Wasabi Salmon (Japan)

Ingredients:

  • Four 6-7 oz. Skinless Salmon Fillets - Meat Dept.
  • Approximately 1 Cup Wasabi Peas - Bulk Aisle 5
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste - Bulk Herbs & Spices
  • Mediterranean Organic Olive Oil, for sauteing - Aisle 3

For Potatoes:

  • 1 & 1/2 Lb. Baby Potatoes - Produce
  • 1 Small Organic White Onion, peeled & thinly sliced - Produce
  • Mediterranean Organic Olive Oil, for sauteing & for mashing - Aisle 3
  • 5-6 oz. Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced - Produce
  • Salt & Pepper, to taste - Bulk Herbs & Spices
  • San-J Soy Sauce, for garnish (optional) - Aisle 3

Procedure:

Cook the baby potatoes in lightly salted water to cover and, once those are going, get the mushrooms started.  Saute the sliced white onion, in a heavy bottomed saute pan on medium high heat; in a little olive oil, until they start to soften.  Add the pre-sliced shiitake mushrooms to the pan, and when the mushroom are nice and soft, season them with a little salt and pepper and then take everything out of the pan.  While you're watching the potatoes, and waiting for those to finish up, put some wasabi peas into a small plastic bag and use a rolling pin or a flat bottomed pot to crush them.  Leave the bag slightly unsealed so the air has a chance to escape.

Season the salmon with salt and pepper and firmly press one side into the wasabi peas, on a plate.  When it's just about time to drain the cooked potatoes, cook the salmon in a non-stick pan, with a little olive oil, on medium  to medium high heat.  Place the salmon into the pan, wasabi pea side down, and cook it on that side for a minute or so to crisp up a bit and then very carefully flip it over to the other side.  once it's flipped, turn the heat down to medium to let it finish cooking through from the bottom side.

Once the cooked potatoes have been drained, add the mushrooms and onions to that pot, with a little olive oil and salt and pepper, and smash them up.  Add enough olive oil to the potatoes to give them a nice creamy consistency and once the fish is cooked to your liking, serve each piece on top of its own pile of potatoes.  Finish with a drizzle of soy sauce if you like.

Hints:

If you're using whole shiitake mushrooms instead of pre-slices, make sure you completely remove the stem before slicing because the stem is too tough to chew.  Serve the salmon with simply steamed rice instead of the smashed potatoes. 

Source: Chef Dan Eaton