Lime and Ginger Grilled Salmon

Up until college, I had always hated fish.  Well, seafood in general.  Yes, that includes crab, shrimp, clam chowder... even fish sticks.  When I was a child, the nights we were eating fish sticks were the nights I most yearned for a family dog so that I could slip it my fish sticks under the table.  Instead, I had to settle for surreptitiously throwing them under the table when my mother wasn't looking, ideally around where my brothers sat.  

I'm not sure why I hated seafood so much.  Maybe it stemmed from growing up in the Midwest.  Obviously I never had that problem with steak.  For whatever reason, during college I got over my aversion to seafood and started embracing it.  Lately my favorite seafood dish to prepare is salmon.  Not only does it have great health benefits (Omega-3's, vitamin D...) but it's easy to make and tastes good with just the simplest seasonings.  

Usually I like to buy the pre-marinated salmon from Trader Joe's.  All you do is pop it in the oven and set the timer.  Also, they always have a good, affordable selection of wild salmon there (I heard a story from my coworker once about farm-raised fish and since then I always opt for the wild variety).

This week, however, I decided to try my own marinade using a recipe provided in my Recipe Scrapbook:  Lime and Ginger Grilled Salmon.  Unfortunately I did not take a picture of it but it ended up tasting really good -- just as good if not better than TJ's.  I didn't even have to throw it under the table where Patrick sits.

Here is the recipe if anyone is interested in trying it:

Lime and Ginger Grilled Salmon

2 lb salmon fillet 

2 T fresh ginger, minced

2 T lime zest

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

2 T butter or olive oil

1/2 t lime juice

Preheat grill to 350 degrees.  Sprinkle salmon with ginger, lime, zest, salt, and pepper.  Combine rest of ingredients and brush on salmon.  Grill about 5 minutes or until salmon flakes.  

Here's what I actually did:  I used 2 one-portion salmon fillets that I bought frozen and defrosted in the refrigerator overnight.  I just threw all of the ingredients in a plastic bag and left it in the fridge for about an hour (though it probably only needed about 10 minutes or so).  Since I don't have a grill, I used a grill pan set to medium heat.  I cooked the salmon about 2-3 minutes on each side and served it with a side of broccoli couscous and a salad.

Sidenote about broccoli couscous:  This is another dish that is easy to make and also very healthy.  I used whole wheat couscous and followed the instructions on the box, but used chicken stock instead of water for added flavor.  I also took a head of broccoli and instead of cutting it into chunks, I cut off all of the stem and shredded the tops so they were like broccoli confetti the same size as the tiny couscous grains.  I mixed it in with the boiling stock right before adding the couscous.

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