and moisten with olive oil. We lay pieces of lettuce leaves. Sprinkle with lemon juice. We drive in an egg that lay in boiling water for exactly a minute, not longer. Three parmesan cheese on top of the salad and add salted salmon, cut into thin oblong stripes. Before serving, sprinkle the dish with wheat crackers.
How to cook salmon soup
Soups from red fish are very fatty, rich, aromatic. They are prepared, as a rule, from tummies or heads. But there is such a dish in Russian cuisine that is called “Tsar's Ear”. The following is a recipe with a photo. How to cook salmon in this soup? The secret is that only fish fillet is used here. First, pass the chopped onion and carrot. Then put three tomatoes in a frying pan in butter. Before this, tomatoes should be peeled and cut into cubes. We shift the tomatoes into the pan, add the onions and carrots, pour water. When the liquid boils, pour the slices of four potato tubers. Now we are filing fish. To do this, remove the skin from it and pull out all the bones. We need 300 grams of fillet. Now dip the pieces of salmon in boiling water. Immediately add salt, five peas of allspice, three bay leaves. Cook until the potatoes in your ear are tender. Greens (four branches of dill, parsley and green onions) are finely chopped. Add to the soup and immediately turn off the heat under the pan. Pour into the ear a stack (50 milliliters) of vodka, mix and lower the lid. Let the soup brew for about twenty minutes. Pour a little lemon juice into a plate with an ear (or serve with a circle of citron).
Cooking in nature
Tired of classic barbecue? Find an alternative to it, more beneficial than meat. Fatty and dense red fish will not dry out over an open fire and will not fall apart on a skewer. Don't know how to cook salmon tasty and juicy? Like kebab meat, fish must first be marinated. You can’t imagine a better mixture than mustard seeds, thyme, honey and lemon juice. The fish is saturated with aromas of herbs and will absorb more moisture. Therefore, barbecue cooked on charcoal in the grill will be the main dish of your picnic. In Europe, barbecue rarely goes without salmon steak. Consider the following recipe with a photo.
How to cook grilled salmon? Before this, the fish should be marinated. The recipe suggests pouring dry aromatic herbs (cilantro, rosemary, thyme), white pepper and salt into olive oil, and pour in lemon juice. In the marinade, the steak should lie no more than a quarter of an hour. After all, lemon juice acts as an acid, breaking down the fibers of meat. If you over-hold the fish in the marinade, it will fall apart. The grill should be warmed up well before spreading the salmon. Stove over coals from two sides. Readiness is checked by a puncture in the widest part of the steak. Colorless juice should come out.
In the oven
Pickled salmon for barbecue or steak, but let the weather down? Do not despair. We will tell you how to cook salmon in foil in the oven. If red fish is pickled correctly, for example, in Provence herbs, salt and lemon juice, then you can bake steaks and home. Each piece of salmon is slightly shaken off from the liquid and tightly wrapped in foil. Place on a dry baking sheet. The edges of the foil should be at the bottom of the bag so that it does not turn around. Bake steaks at 180 degrees twenty minutes. Then we put out the pan and carefully, so as not to get burned with hot steam, cut the foil. Send the steaks to cover with a delicious crust for another five minutes. Serve, sprinkled with lemon juice, with some light side dish. For example, with vegetable salad or mashed potatoes.
Do you know how to cook delicious salmon in foil with a side dish? Cut the tomatoes in circles and onions in rings. Dill finely chopped. On a piece of foil, lay the raw pickled salmon steak. Place tomato mugs, onions and greens on top of it. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Generously sprinkle with grated hard cheese. So that the top of the foil does not stick to the dish, grease it with mayonnaise. Hold the package for half an hour in the oven at 180 degrees, and you're done!
How to cook salmon in a pan
Tasty red fish and fried. But if salmon is often baked under a cheese cap, under pineapples, tomatoes, herbs or in foil, then it is cooked in a pan either breaded or stewed in sauce. We present you two basic recipes to choose from.
Wash the steaks, dry them with napkins and three spices for fish. If there is no salt in the seasoning, add it to taste. Preheat a pan with a little olive oil. Pour it a little more in one bowl, and pour sesame seeds into another. First, dip the steak in butter, then in the breading. Spread on the pan. Fry four minutes on each side. Then we reduce the fire, and cover the pan. So fry for another five minutes. The fish is moderately juicy and lean.
Another way to cook salmon in a pan is to first fry it until a golden crust is formed, and then simmer until cooked in sauce. Steaks, as in the previous recipe, rub with spices for fish. But spread without breading in hot vegetable oil. We fry on high heat for literally a minute on one side and 45 seconds on the other. Pour in a quarter cup of white dry wine. Immediately reduce the heat to a minimum, and cover the pan tightly. So stew the salmon for another five minutes. Red fish steaks are also delicious with cucumber-dill sauce.
Steaming
Salmon is difficult to spoil. But still, in the oven, it can turn out to be overdried, and in the pan - absorb too much fat. But how to cook juicy salmon so that it has the least calories? Of course, in a double boiler! So the fish will retain all its beneficial properties. Wash the pieces of salmon, dry with napkins, rub with salt, white pepper, Provencal herbs. Be sure to moisten with olive oil and a little rub the fish so that the fat penetrates deep into the fibers. Next, follow the instructions that came with your double boiler. But if you do not have such a device in the kitchen, do not be discouraged. The unit can be replaced with a simple pan with a piece of gauze. We fill a wide tank with water. We pull its top with gauze folded into several layers. We put the pan on the fire. Spread the salmon. Boiling water should not touch the fish, otherwise it will already be cooking, and not steaming. After ten minutes, flip the pieces of salmon on the other side. Since the steam dish will come out more lean than in the pan, fat sauce is also suitable for it. Cook creamy bechamel or olandez. As a side dish, serve fresh fish salad or mashed potatoes for fish.
Fish cakes
The stores sell not only pieces of salmon or steaks, but also tummies (strips), and heads, and minced meat. What dishes can be prepared from such products? From the heads and abdomen make an ear. How to cook salmon, if you have only minced meat? Let's make a lot of delicious cutlets like "Kiev"! First, cut about a hundred grams of butter into small cubes. Place them for the time being in the freezer. Into a kilogram of minced meat we add two onions finely chopped or minced through a meat grinder. Drive an egg (one or two). Salt, pepper and carefully knead the minced meat. We put on the fire a pan with three tablespoons of vegetable oil. Pour breadcrumbs into a bowl. Instead, you can use ordinary flour. Take a piece of minced meat, form a cake on it in the palm of your hand. In its center we put a frozen block of oil. We turn the cake. Bread it in breadcrumbs or flour, put it in a pan. We fry on both sides over medium heat. Such cutlets are usually served without sauce. Boiled rice will be an excellent side dish for them.
Salmon pasta with cream sauce
The menu of many restaurants includes this gourmet dish. But it can be done at home. Just follow the recipe below. Cook salmon (200 grams) in a pan. Only instead of olive oil for frying, take cream (40 g). When the fish is slightly browned on both sides, put an incomplete glass of cream of 20% fat. Increase the heat under the pan to bring them to a boil faster. But then immediately we fasten the flame so that the sauce gurgles a little. Cut a small bunch of herbs and three cloves of garlic. Add to the pan. In parallel with the preparation of salmon, we cook pasta. The recipe recommends refraining from using smooth spaghetti from which the sauce will slip off. It is better to take pasta with a hole ("feathers", "shells") or curly products ("springs", "butterflies"). The paste should be Italian, made from durum wheat. Boil water in a saucepan, salt, pour in a spoonful of vegetable oil. Pour 200 grams of pasta. Cook until al dente. Throw the pasta into a colander. Rinse real Italian pasta is not necessary. We spread it on plates and pour sauce with salmon. Enjoy your meal!