Chicagoist: Simple Cooking: Garlic and Lemon Salmon

plumbum82

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:33:53 -0600

I'd eat it... I love the fuck out of salmon. It's just a weirdly lit photo, I guess.

joseph_dunphy_in_chicago

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 22:12:57 -0600

Maybe, but I think the author is trying to be honest with the photo. One wouldn't do that if serving the dish to a guest, because in the process of scraping off the fat, one would take off much of the seasoning as well. As you say, there is a lot of fat in that fish, so one would have to do a lot of scraping to get rid of all of that, not just the little pick here and there needed to remove the garlic. If the sight of the fat really bothers one, though, I suppose maybe one could sprinkle the salmon with chopped dill, instead of leaving it in a spring on the side? Break up the background and the eye doesn't pick out the details as easily.

The Meteorologist

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:46:31 -0600

Anthony, with fatty fish like Salmon (well, especially Salmon) you're gonna get those grease/protein deposits on top. Not good for photos! For photos, my suggestion is maybe searing the outside of the salmon, then baking it to finish. The sides of the salmon will still exude that weird gray fat matter, but you can scrape it off. I *think* it might photograph better that way. Salmon never looks as good cooked most of the time, but raw it always looks really good, all that color! Or...next time, just scrape off the fatty stuff. Hehe. The recipe is nice and simple and sounds like a good healthy dish, by the way.

Anthony Todd

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:18:19 -0600

Good suggestion, Joseph! I usually keep garlic-infused olive oil around the house, so that's always the first thing i reach for. Well, I would if I didn't like the raw garlic....

Anthony Todd

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:17:54 -0600

Good suggestion, Joseph! I usually keep garlic-infused olive oil around the house, so that's always the first thing i reach for. Well, I would if I didn't like the raw garlic....

joseph_dunphy_in_chicago

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:14:49 -0600

"Tip: If your guests don’t like semi-raw garlic in their food, put whole garlic cloves in the olive oil for about 20 minutes before, then remove and use the flavored oil." Or you could cook the chopped garlic in a little of the oil (maybe two tbsp. of it) in a small saucepan at low heat for a minute or two, softening the garlic and releasing much of its flavor into the oil, let the saucepan cool, then add some more of the oil to the saucepan and stir, before pouring the cooled garlic oil over the fish. The point of adding some of the uncooked oil to the cooked mixture in the pan being that some of the oil will adhere to the pan and some of the garlic's flavor with it. By diluting the garlic essence in the pan with added oil, one reduces one's losses.

spookhatespuppies

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:28:27 -0600

The recipe seems fine and all, but damn, food photography is not Chicagoist's strong suit. That filet looks like it has boils that need lancing.

L. Stolpman

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:51:04 -0600

That looks good, Anthony - I think you just planned my dinner one night next week!