No, it wasn’t my birthday or our anniversary or any sort of milestone he chose to celebrate by cooking for me. A couple of weeks ago he was flipping through the cookbook I brought home from my trip to Seattle, came across a recipe that sounded good (and relatively easy to make) and declared “I’m going to make this for you some weekend soon.” I’m no fool—I suggested we schedule a day right then and there before he could forget about it and/or change his mind.
So last night Jason made me a lovely Salmon with Pinot Noir Mustard Sauce (using the Pinot Noir I brought back from my brief stop in Willamette Valley). It was really good (the meal and the wine). Perfectly cooked salmon (I was so proud!) served over a salad of arugula, red pepper, and tossed with a delightful dressing made of pinot noir, honey, mustard seeds, red wine vinegar, shallots, and tarragon. It was lovely, light, summery meal perfect for the 90 degree weather we had over the weekend.
A couple of notes should you decide to make this recipe. 1) You are supposed to let the dressing sit for 8 hours or overnight to mix and mingle properly. We let it sit about 6.5 hours and I think it worked out just fine. Just make sure you plan ahead! 2) The recipe called for black/brown mustard seeds. After looking at several grocery stores we could not find them and ended up using yellow mustard seeds. Upon further research I found that black/brown mustard seeds are hotter than their yellow counterparts and used a lot in Indian cooking. Still not sure where to buy them but that info was at least interesting. 3) Searing salmon can stink up your house/apartment. The fish smell seems to have subsided by this morning but we had to use quite a bit of Lysol and burned a number of candles last night trying to get the smell to go away. But it was worth it for a meal like that!
Salmon with Pinot Noir Mustard Sauce
Adapted from The Pike Place Market Cookbook
Ingredients:
1 cup Pinot Noir
¼ cup honey
¼ cup yellow mustard seeds (or black or brown if you can find them)
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped shallot
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Pepper
2 (6 oz) fillets of salmon
3 TBL olive oil
Arugula
1 red bell pepper, diced
1.Place wine in a small saucepan over high heat and boil until reduced by half. Remove from heat and add honey, stirring until it dissolves
2.In a small, dry skillet, toast mustard seeds until they begin to pop and release their aroma. Remove from heat and add to wine-honey mixture. Add red wine vinegar, shallot, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Pour into a jar with a lid (we used a mason jar), shake well and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
3.Heat medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and place salmon, skin side up, on hot skillet. Sear 3 minutes on the first side and then 3 seconds or so on each additional side (ending with the skin side down) and place in 350 degree oven. Cook for 8-10 minutes until just cooked through.
4.Toss arugula, red pepper, and some of the dressing together. Divide among plates. Place salmon on top of salad. Drizzle a little more dressing on top of the salmon and serve.
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