Brown-Sugar-Mustard-Glazed-Salmon with Edamame-Cauliflower Puree

TGIF! Okay, well, a day late. TGIS! In fact, TGITW (the weekend). Woo!

For real.

Bobby Flay did not steer me wrong. He hasn’t won Iron Chef 1580153 times for NOTHING.

A lot of my love for this recipe is for this little gem.

Crispy blackened salmon skin. Hardly anything gets better than that. Okay, well, maybe 100% dark chocolate chips in homemade mint chip banana soft serve… or Coach rainboots… or perfectly ripe avocado… or getting a handwritten letter/postcard in the mail… but I mean, crispy salmon skin is HIGH on the list.

And if you love crispy salmon skin in forms other than sushi (which, I have yet to try such a roll–AHHH!), then I recommend the following:

Brown Sugar Mustard Glazed Salmon with Edamame Cauliflower Puree

Adapted from Bobby Flay (Food Network)

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup dijon or spicy brown mustard

1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon minced ginger

4 salmon filets

vegetable oil for grilling

salt and pepper to taste

In a small sauce pan on medium heat, melt the butter with honey and brown sugar. Once melted, remove from heat and whisk in mustard, soy sauce, olive oil, minced ginger. Season to taste if desired, or add more soy sauce (I cut way back on the soy sauce and it was 100% delicious; however, feel free to peruse the original recipe).

Heat a grill pan on medium heat.

Rinse off the salmon if thawed from frozen-ness and pat dry. Spread vegetable oil on the skins. Once pan is hot, placed salmon skin-side down; spread mustard glaze over the flesh part. Save remaining glaze. Grill 6-8 minutes (it will splatter at you so use a mesh cover). Flip if desired, probably unnecessary, around 5-6 minutes in. The skin came off on mine but my dad and I feasted on the charred crispy skin (my mom gagged inwardly and happily dug in to the pink).

For edamame cauliflower: 

1 head cauliflower, washed and cut into small pieces, steamed until fork-tender

1/2 cup edamame beans, cooked

sprinkle of garlic powder

dash of salt and pepper

a few huge dollops of 0% Greek Yogurt (optional, for creaminess–you really don’t taste the tang at all!)

Using a handheld immersion blender or food processor, process everything until smooth and creamy. Season to taste. The result? A really yummy and protein-packed, low-carbohydrate alternative for mashed potatoes.

To serve, simply plate a filet, a bit of crispy salmon skin, some cauliflower puree, a spoonful of leftover glaze, and a small side salad with orange-yet-sweet grape tomatoes. Divine!

Am I a weirdo for liking salmon skin? Is it a half-Asian thing? My mom recoils at the thought but my dad (Chinese) has always eaten it and taught me to eat it too. I ain’t arguing. The skin is where the bulk of salmon’s healthy fats lie! Maybe it’s not that healthy to eat the skin that’s crisped to a black char but… it’s… so… yummy…

This dinner ROCKED. So good! The cauliflower edamame mash complimented the salmon well, and the glaze was perfect. I kept “taste-testing it” by the spoonful even prior to spreading it on the salmon (butter and brown sugar, can you really go wrong?) and it really couldn’t be easier to make this healthy, delicious, filling meal.

Sure beats meatloaf and potatoes any day. Well, meatloaf makes me  recoil in disgust; I guess we all have our loves and our hates.