Summer Salmon Dish

You've all heard me crying about being ready for spring and summer. We caught 9 Kokanee through the ice in a couple hours yesterday and I made this distinctly summerey dish from them. I got the idea from a post my cousin made on Facebook from a restaurant in southern Florida. Salmon in Florida? Where there are so many fresh fish available? Odd. But I like the dish that resulted. Kokanee are readily available in Vallecito, Lemon and Williams Creek. They like shiny things and they love the smell of Anise. I soak kernels of white shoepeg corn in Anise oil (not the baking stuff, that's got alcohol in it, get real Anise oil) and then put a kernel on one hook of a 1/8oz Kastmaster. Don't be afraid to change depth, we found the Kokes from 2 feet to 15 feet from the bottom. Drill lots of holes fairly close together, when you catch a fish in a hole, change to a different hole to let the first hole "rest."

Summer Citrus Salmon


Serves 2
4 Fresh Kokanee Salmon Filleted (The Kokes I used here were about 13")
1 small orange
1/4 thumb fresh ginger, minced
Small Jalapeño, seeds removed, diced
Fresh Cilantro
6 or 8 Cherry Tomatoes, halved
6 or 8 Fingerling Potatoes
Rice Vinegar
Olive Oil
Lemon
Green Onion or Chives
Salt and Pepper

Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes or until slightly soft, and then cut into even size slices, about 3/4 inch thick. Cut about half of the orange into small 1/2 inch pieces and mix with diced Ginger, Jalapeño, Tomatoes and Cilantro. This is your Salsa, sprinkle it with salt and lemon juice and set aside and let it come to room temperature. Juice the remaining orange, and mix with olive oil, some lemon juice and a bit of rice vinegar and salt. Stir well and taste. Let this come up to room temperature as well. At this point, I melt some butter in a small pan and throw in the potatoes to crisp the outsides, salt and pepper to taste. Time for the Kokanee... Get some oil in the pan and get it nice and hot. Salt the Kokanee fillets and add them quickly to the pan, skin down. Let'em sizzle! Flip briefly to make sure the tops are cooked and then right back to skin side. The object here is CRISPY skin, it's the best part of the Salmon if you ask me. Plate the potatoes in the center of the plate, flat sides up, and then top with the Salmon fillets, skin side up. Top THAT with the fruit salsa, and drizzle liberally with the vinaigrette. Let the vinaigrette pool up on the plate, it's nice to dip the crispy Salmon bits in it. Garnish with chopped chives and serve. I was slamming Mexican beers with this, however, for you culinary studs out there trying to make clothes fall off, I'd recommend a chilled Pinot Grigio, or, when it is warmer, a Vinho Verde.

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