A Farmers Market Dinner Featuring Salmon & Truffle Cream

farmers market dinner

Pan-Roasted King Salmon with White Truffle Cream
Farmers Market Wild Arugula, Heirloom Baby Cherry Tomatoes, Avocado
Pine Nuts, French Lentils, Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

Inspired by a trip to the Farmers Market, fresh king salmon was pan-roasted and served over organic French lentils seasoned with just a kiss of my Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette along with wild arugula, irresistible baby cherry tomatoes, lightly toasted pine nuts, and avocado.

The sauce is made with La Tartufata blended with creme fraiche which added a velvety nuance to the dish. A preserved truffle product from Gourmet Attitude, La Tartufata is an earthy intense white truffle cream. This dinner was a delightful marriage of earth, garden, and sea. It’s the third in a series of three meals, each featuring one of the preserved truffle goodies in the “Trio Boutique.” We especially liked dipping the little heirloom tomatoes in the truffle cream sauce…

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Grilled Salmon Dolmades, Pine Nut Lemon Sauce

dolmades dolmades, dolma, dolmades image, salmon dolmades

GRΣΣK MΣZΣ MAKΣΦVΣR
Grilled Salmon Dolmades, Pine Nut Lemon Sauce

grilled dolmades, pine nut lemon sauce

Hello and welcome to the 5 Star Makeover Taverna, a unique virtual restaurant specializing in Greek mezes, featuring a twist on classic ingredients and recipes. My contribution to the Taverna is Grilled Salmon Dolmades with a Pine Nut Lemon Sauce. Here, grape leaves are stuffed with fresh Alaska King Salmon that has been grilled on a cedar plank, along with sticky brown rice, crumbled feta, chopped kalamata olives, and fresh dill. The grape leaves are brushed with olive oil and cooked over a hot fire until the grape leaves start to crisp and char. The tangy sauce is make from pine nuts, lemon, red pepper flakes, dill, and olive oil. Grilled lemons accompany the platters.

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Quite Possibly The Best Salmon Ever?

Morro Bay King Salmon, troll-caught hook and line

Crispy-Skin Morro Bay King Salmon, Miso-Braised Buna-Shimeji
Diced Daikon Sautéed in Sesame Oil, Vietnamese Herbs, Bonito Flakes, Dashi Broth

Being a salmon aficionado and curious about the unusually complex rich flavors of this particular fish, I called the fishmonger at Bristol Farms. Salmon from Morro Bay, just like her famous Northern sister, the Copper River King, has unique qualities that come from “lifestyle” – the environment where they hatch, what they feed on, the temperature and strength of the currents they swim in and against, and finally how they are harvested and brought to market.

LL: “I purchased Wild California King Salmon from you yesterday. Can you tell me more about it?”

FM: “Oh yes! They are troll fishing for King Salmon in Morro Bay right now, using hook and line, bringing one fish at a time on board the boats. The fish are handled with the utmost care.”

LL: “I think it is quite possibly the best salmon I’ve ever had.”

FM: “We think so too. It’s extraordinary.”

Morro Bay King Salmon is the star of this dish. All the other components play a supporting role while creating an ethereal experience. Unlike the super-fatty Copper River chinooks, the Morro Bay is perhaps more balanced? While Morro Bay kings are still very rich in the omega-3 fats, there is also a depth and complexity of flavor that is unmatched by any salmon I’ve ever enjoyed. Unwittingly, I chose a light preparation for the dish, so glad I didn’t overshadow the bright character of the fish with heavy sauces or competing ingredients.

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Cold Poached Salmon, Picnic Style


heart healthy cold poached salmon over multi grain angel hair pasta
meyer lemon slivers, shaved fennel, kalamata olive, marinated artichoke, fat-free feta
olive oil meyer lemon dill sauce

The star of the meal at our Elegant Heart Healthy Picnic by the Sea
was the cold poached Canadian King Salmon. Here’s the recipe!

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Toasted Seaweed Crusted Salmon, Lemon Tamari

King Salmon, Crusted with Toasted Seaweed
Lemon Mirin Tamari Sauce, Wasabi Butter


Whisk together lemon juice, mirin, low-sodium Tamari and olive oil for the sauce.


Fresh Wild King Salmon from British Columbian waters is crusted with a mixture of ground toasted seaweed, sesame seeds, red pepper flakes, sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

The salmon is sautéed in olive oil over medium high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes per side.

Place the salmon over the sauce and top with wasabi butter.

Does this sound familiar? In April we prepared a beef filet in a similar style, which was awesome. And it is equally good with salmon.

I recently received an email from Emily at Marx Foods. They’re hosting a salmon recipe contest: WIN A SUMMER OF WILD SALMON. The creator of the winning recipe will receive 15 lbs. of wild salmon – three 5 lb. shipments, once in July, August and September. Each shipment will contain a different type of wild salmon, varying by species and river origin. Doesn’t that sound like fun! Salmon should be the star of the dish, but the recipe can incorporate any variety of salmon-fresh, frozen, smoked, canned, pickled, etc. The contest deadline is June 20. There are about 100 recipes already submitted and posted on their website, and many of them sound terrific.