Sally sells sea shells by the seashore

Well, not quite. But I did have a craving for some sort of seafood - mussels or salmon specifically. Visions of the pot of mussels from Casa Delfin in El Born from my recent trip to Barcelona haunted me all afternoon. Ideas for super easy and delicious salmon dishes kept running through my head ... It was terribly distracting.

So, straight from work I headed to Whole Foods to check out what was available and scope some prices. Now, I don't cook seafood much if at all, so this was new territory to me ... but one I was determined to conquer. Oddly enough, for a place known for their pronunciation of "lobstaahhhh", Boston is relatively low on quality seafood restaurants and old-school fishmongers. Sometimes I wonder if I should move to the coast (and outside of the city) just to be closer to a dock. But I digress ...

Buying seafood is something I'm also a bit wary about. In lieu of going into Wulf's up further into Brookline, I headed to Whole Foods - in my book a worlds a difference from the offerings at Johnnie's (if their seafood counter even counts. gross.) and Shaws. For some reason, Whole Foods makes me feel a bit more at ease. Not sure why, but let's roll with it.

Sadly, after dreaming of the afore-pictured mussels, Whole Foods was completely devoid of them. Whether it was because of the latest area zebra mussel scare or just a slump in fishing in general, I have no idea. I tried not to cry too much at the counter, and pushed myself to still buy some formally living creature from the lagoon to make for supper.

Settling on a 7 oz. Atlantic salmon fillet, I trotted home, fish in hand, with some sage, thyme, and some yukon gold potatoes to roast ... prepared to recreate a recipe I saw on Paula Deen (with all fairness, it was her son Bobby's recipe) that looked easy, heart healthy (I'm shocked too) and scrumptious. Oh, and not even fried.

Lemon Herb Salmon in Foil

Ingredients:
(I made this for one, but can very easily be multiplied, and is a very flexible recipe.)

7 oz. Atlantic salmon fillet
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 TB of butter
2 sprigs of rosemary
3 or so sprigs of thyme, de-sprigged :)
2 large sage leaves
lemon slices* to just cover the length of the salmon
salt and pepper
aluminum foil

* you can also use oranges, and I'm sure other citrus would work well too.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Finely chop up the spices and garlic. Lay the salmon fillet on a sheet of aluminum foil, enough to seal at the top and sides like a little packet.

Salt and pepper the salmon, then put the dollop(s) of butter on top. Sprinkle the garlic and herbs on that, topping with the lemon slices. I squirted some additional lemon juice on top, but it's not needed.





Seal up the little packet and toss in the oven on a baking sheet (or can be done on a grill) for about 14 minutes. You want the fish to be flaky and opaque. Be careful not to overcook.





I quick roasted* up some Yukon gold potatoes, seasoned with a little salt, pepper, chili powder, olive oil and herbs used for the salmon. Delicious little meal, I must say, with rich lemony buttery goodness accompanying the herbed salmon.

* Quick roasting ala Kaitlin (though this idea is not really all that new or novel :) ) Poke some holes into the potatoes, place on a plate and put in the microwave for 3 minutes. Turn after that, cook for another 3 minutes (slightly less or more depending on size and amount of potatoes ... since you're finishing these in the oven, don't want them to be fully cooked). Take out of the microwave, dice, season, and pop into a 375 degree oven while the salmon cooks. Once they have a bit of color and crust, remove.

Making use of leftovers -- Pan-fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi

I bought a big tub of ricotta cheese to use in my winter greens lasagna last week, and had a good amount left over. Somewhat by chance, I stumbled upon this recipe over at Steamy Kitchen for pan-fried lemon ricotta gnocchi with a brown butter sauce, and had to try. And hell, it helped clean out my fridge.

The end result were light lemony gnocchis sauteed in a garlic oil and tossed very lightly with wilted spinach, garlic, a few spoonfuls of crushed tomatoes and some grated cheese. Perfection.

I'm a huge fan of making unconventional gnocchi (aka not white potato based), although I love those as well, having worked my high-school years in an Italian restaurant. In the past I've spent a few hours making roasted butternut squash gnochhi and sweet potato gnocchi, livening it up a bit ... and boy, are those killer with a brown butter sauce with a bit of fresh orange juice, some zest and a little bit of brown sugar. Oh man.

Anyways, these were phenomenal, and from pulling the flour out of my cupboard to sitting down eating only took 45 minutes ... which is astonishing for homemade gnocchi. I highly recommend you give them a whirl.

Pan-Fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi
Compliments of Steamy Kitchen, with a few minor tweaks

a cup of ricotta
1/2 cup of parmesan
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1 TB chopped parsley (I used dry ... not the same, but still good)
3 cloves of garlic, rough chopped
extra virgin olive oil
a good pinch of hot pepper flakes

Mix the ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, salt, hot pepper flakes, parsley, and egg yolk in a large bowl. Mix in half of the flour, then gradually a bit more, saving about 1/8 of a cup. Once the dough has come together, flour your hands and work into a bowl, and put on a floured surface. Mix in the remaining flour but be careful not to overknead ... it shouldn't take much. Cut into 4 sections, rolling each out into long strands.



Flour your knife, and cut these into little inch long pieces. Some choose to roll on a fork to give a different texture, but since these are pan fried, I kept mine looking like pillows.



Heat a skillet with about 2 TB of olive oil. Put the chopped garlic in the skillet, stirring until fragrant, but not browned ... about 45 seconds. Remove the garlic. You can use it for a sauce later (which I did). Add the gnocchi, shaking the pan after they're in to make sure there's enough oil underneath to keep residual flour from sticking. You want these to have a nice brown on both sides. Make sure they're cooked thru, taste test too. Does it taste too wet in the middle? Does it need a little more color? You be the judge.



Right before they come out of the pan, I squeezed some fresh lemon juice over them, then finished cooking the second batch. And, you're done. Steamy Kitchen made a brown butter sauce to accompany, but be creative. I had spinach to use, so I took that route, wilting it with a bit of lemon juice, some crushed tomatoes, and browning up the garlic - just enough to complement the gnocchi, but not overpower -- they're flavorful enough to stand alone. :)