Eric Ripert's Seared Salmon; Sauteed Pea Shoots & Peas and Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette

It's Aloha Friday. Many of you have reached out to me today because of the volcano eruption on The Big Island. I'm on Oahu, a few islands away from the volcano and the eruption and so far we have not had any ill-effects from it. But there are a couple of thousand people in the surrounding communities of The Big Island that are very impacted by it, a few homes have been badly damaged, there have been earthquakes, there are dangerous sulfuric gasses in the air, and there could be more to come. So please join me in sending your positive thoughts and prayers their way.

It's been a long week and I meant to cook this Eric Ripert salmon dish yesterday but just didn't make it into the kitchen for more than a reheat. Actually, one of the the good things about this dish is that it is simple and quick enough to make on a busy night and it just happens to taste great too. The pea shoots I get here are very small and I've never tried sauteing them--so just in case they didn't saute well and to give myself more 'green'--I added more cooked peas, put in some snow peas, and served it over brown jasmine rice.

Seared Salmon; Sauteed Pea Shoots and Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette
Slightly Adapted from AvecEric.com
(Serves 4) 

Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette:

1 Tbsp grated ginger
½ tsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce (I used low sodium tamari)
1/4 cup olive oil
fine sea salt & freshly ground pepper (I didn't find it to need any extra salt)

Salmon:

1 (2 lb) fillet of salmon, skin & pin bones removed
2 Tbsp canola oil
fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper

Pea Shoots:

1 Tbsp canola oil

(I added 2 cups snow pea pods)
8 cups baby pea shoots, (if not available, use adult pea shoot tops)
1/4 cup cooked peas (I added 1/2 cup)
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp ginger-soy vinaigrette
fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper (I didn't find it needed any extra salt)

Stir all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette together; season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

Using a large fillet knife, cut the salmon into 8 slices about 1-inch thick each.

For the pea shoots, heat the canola oil in a large pan high heat. (I added my snow peas first and sauteed them for about 4 minutes before adding the other ingredients.) Add the pea shoots and peas and cook just until they are wilted. Add the garlic and ginger and the vinaigrette and toss; season to taste, remove from the heat and set off to the side.

Preheat a griddle or plancha on high until very hot. Season the salmon on both sides with salt and pepper and brush with canola oil. Place the salmon on the griddle or plancha and sear the fish until golden brown and crusted, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side, until a metal skewer can be easily inserted into the fish and, when left in for 5 seconds, feels just warm when touched to the lip.

To serve, divide the pea shoots and peas between four plates; place 2 salmon slices on top of the pea shoots, slightly off-centered from each other and spoon the vinaigrette around the pea shoots.

Notes/Results: Simple but really good! I love all of the health benefits of salmon and tend to usually have some in my freezer to supplement the local fish I like to buy, In this recipe it is cooked very simply and works well with the dressing. I've never cooked pea sprouts before--I've just eaten them raw in salads and such, and mine seemed really small and delicate so the snow peas were a great way to 'bulk out' the dish a bit more, along with the brown rice. I also added extra cooked frozen peas. I didn't add extra salt to the vinaigrette or the sauteed peas--with the soy sauce/tamari, it was perfect and the rice absorbed the vinaigrette so it didn't need salting either. I really liked the ginger-lime-soy-garlic combination in the dressing and would use it with other fish and vegetables. I would happily make this recipe again.  

Linking up to I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week's theme is From the East.
 

And I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.