One Dish, Two Meals

Cedar-Planked Salmon with Horseradish Sauce with lemon-pepper rub and horseradish-chive sauce

I only started to understand and appreciate the seasons after I moved away from the tropical Brazil. It was here in Minnesota that I experimented the beauty of the Fall colors; here I learned how temperatures bellow 75°F felt on my body; here I saw and touched snow for the first time; and my favorite, here I started to feel an amazing energy in the air when the snow is all gone and the flowers start to bloom – people smile more as they walk around on their flip flops and shorts (when it is still technically chilly outside), you can hear children’s laughs coming from the outdoor playgrounds, stores are filled with gardening tools, you can smell people grilling their dinner. It is not officially spring yet, but that energy is already in the air!

This year we had an unusually mild winter in Minnesota, so it comes with no surprise that it feels like spring already! In addition to spending time outside, my favorite thing to do this time of year is to start grilling!! Our family adores grilled everything! Early this week I got a text message from my husband: “It’s nice out, let’s grill some salmon!”. I immediately thought of this cedar-planked salmon that we ate a lot last summer. That became one of our favorite foods and we had been anxiously waiting to cook it again. Luckily I had a cedar plank in the house and some salmon in the freezer!




 

This salmon is super smoky, moist, and full of flavor. The sauce served on the side is a perfect complement to it. We just LOVE it!!

I highly recommend that you make enough to have leftovers. This salmon tastes amazing on the next day (even cold)! I like to use it to make salads or salmon burgers. Today I will be sharing my recipe for a delicious salad topped with leftover salmon. Perfect for sunny and warm days!

You will find my recipe for this Arugula, Bell Pepper, Pistachio and Cedar-Planked Salmon Salad at the end of this post.

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Cedar-Planked Salmon with Lemon-Pepper Rub and Horseradish-Chive Sauce

serves 3 to 5

Ingredients

For the salmon:

1 cedar plank

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 pounds boneless salmon (I’ve used skin on fillets and salmon steaks with no skin, both worked great)

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the sauce:

½ cup crème fraîche

3 tablespoons minced chives (or 2 tbs finely chopped scallion)

1 1/2 tablespoon prepared horseradish

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Soak the cedar plank in water to cover for at least 1 hour. Drain plank before using.

Prepare sauce by mixing together crème fraîche, chives, and horseradish. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest, thyme, and sugar. Pat the salmon dry, rub it with the olive oil on both sides, and season it with approximately 3/4 teaspoon of salt and ½ tablespoon of pepper. Sprinkle the salmon with the lemon zest mixture (use your hands to rub it in). The salmon can stand at room temperature while the grill heats.

On a gas grill, heat all burners on high. When grill is very hot, turn off one set of burners. Place cedar plank over the burners that are still on. Close grill and wait 5 minutes until adding the salmon. After you place the salmon over the cedar plank, close the grill again and cook for about 20 minutes (The planks may smoke during the cooking process – that is fine) or until the thickest part of the salmon reaches 135°F. You can always check it with a fork to see if it is cooked through. Serve with the sauce.

I am so glad I decided to try this recipe after seeing it on a Fine Coking magazine last year!! So glad!


Visualize


To make the lovely sauce, you will need crème fraîche:


 



Prepared horseradish (I have a very hard time pronouncing that last work!!)


 


Combine the two above with chives (or scallions), salt and pepper.

 


You will end up with a heavenly white sauce. Cover and refrigerate.

 



Mix together lemon zest, thyme, and sugar:

Pat salmon dry:

Rub salmon with olive oil. Season with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper (I even added more pepper after I took this pic): 

Use your hands to run in the lemon zest mixture:

On a gas grill, turn on all burners to high. When grill is hot, turn off one set of burners. Place cedar plank over the burners that are still on. Close grill and wait 5 minutes. Place salmon over the cedar plank:

Cook salmon for about 20 minutes, or until cooked through. They will go from raw to this:

And finally to this:

Serve it with the sauce

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Left overs? Keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 or 3 days. Here is my recipe for  using leftovers of cedar-planked salmon:

Arugula, Yellow Pepper and Pistachio Salad with Cedar-Planked Salmon
Serves 1

Ingredients

1 tablespoons scallion, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into strips

1 tablespoon of pistachio, de-shelled (NOT salted)

1 1/2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons of good quality white wine vinegar

2 cups of arugula, tightly packed

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

As much cedar-planked salmon as you want, flaked

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together scallion, basil, bell pepper, pistachio, olive oil, vinegar, a couple of pinches of salt, and pepper. Add arugula and toss to combine. Try salad and decide if you need to add more salt and/or pepper. Transfer salad to a plate and top with flaked salmon.

Visualize


Mix together scallion, basil, bell pepper, pistachio, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper:

Add arugula and toss to combine:

Plate it and top with the left over salmon:

SO GOOD!

Hope you are enjoying the warmth, and the clear and blue sky as much as I am! I'll end with this pic my daughter took while we were having dinner yesterday:

HAPPY FRIDAY!