Try my suggestion for a quick and delicious salmon dish that can easily be put together for a weeknight dinner or fancy weekend feast.

Have you guys heard of Maker Faire? It’s an annual 3-day event, where scientists, geeks and home inventors meet and present their ideas and projects. You get to see things like dragon motorcycles, dancing water fountains, life size mousetrap, 3-D printed objects or electric giraffe. Pretty exciting, huh? My boys have been going there for the past couple of years. Well, since there will a lot of food trucks and interesting (and hopefully tasty) food, this year I’m going too. My boys are really looking forward to it.

With the end of the school year approaching quickly I have been busy with all sorts of projects and didn’t have a lot of time to work on my recipes. My last post had a recipe suggestion for Mother’s Day. The above shot is what I got to eat that day! We went to Monterey Bay Aquarium and then had dinner on Cannery Row at the Fish Hopper. This place serves and is famous for probably the best clam chowder, at least in the Bay Area (on the other hand, the clam chowder we ate once on the Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco was the worst chowder ever!). This time, in addition to a bowl of clam chowder, I ordered a tuna salad with papaya, avocado, coconut shrimp with sweet chili sauce served on a bed of finely chopped Napa cabbage.

We had a really lovely day.

This Baked Salmon with Herbed Cheese and Croutons is one of my favorite ways to eat this fish. It is very easy to make as well and can be prepared during busy week. Since it’s kind of fancy looking it can be made to impress as well.

Salmon is a fish that can easily be overcooked and, as a result, dry out. One of the best ways to prevent that from happening is to spread either olive oil or high fat content cheese, like ricotta or mascarpone. Here, the cheese is mixed with fresh herbs and garlic for the flavor while pine nuts and croutons provide some nice crunch.

Fresh herbs like parsley, dill, sage, oregano, thyme or basil work wonderfully as well as freshly pressed garlic. Add 2-3 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan cheese for the additional umami flavor.

Place the fish skin side down in an oven safe baking dish and spread the cheese mixture all over the fillet. Sprinkle some pine nuts or sunflower seeds on top and add the cubed bread pressing it down into the cheese mixture.

Place the salmon into a 425°F preheated oven and bake about 15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and the bread cubes are golden and crunchy. Serve with roasted asparagus, spinach sautéed with raisins and garlic and brown rice.

Serves: 2      Prep time: 15 minutes       Ready in: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 salmon fillets, skin on
• 4 oz ricotta cheese
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh herbs (parsley, sage, thyme, basil), chopped
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 2 slices white country bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts or sunflower seeds
• salt, pepper

Directions:

1. In a small bowl combine ricotta cheese, garlic, herbs and Parmesan cheese. Stir well, add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the fillets, skin side down, in an oven-safe dish and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Spread the cheese mixture evenly, then sprinkle the pine nuts all over the fish. Gently push the bread cubes down into the cheese.
3. Bake about 15 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and bread cubes are golden. Serve with rice and roasted asparagus or spinach sautéed with raisins and garlic.

Enjoy!