Grilled Salmon Keeps Labor Day Lite

Cookin’ Quick By Colleen Walsh Fong

Let’s keep the labor low for Labor Day weekend with an easy dinner recipe that morphs into tomorrow’s lunch.

Grilling salmon keeps the heat out of the house, but the intense temperature a grill achieves quickly sears flavor and juices into the fish.

Other benefits derived from our cold-water chums are in the nutritional realm. It is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, which should be a regular part of the human diet because they help promote healthy skin, brain functioning, memory, mood, and nerve conduction while keeping inflammation down. Additionally, salmon serves up generous amounts of protein, and D and B vitamins.

Salmon is also absolutely delicious, so don’t let all of this health talk scare you away. I buy mine at Costco. The price per pound is reasonable and the fish is always fresh, filleted and skinned.

Refrigerate leftover fish and tarter sauce to make a quick and tasty salmon salad to serve in sandwiches or crudités tomorrow.

Ingredients

Applewood, Mesquite or Hickory Grilling Chips

2-lb Salmon Filet, skinned if possible

Salt and Pepper

Juice of 1 Fresh Lemon

2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 T Tamari or Light Soy Sauce

2 T Pure Clover Honey

1 t Rice Wine Vinegar

Olive Oil Spray

1 C Mayonnaise (Lite is fine)

1 T Curry Powder

2 Scallions, chopped

Preparation

• Prepare Grilling Chips according to package directions.
• Preheat Grill to highest heat. Add chips at appointed time.
• Sprinkle salt and pepper on salmon. Slit thickest parts of filet lengthwise.
• In small bowl, whisk lemon juice, oil, tamari, honey, vinegar to emulsify.
• Spray grilling rack or basket with olive oil spray and set fish on it.
• Brush with emulsified liquids and place on top rack of grill.
• Cook with cover down for 7-10 minutes, checking regularly with fork, until just cooked, and still juicy.
• While salmon cooks, thoroughly blend curry powder into mayonnaise to make tartar sauce.
• Remove salmon to platter and serve with  ⅓ of the tartar sauce.

Salad or grilled vegetables make great sides, as do rice, couscous or mashed sweet potatoes.

To make salmon salad:

• Mash refrigerated leftover salmon in a bowl with a fork.
• Add scallions and leftover tartar sauce to make salad. Add more mayonnaise if necessary.

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