OVEN ROASTED WILD CAUGHT SALMON WITH WASABI TERIYAKI GLAZE

With just 6 ingredients this is an easy recipe to make, and it only takes about 10 minutes to roast once you remove the marinated salmon from the refrigerator. Served here with a side of Red Quinoa, covered with the wasabi-teriyaki glaze, roasted sesame seeds, and a glass of white wine - along with the last remaining Gardenia from my garden - this tasty meal is bursting with protein. (Truthfully, I did not give enough thought beforehand to the appearance of the final presentation; I should have accompanied the roasted salmon with a more colorful side; perhaps a green vegetable would have made the final presentation more attractive).

Step 1: INGREDIENTS (for 2 Servings)

1. *20 ounces Wild Caught Salmon, Skin on
2. 1/2 cup Coconut Aminos Teriyaki Sauce
3. 1/3 cup Coconut Aminos Garlic Sauce
4. 1 teaspoon Wasabi paste
5. 1 TBS roasted sesame seeds
6. 3 TBS Coconut Oil

• *NOTE: I have specified 20 ounces of salmon because that is the weight of the packaged frozen Port Side wild caught Keta Alaskan Salmon that I purchased. The marinade that I made (see next step) was enough to easily glaze a side or portions of salmon weighing between 1 -1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds.

Step 2: PREPARATION

Prepare Marinade:

1. Place 1 teaspoon of wasabi paste in the bottom of a mixing bowl.
2. Add about 1 TBS of the Teriyaki Sauce to the bowl and stir to blend (dissolve) wasabi paste.
3. When the paste is thoroughly blended, add the remaining Teriyaki Sauce and all of the Garlic Sauce to the bowl and mix all together.

Marinate the Salmon fillets:

1. Rinse and pat dry the fresh or defrosted salmon side.
2. Cut it into portions (I simply cut the 20 ounce side in half) and place them in a large Zip Lock freezer bag.
3. Pour the marinade over the salmon; seal the bag and refrigerate it for 3 or 4 hours, or until ready to use, inverting it from time to time.

Step 3: INSTRUCTIONS:

Remove marinated salmon from refrigerator about 20 minutes before roasting to take the chill off of it.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

1. Remove the marinated salmon fillets from the Zip Lock bag and temporarily let them rest on a plate while you pour the marinade out of the bag and into a small heavy saucepan.
2. Place the sauce pan on a stove-top burner and allow it to heat over medium-low heat while you roast the salmon.
3. When the oven has finished preheating, place the 3 TBS of coconut oil into a heavy cast iron skillet or onto a carbon steel rimmed baking pan covered with heavy duty aluminum foil (if using a baking sheet, make sure that it is rated to withstand at least 450 - 500 degrees of heat. I would have preferred to use a cast iron skillet but mine was not large enough to accept the two portions of salmon, so I used a Wilton carbon steel pan).
4. Carefully insert the oil coated pan into the hot oven and heat it until the oil is sizzling hot and smoking (about 4 or 5 minutes). (Your kitchen smoke detector may go off; I had to temporarily remove mine and turn on the kitchen exhaust fan)!
5. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and place it on the stove top. Place the portions of raw salmon onto the pan skin side up. Be extremely careful here since the hot oil will no doubt spatter for a second or two when the salmon is inserted.
6. Quickly & carefully place the pan containing the salmon back into the oven. Do not allow any of the cooking oil to spill over onto the oven flames or coils because it will immediately ignite if it does.
7. Roast the salmon skin side up for 4 or 5 minutes, or *until the skin loosens enough to be removed (you can test this while the salmon is still in the oven; just insert the blade of a table knife under the edge of the skin and lift; if it comes up easily, remove the pan from the oven and place it on the stove top).
8. As quickly as possible, remove the skin from the salmon fillet(s) and flip them over. Baste with some of the hot marinade to glaze and return them to the oven.
9. Roast for another 3 to 5 minutes, or just until the fish feels firm; then remove from the oven. (Turn off the oven - and remember to replace your smoke detector)!
10. Place the roasted salmon fillet(s) on a serving platter; drizzle a little glaze over them (you can use the pan drippings if there are any), and dust with sesame seeds.
11. Serve immediately.

• *NOTE: As you can see, I probably attempted to remove the skin from the salmon fillets a little too soon and I did break off a small section of the largest fillet (although disappointing, it tasted really good)!

Step 4: TIME TO EAT . . .

A delicious serving of wasabi-teriyaki glazed salmon, a side of red quinoa, and a glass of white wine; ummm good!

(As previously noted, I do wish that I had used a more colorful side dish to enhance the appearance of the display, however, I already had some left over Red Quinoa and it was very tasty).

Bon appétit

(I have prepared the nutritional values of this recipe to the best of my ability using the MyFitnessPal Recipe Analyzer. Please click on the image to enlarge it).

• *NOTES: The ;per serving calories - and primarily, the sodium - appear very high to me; especially because I have Diabetes Type II. The estimated amount of sodium per serving is basically high because of the amount of sodium contained in the sauces used to make the marinade. However, after the recipe was cooked and the meal was eaten, I still had a good 1/3 cup of liquid left in the sauce pan. I estimate that the unused liquid represented a savings of approximately 125 calories and 540 mg of sodium per serving - or a net value of 633 calories and 1,266 mg of sodium per portion. While the sodium estimate is still high, the Coconut Aminos Teiyaki Sauce has about half the amount of sodium contained in one the leading low-sodium soy sauces on the market, and it is soy-free and gluten-free!