One of my favorite things about barbecuing in Barcelona is the quality of the seafood on any given Tuesday through Saturday – Sunday and Mondays they do not go out to fish, so the quality is not as fresh. The idea of stepping down to my local fishmonger and selecting from a variety of products makes me feel so happy to go eat…throw a few fresh veggies into my basket…a bottle of Verdejo (Spanish white wine) and I only need some olive oil, lemon, salt and maybe some parsley to prepare a meal on the barbecue that will overwhelm my taste buds with flavors. When preparing seafood, the Mediterranean style of using olive oil is the best way to go.
So simple, so light, so healthy, so easy…
Ahhh but sometimes butter is just too good
The thing is…with salmon…I love this sweet and spicy recipe that I took from my mother that uses butter. My mother comes from the French pastry-style cooking and butter is next to God. She would say, “everything taste better with butter.” And salmon is such a meaty fish that it can withstand the buttery sauces and still come out tasting fresh in your mouth…not drowning (no pun intended) in butter.
For me, what makes this recipe so tasty is the balanced mix of the sweet, the butter and a lot of spice…But, for most in Barcelona, that is too spicy and I have learned to reduce the powerful kick of spice I like to use.
Try it out and let me know what you think.
- In a small sauce pan, add the honey, butter and garlic. Melt together on low heat. Careful not to burn it, as it should only take a min. Next, squeeze the full lemon into the sauce and add the garlic and Thai pepper(s) to saute them slightly. Again, be careful, you do not need to leave this on the heat very long. Last, I add the soy and Hoisen sauce. I add these last because I do not want the Hoisen sauce to cook down and be too diluted when I apply it to the fish.
- Layout your salmon - skin facing down - on your serving plate. Cover all of the salmon with your sauce, saving 1-2 tbsp of sauce for using at the end of cooking.
- Once the sauce starts to solidify, you are ready to move the salmon to the barbecue. We put the salmon in our fish basket and add some vegetables that are lightly covered with oil olive and sea salt. The barbecue should be medium heat (180ºC) but not direct flame, we do not want to burn the skin of the salmon. The barbecuing time will depend on the width of the salmon but I would rotate the veggies after 3-4 minutes and start to check the salmon around 8 minutes. Also, at this time, I like to squeeze some more lemon juice over everything and then leave it on the heat for 1-2 mins more. Just keep an eye not to over cook the salmon - you should see a light white juice starting to come to the surface when it is ready. You want to remove the salmon before it gets flaky though.
- Remove the salmon from your fish basket and place it on a clean serving plate. Now return the sauce you put aside earlier on low heat to rewarm it. This will be very quick, remove it from the heat before it starts to boils. Pour the sauce over the salmon and serve with your vegetables.
Bon Profit!
