Late Lunch: Pecan Encrusted Salmon with Side Salad

Late Lunch: Pecan Encrusted Salmon with Side Salad

A couple weeks ago my best friend and I got together one afternoon. We had a late lunch over at her house. We had salmon with a side salad that included candied pecans and blue cheese crumbles. Just to mention a few of the many tasty ingredients.

For the main course, I stopped by Trader Joes and bought a large salmon fillet. It was packaged frozen, encrusted with pecans. It was also topped with fresh sliced tomatillos and green peppers. I purchased this fish fillet for about seven dollars. This was quite the bargain, considering there are two hearty portions of fish in the package, about sixteen ounces worth. At thirty-two grams of protein per serving, my best friend and I felt quite satisfied with the meal.

Once I got to my best friend’s place, I covered the oven-safe packaging the fish came in with aluminum foil. Then I baked it at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Then I peeled off the aluminum foil and seasoned the fish with some fresh ground pepper, Celtic sea salt and Italian seasoning. I then placed it back in the oven, this time uncovered. I continued to bake it at 400 degrees for another 12 minutes.

When I removed it from the oven, it smelled fresh and delicious. I let it cool for a few minutes. Then I nibbled a little bit with a fork. It was evenly cooked inside and out and flaky to the touch. It melted in my mouth as I sampled it. I then plated a piece of the fillet with a serving of the sweet and savory salad we made.

The salad consisted of wild greens, dried cranberries, crumbled blue cheese, Italian croutons and candied pecans. We lightly coated our salad with Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette. The combination of the sweet flavors from the pecans and cranberries and the savory flavors of the blue cheese, croutons and vinaigrette was very satisfying.

Overall I enjoyed this meal, though I felt that the fish lacked a bit of flavor. This was probably because it was frozen before being baked, not fresh. Perhaps I will try making this meal again with fish fresh from the Fresh Fish Company in Ballard off NW 80th (between N Jones Ave & N 24th Ave). Ballard is a neighborhood in Seattle, WA. For reference, I refer to the Fresh Fish Company in this article as well, here on hungry blogger. Check out Mexican Mahi-mahi Topped with Chopped Zucchini.