What's For Dinner Wednesday: Grilled Sesame Salmon with Vegetables

Well, the hot weather streak in Chicago is officially over and it's getting chilly again.  We got pretty spoiled by those few weeks of nice weather though and I am now in grilling mode.  My poor husband has had to suit up in his hoodie a few times recently to grill our dinners, but I'd have to say it's worth it... I am getting really tired of baked chicken!

This week I really wanted to grill tuna steaks so I scoured Pinterest and found this great Asian-inspired marinade to try.  I planned a whole meal around it and then we got to the store and they were out of tuna.  Apparently there is currently some sort of FDA ban on tuna-- maybe related to the sushi salmonella outbreak?  Yikes!  We made a game time decision to marinate a few salmon fillets instead.  The taste and texture are totally different, but the flavors worked really well for the salmon too.  Just make sure that you use a grill pan instead of putting salmon directly on the grill as it will flake off and you'll lose most of it in the flames.


Grilled Sesame Salmon

Ingredients

• 2 salmon fillets
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbs sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 scallion, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Mix all ingredients except the fish together in a medium bowl. Rinse the salmon with water, pat dry and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Add salmon to marinade, turning once or twice with tongs to coat all sides.  Let the fish marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour in the refrigerator, turning once (TIP: don't marinate too long or the acid in the lemon juice will start to "cook" the fish).  Heat your grill to medium-high heat and oil a grill pan or foil. The marinated salmon fillets are too delicate to go directly on the grill grates.  Grill salmon for about 10-15 minutes or until you have reached desired degree of doneness.  I prefer my salmon on the more well done side.

Derived from recipe found on half tomato, half potato.

Stir-Fried Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tbs sesame oil
• 1/2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup of green beans, trimmed
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 scallion, chopped with white and green parts separated
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sriracha
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Heat both oils in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add green beans, red pepper, garlic, and the white parts of the chopped scallion to the pan.  Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often.  Once the vegetables are crisp-tender add soy sauce, sriracha, and ginger to the pan and toss to coat.  Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes and then remove from heat.  Stir in the green parts of the scallion and any salt and pepper.  Serve with brown rice.