Wow, it’s hot here in Kentucky! The kind of hot where steam is rising off the pavement, it’s too hot to walk the dog and the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time in the kitchen.
But you gotta eat.
And let’s face it, you want to eat good food that tastes great, doesn’t take all day to prepare, is seasonal, local and sustainable, right?
Enter pan-seared King Salmon with Corn Salsa.
In this easy-to-prepare recipe, summertime foods — salmon, corn and tomatoes — marry to create a quick meal. Prepare the corn salsa a day ahead to save time.
King Salmon with Corn Salsa
For the Corn Salsa (yield one cup)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup cooked corn, cut from two cobs
- ½ half of a medium red tomato, or ¼ cup, diced
- 1 tablespoon red onion slivers
- 1 teaspoon minced jalapeño pepper
- 1 teaspoon capers
- ½ teaspoon lime juice
- ½ teaspoon toasted coriander seeds, ground finely
- ~sea salt, to taste
- ~cracked black pepper, to taste
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Directions
In a medium bowl, add all ingredients except the olive oil. Stir to blend the ingredients evenly. Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables and stir again.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Store up to two days.
For the salmon
Rinse the salmon in cold water and pat it dry with paper towels. Season it with salt and pepper. Just an air kiss, not too much.
Heat a twelve-inch skillet over medium high heat for about three to four minutes. Add a tablespoon of canola oil and swirl it in the pan. When the oil shimmers, place the salmon in the pan, skin side down. Reduce the heat to medium and sear it for about three minutes. You’re looking for a nice crispy skin.
Flip the salmon (only once) in the pan and continue to cook about two to three minutes depending on the thickness. Remove the salmon from the heat and serve immediately with the Corn Salsa.
Fresh king salmon is best served medium-rare to medium.
What are you cooking when it’s hot, hot, hot outside?
Maureen C. Berry @maureencberry is the author of forthcoming Eating Salmon (Storey Publishing) April 2016. She is an irrefutable seafood advocate, cook, emerging photographer and crime fiction writer wanna-be. When she’s not, she takes naps, tries to play better guitar and hangs with her wire fox terrier.
