Salmon with Harissa
Chansons de Le Chef et Le Chat
I had never heard of Mr. Astatke but his music is just incredible. He is still alive and is still performing at 80 years old. He was the first African to graduate from Berklee School of Music. Also, despite his relative anonymity among Americans, he has worked with Duke Ellington and his music has been sampled by Nas, Master P, and Spillage Village.
A fun new way to enjoy salmon.
Unique tastes, textures, and temperatures come together to create something special.
Ingredients:
Salmon
Ras el Hanout
Plain Greek Yogurt
Harissa
Honey
Olive Oil
Couscous (Morrocan)
Consider adding:
Tagine - I added a classic tagine (carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers) with my couscous to give it some crunch and color.
Lemon Juice
Spicy Harissa
Cherry Tomatoes
Olives
Chickpeas
Turning it into a Bowl
Instructions:
Dry your salmon filets -
Brush them lightly with good olive oil and then coat them with Ras el Hanout.
Sear on medium-high heat -
Sear on all sides. When I’m making this dish, I find that its easiest to sear and then bake. This allows the salmon to have a great caramelization but prevents them from getting cold when you make several at one time.
Sear each salmon and then place on a sheet tray to bake at 300-350 for 10-20 minutes. Use a thermometer. Most salmon can be eaten raw but is considered “done” at 145 degrees internally.
Prepare Couscous -
1 part couscous to 1.5 parts water or stock with a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt.
Boil the liquid before adding the couscous.
Stir, then remove from heat and cover.
Harissa Sauce -
Harissa, Honey, Olive Oil. 1 part honey and 1 part olive oil to 2 parts harissa is a good ratio for how I like it.
Greek Yogurt -
I like to cut my yogurt with a splash of lemon juice to give it a smoother texture.
Assemble and enjoy
For a while, I never really tasted my food. When I ate something I knew if it was good or bad but I didn’t really care more than that. Eventually, I started working as a dishwasher at a local restaurant and the head chef gave me something that blew my mind. I still think about it so vividly. We were making apple walnut salads and he told me to taste a slice of apple and then to taste a slice with the cinnamon sugar on it. He made sure that I took the time to allow my tastebuds to recognize these unique flavors and to appreciate them. The brightness in the apple was so much stronger when being contrasted with the deeper cinnamon flavor. The natural sugars in the apple being emphasized by the actual sugar that melted. From this point on I developed a deeper understanding and appreciation for what I am tasting.
This dish is not the most mind-bending, tongue-twisting, Michelin-starred cuisine, but it was my first step toward developing interesting recipes. The smokiness in the spices with the heat of harissa combined with the cold, tangy punch of the yogurt is unmatched. This dish goes well if you do everything the same but replace salmon with chicken, but something about seafood just brings it all together.
I do hope you make this and I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and I. This is by far my favorite way to eat salmon.
