Today is President’s Day in America, where we honor our former leaders’ significant legacies by offering discounts on mattresses. While not the most noble way to honor our forefathers, I’ve been employing a seemingly more significant way to honor them by making meals which correlate to their preferences from when they spent time in office. It’s a great way to get my girls involved in learning some history, after they pick the name from the hat. In the past, before I had a blog, I used to honor one president, but having 2 children interested in this culinary celebration, I’ve had to change it up recently. Last year, the girls chose James Madison and Grover Cleveland. I married their mutual preference of pork and enhanced the meal with some other items which seemed historically appropriate.
This year, they chose William McKinley (25th) and Barack Obama (44th). Much like last year, the two presidents both had an affinity for the same ingredient: fish. More particularly, they both enjoyed salmon. Again, one was more simple, while the other had a more adventurous palate. Due to his simple taste, I couldn’t get much more information on McKinley, but Obama loves avocados, and, of course, guacamole. So, I decided to take a radical, less traditional route this year. Perhaps it has been this long, colder than normal, winter. Maybe I’m done being cooped up for the better part of 2 years of Covid restrictions. But, with spring in the air, I made a flavorful combination of spice-rubbed salmon, cooked en papillote with tequila and citrus, and paired it with a guacamole-inspired side salad. While not historically traditional to the U.S., it is really fantastic. The salmon, cooked in a packet, is tender and full of bold flavor with the sweet heat while the guacamole salad was a refreshing side.
Spice-rubbed Salmon en papillote
If making these two recipes together, prepare the guacamole salad first as it needs time to marinate. Then move onto the salmon preparation.
~1.5 lbs of salmon
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp flaky sea salt
2 tsp adobo seasoning
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp of chili powder
1 lime
1 handful of cilantro leaves, minced
~¼ cup of blanco tequila
Dry your salmon, and if skin-on, thinly score the skin side. Slice the fish into four portions Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the sugar, salt, spices and zest of 1 lime in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add in the minced cilantro and mix again. Rub about a half of the mix on the skin side of the fish.
Set each fish filet, skin side down onto its own piece of parchment paper. Using a teaspoon, drizzle 2-3 spoonfuls over the tequila over the flesh side of the salmon and sprinkle on the remaining spice mixture. Thinly slice the zested lime and place 2 lime slices over each salmon filet.
Pull the parchment over the fish filets to the other side of the paper and pleat/roll up towards the fish, making a packet. Space out the packets on a baking sheet and set on the middle rack and bake for 12-15 minutes. You can’t check the temperature, so a good trick I found was that the fish is ready after about a minute or so of you starting to smell something amazing coming from the oven!
Place one fish en papillote onto a dish and allow your guest to open up the package themselves. Serve with guacamole salad.
Guacamole Salad
1 lb tomatoes, diced
2 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp red wine vinegar
Limes
Extra-virgin olive oil
Poblano, seeded and thinly sliced
Jalapeño, thinly sliced (or seeded and minced)
3 avocados, diced
Cilantro
Romaine lettuce or Napa cabbage (optional)
Dice your tomatoes and place in a medium-sized bowl. Sprinkle with some salt and reserve.
In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, cumin, vinegar, juice of 1 lime, and ~2 tbsp evoo. Season with salt and pepper and mix again. Set aside to marinate.
Prepare the poblano and jalapeño and toss with the tomatoes.
Pit and dice your avocado, sprinkling with a little fresh lime juice, and add it to the bowl of tomatoes and peppers. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Mince some cilantro and sprinkle over the prepared vegetables. Briefly whisk the dressing again and pour over the salad. Taste for any seasoning needs. Place in the refrigerator for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
After an hour, mix once more and check for seasoning needs. Portion out as-is or atop some lettuce/cabbage lightly dressed with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
______________________________ Copyright 2022, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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