Tuesdays are Fish
Tuesdays are probably my simplest dinner day. We almost always have baked salmon, roasted yellow potatoes, and a salad (summer) or baked squash (winter). To reduce the carbon footprint of heating up the oven, I bake all of the dinner at basically the same time.
Since salmon is usually the only animal protein we eat (other than eggs), I try to have the best we can get. We generally share one small fillet or steak.
I buy a bag of sustainable Alaska salmon steaks at Costco periodically, and supplement this with local salmon (sometimes gifted!) and once, last spring, with a giant frozen whole salmon straight off the boat from Alaska!
Friends of a friend had a surplus of frozen salmon, due to covid restaurant shutdowns. They had just returned from fishing in Alaska, and were selling these beautiful fish in the Skagit area. They delivered the fish to our home, and I let it thaw just enough to to be able to slice into it. My filets weren’t pretty, but I managed to process the whole fish and return the filets to the freezer.
I marinate the fish in some combo of olive oil, sweetener, and spice. Some combos are soy, maple syrup, oil…or orange juice, teriyaki sauce, oil. I leave the fish in the marinade and bake it in the same dish I’ve used to marinate it. This week, I used soy sauce, honey, oil, and some halved grapes.
(An aside: One of the best marinades I’ve ever invented was the one we had on the class camping trips. We used what was left over from the camp meals: ketchup, orange juice, maple syrup, and some white wine from one of the parent’s stash…it became a tradition.)
The roasted potatoes are simple, but require two steps. I had always cut up potatoes and tossed them with herbs and oil, and roasted until “done”. They were usually pretty hard, or underdone. When we started traveling to Italy, I loved the roasted potatoes we were served there: crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. And one day the mystery was solved, by an article in the New York Times! You must boil (“parboil”) the cut up potatoes for 12–13 minutes, drain them, then toss them with olive oil and then roast them.
The squash I love the best is delicata. It is easy to find delicata squash here in the Skagit Valley and I stock up in the fall, since they will keep on the countertop for a month or so…Sadly, so far I have had no luck in growing them…
After slicing the squash in half, I scoop out the seeds and discard the fleshy bits that hold the seeds together. I keep the seeds to roast along with the squash, all on the same baking sheet, coated with olive oil. The seeds are done before the squash, and I snack on them while finishing the dinner prep.
Here’s the sequence:
Thaw the fish and make a marinade if you wish. Keep the thawed fish in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it. I keep it cut side down, skin up.
Cut up the potatoes, cover with cold water in saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil. Set the timer for 12 minutes once they begin to boil.
Heat the oven to 400.
Prepare the squash. Place on baking sheet and put in the hot oven. Keep an eye on the seeds and take them out when are toasted to your liking.
When the potatoes are finished being parboiled, drain them, toss with olive oil and herbs, and pour onto a baking sheet in a single layer.
Put potatoes into the hot oven. Check the squash seeds. Set the timer for 10 minutes.
After ten minutes, stir the potatoes, check the squash (seeds should be out of the oven by now), and put the salmon in the oven. (Take out the squash once it is tender.)
Set the timer for 15 minutes, and check the fish and potatoes. They may need a bit more time.
That’s it!
