When shopping for dinner the other day, I picked up some salmon fillets and a lemon, and looking at them in my grocery cart reminded me of a tasty Middle Eastern-style way to serve fish. It’s a dish that also uses an ingredient I always have on hand, tahini.
Tahini, of course, is a paste made with ground sesame seeds that’s rich in fibre, protein and a range of minerals. It’s a fairly versatile ingredient, with a rich, very savoury, slightly bitter, nutty taste that blends with a range of other flavours. I use tahini when making such things as hummus and other dips/spreads, salad dressings and sauces, the latter being how I used it for the salmon.
My inspiration comes from Middle Eastern cookbooks. In some of them you’ll find recipes for samke harra, which from Arabic to English loosely translates to mean “spicy fish.” Whole, or pieces or fillets, of fish, seasoned, cooked and topped with a beguiling tahini sauce.
Over the years, I’ve learned that that easy-to-make tahini sauce, flavoured with such things as lemon juice and garlic, also works well with B.C. salmon, which is what I did in today’s recipe. And, although I did brush and season the salmon fillets with an olive oil/honey/mixed spice mixture, I did not make the fish spicy hot with red chilies, as many recipes for samke harra do.
To cook the fish, the seasoned salmon fillets were baked in a pan in a fairly hot oven. The fish was then transferred to plates and topped with the tahini sauce, which you can make in advance. I also topped the fish with some toasted walnut pieces, further enriching its flavour. Like tahini, walnuts contain nutritious things, including a range of vitamins and minerals.
You can serve the salmon with a steamed or charred green vegetable and couscous or rice pilaf. I chose the latter and have provided a recipe for it below that’s flecked with a mix of vegetables and has an attractive golden hue.
The recipes for the salmon and rice both serve two, but they could be doubled or further expanded if feeding a larger group.
Spiced Salmon with Honey, Walnuts and Tahini Sauce
Salmon fillets, brushed with a spiced honey/olive oil mixture, are baked and topped with ultra savoury tahini sauce and toasted walnuts.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 to 12 minutes
Makes: two servings
For the tahini sauce
2 Tbsp tahini (see Note 1)
1 Tbsp +1 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp water
1 small garlic clove, minced, or 1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
• pinch ground cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, mint or parsley
For the salmon
2 (5- to 6-ounce/140- to 170-gram) sockeye or other salmon fillets
2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp paprika
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted (see Note 2)
• lemon slices and cilantro, mint or parsley sprigs, for garnish
Make tahini sauce by combining its ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and adjust its seasoning and consistency, if desired, by adding a bit more lemon juice or spice, if you want a sharper or spicier taste, and/or a bit more oil or water, if you want the sauce to be thinner. Now cover sauce and set it aside for now.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a shallow baking pan with parchment paper. Set salmon, flesh-side-up, in the baking pan. Combine oil, honey, coriander, ginger and paprika for the salmon in a small bowl. Brush this mixture on the top and sides of each salmon fillet. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Bake the fish 10 to 12 minutes, or until cooked through (see Note 3).
When cooked, set a piece of salmon on each of two dinner plates. Top the salmon with the tahini sauce and walnuts, garnish with lemon slices, and serve.
Note 1: Tahini is a ground sesame seed paste sold in jars at most supermarkets and Mediterranean or Middle Eastern food stores. Make sure it is blended well before measuring it for this recipe.
Note 2: To toast the walnuts, place them in a skillet and set over medium heat. Heat and stir walnuts a few minutes, until lightly toasted.
Note 3: Salmon fillets vary in thickness, so when determining if it is cooked, remember that when it is, the fish will feel slightly firm, begin to very slightly flake, and a white protein may also seep out from the flakes. If it’s too soft, it’s not cooked through. And if it’s very firm and really beginning to flake, it’s overcooked.
Rice Pilaf with Turmeric and Vegetables
Turmeric gives this rice-flecked with bits of vegetables an attractive golden hue. It will look and taste great spooned alongside the salmon with tahini sauce.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: about 20 minutes
Makes: two servings
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup finely diced onion
1/3 cup grated carrots
1 small garlic clove, minced, or 1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 cup long grain white rice
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp chicken or fish broth or stock
• salt and ground white pepper, to taste
1/3 cup frozen peas
Heat oil in a small pot set over medium, medium-high heat (my pot was six-inches wide and four-inches tall). Add the onion and carrot and cook until softened, about two to three minutes. Mix in the garlic, turmeric and rice and cook and stir one to two minutes more.
Add the broth (or stock), season with salt and pepper, and bring rice to a boil. Cover the rice, turn the heat to its lowest setting, and cook 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Fluff the rice with a fork, mix in the peas, heat them through one minute, and then serve.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
