Wild Salmon + Fried Sage Gremolata made by Melina Hammer

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Recipe
Serves 2
 

Gremolata

• Finely grated zest from 3 lemons
• Zest strips from 1 Meyer lemon, any bitter white pith removed, sliced very thinly
• 1 tablespoon finely sliced garlic scapes or garlic chives, or 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon finely sliced garlic chives
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Salmon

• 1 Pound wild sockeye salmon, portioned into 2 fillets
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 1 Meyer lemon, cut in half horizontally

Sage

• 2 tablespoons walnut oil
• 1 handful fresh sage leaves

Make the gremolata

1. In a small bowl, toss together the lemon zest and strips, the garlic scapes and chives, and season with salt and pepper.

Make the salmon and sage

1. Pat the salmon dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Let sit at room temperature while you fry the sage.
2. Pour 2 tablespoons walnut oil into a heavy sauté pan set over medium heat and heat until shimmering. Pan-fry the sage leaves—they should sizzle on contact. Cook no more than 3 minutes, turning once. They will turn a vivid green through the process. Tap excess oil from each leaf as you remove them from the pan, then place onto absorbent paper, set on a wire rack.
3. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and when it shimmers, place the salmon skin side down. Sear for 3 minutes, or until the flesh becomes opaque around the edges.
4. Turn the fillets skin side up and add the butter, dragging it between the two as it foams. Tilt the pan and baste the salmon with the hot fat, using a long-handled large spoon to avoid being burned; repeat tilting and basting for another minute as it cooks. Transfer the salmon to a serving platter.
5. Sear the lemon halves on medium heat in the remaining butter-oil mixture,3 minutes or until charred to your liking.Pile the fried sage leaves, layering with the gremolata mixture, onto the salmon, and serve the seared lemons alongside. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once.

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