roasted salmon with green chile salsa

Every once in a while, I make a dish that’s part of my deep repertoire (i.e. I make it all the time) and I realize it’s not on Tuesday Recipe. I think about why I’ve never posted it before. Too lazy? Holding back? Spaced out? Sometimes it’s just because I’ve never taken a good picture. That’s the problem with online recipes: they demand a great picture and sometimes when you are cooking IRL (in real life, for those who don’t believe in acronyms), you never get around to taking one. But is that a good enough reason to keep it away from you? No. No. No.

So I’m fixing that today with one of my favorite recipes that’s not on the site: Salmon with Green Chile Salsa. It’s descended from my years at Sunset (and that’s going back a while) and it’s a summer classic when we have fresh salmon on the West Coast (a total luxury these days, because the season is limited and the stocks depleted). If you get farmed salmon from a good source, you can make it all year. I love it with grilled corn, rice, sliced tomatoes and avocadoes, anything that can sop up the extra salsa.

About that photo. I took it right before the salmon went in the oven and when it came out, I forgot to take a finished photo; I just wanted to eat it. So this is in essence an unfinished photo. And it turns out I have unfinished business on Tuesday Recipe: because of the changes in EU privacy policy, I’ve had to update my own privacy policy and I have to (by law!) share it with all of you. To make that boring task more fun, I’m sending it with this recipe. But it will now be on my site forever. Just as this salmon will.

ingredients

1 fresh poblano or Anaheim chile pepper (or one 4-oz can diced green chiles)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 green onions, sliced
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (about 1 bunch)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
4 to 6 salmon fillets (skin-on or skinless)

directions

Preheat an oven to 375°.

If using a fresh chile, roast it by placing it directly on a gas burner or grill or beneath a hot broiler, turning with tongs as needed, until charred and blackened all over. Seal in a plastic or paper bag and let steam until cool to the touch. Under running water, rub off blackened skin. Pat pepper dry on paper towels, then slit open. Remove seeds, interior ribs, and stem. Cut pepper into thin strips.

In a blender or food processor, puree the roasted pepper strips or canned chiles, lime juice, green onions, cilantro, oil, and salt.

Place salmon in a baking dish just large enough to fit fillets side by side. Pour salsa from blender over salmon. Bake uncovered until fish is cooked to liking, 20 to 25 minutes depending on thickness of fish (to see if fish is done, slide a knife into thickest part and push back to expose flesh; it should be just opaque). To serve, spoon salsa over top of each portion of salmon.