Yum

California Wild Salmon and Cherry Corn Salsa


As a side dish, I suggest a beautiful serving of long-grain, saffron rice is recommended.  In keeping with supporting local growers, I suggest as the perfect wine pairing, Churchill Vineyard’s Riesling, made from locally-grown grapes.

By Charlie Abowd

California Wild Salmon and Cherry Corn Salsa

Course: Main Course   Cuisine: American   Prep Time:    Cook Time:    Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients

CALIFORNIA WILD SALMON
  • Serves 4 to 6
  • 6-ounce salmon fillets
  • Olive oil
  • Lemons
  • Maldon’s Sea Salt Flakes
  • Ground pepper
CHERRY CORN SALSA
  • 1 cup pitted and quartered cherries. I prefer Queen Anne Cordial Cherries, but Bing or Black works. Cherries are currently available at our farmer’s market.
  • 2 ears fresh corn, again available at farmers market, de-cobbed and raw
  • 1 sweet onion, preferably red, chopped
  • 2 jalapenos, finely chopped
  • 3 limes, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • 2 large tablespoons sweet red pepper, chopped
  • Sea salt to taste
  • Fresh-ground pepper to taste

Directions

FOR THE SALMON
  • Lightly season each fillet with Maldon’s, available at DuBois Health Food Center & Herb Shoppe or Raley’s, and fresh-ground pepper.
  • Place in fiery-hot skillet (for six fillets, use two skillets), coated with olive oil. Sear both sides — top and bottom — with bottom being the skin side, about two minutes per side.
  • Squeeze the juice of two fresh lemons on the top (in case of two skillets, one lemon per skillet), place lemon in pan and cover immediately, placing in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
  • Pull pans out of oven and using a spatula, plate each fillet, and spoon sauce carefully over each fillet.
FOR THE SALSA
  • Be sure to prepare the salsa the day before serving, in order to give the flavors time to marry.
  • Cut cherries in half and remove pits. Cutting away from yourself, remove corn from the cob. This time of year, limes tend to be a bit hard, so to make juicing easier, place the limes in the microwave for about one minute. This will soften them, making juicing easier.
  • Combine all ingredients gently, cover and set aside until time to serve. This is the bed on which the salmon is placed for service.

NOTES

As a side dish, I suggest a beautiful serving of long-grain, saffron rice is recommended.  In keeping with supporting local growers, I suggest as the perfect wine pairing, Churchill Vineyard’s Reisling, made from locally-grown grapes. Churchill Vineyards and Frey Ranch Estates, where award-winning vodka, gin, bourbon, absinthe and whiskey are distilled, are both enterprises of the Frey family, who have left their mark on Nevada agriculture since the 1850s. From ground to bottle, right in our own backyard.It’s summer and the perfect time to take a day trip. Frey Ranch is open to the public for tastings and tours every Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. They are located at 1045 Dodge Lane in Fallon. For more information, visit www.freyranch.com, or email info@churchillvineyards.com.