Seared Salmon with Egyptian Garlic and Coriander Sauce

I have this cookbook which focuses on the flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean, or more specifically, the spices of Turkish food. The author of the book is also a chef in Boston (Ana Sortun) who won a big-deal chef award for her restaurant in Boston a few years ago. Our friends have been to the restaurant and suggested (strongly!) getting this book. We have not yet been disappointed.

She cooks fish differently than I do in that I like to leave it a bit rare in the middle. Salmon is great for this because you can watch the fish cook and see the color of the fish change along the side as it goes. I generally cook fish on medium-high heat and watch for the color change until it reaches about 2/3 of the way to the top. Then I flip and let it go for another 30 seconds to a minute. This usually gets me where I want to go with fish. I may try this method one day. In any case, the salmon was a success with the peanut and toasted coriander seed providing an interesting contrast. If I had some chard, I probably would have given it a quick saute and served it underneath the fish. Anyhow, hope you like it. Here is the recipe as written in the book:


1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped
2 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons coriander, seeds freshly ground, lightly toasted
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
800 g salmon, fillets, 4 x 200g
2 tablespoons peanuts, lighty toasted, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, (or coriander) roughly chopped

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with one tablespoon of the olive oil until the butter starts to turn brown. Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring constantly until the garlic toasts and turns golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. The garlic will start to release its sugar and stick to the spoon just before it browns.

Immediately stir in the tomatoes and coriander. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the tomatoes for 20 minutes, until they are soft and make a sauce. The consistency of the sauce may vary depending on how juicy the tomatoes are. If it seems too dry, add a teaspoon or more of olive oil and a teaspoon of water.

Season the sauce with salt and pepper and set aside. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper on both sides.

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When the pan is hot, place each salmon fillet on it's skinned side (the oily side, which browns the best) in the pan and cook for 6 to 7 minutes until a nice golden brown crust begins to form. Lower the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid or heavy foil. Continue cooking the salmon on this saide for another 6 minutes, until it's almost completely cooked except for a little rare spot in the thickest middle part of the fillet. Turn off the heat and flip each fillet over to cook the rare spot, letting the fillets sit for about 3 minutes.

Remove the fillets and place each on a dinner plate, crispy side up. Top each fillet with 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce and sprinkle them with the peanuts and parsley. Serve immediately.