"My husband's going to see King Kong tonight," Annie explained over the phone. "Why don't I come over and you can make me dinner?" I sighed. I guess that was fair. Usually when we get together, we do so at her place since it's bigger and her bar is better stocked. "That's fine," I told her. "Actually there is a recipe I've been wanting to try - Salmon baked in a couscous crust. Doesn't that sound interesting? I saw Tyler Florence make it on How To Boil Water one day." "Salmon?" she questioned, sounding unimpressed. "Don't you like salmon? I mean, you love seafood, how could you not like salmon?" I asked. "I burnt myself out on salmon a couple years ago," she explained. "Well that's what we're having," I informed her. "You're going to return to salmon."
I hung up the phone, quickly cleaned up the apartment a little bit and headed to the market for supplies.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped green olives
2 tablespoons capers, chopped
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 lemon, juiced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups couscous
2 (6-ounce) salmon fillets skinned (mine were slightly bigger, as you can see)
2 cups water
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl, stir together the parsley, raisins, olives, capers, pine nuts, olive oil, and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Stir in the couscous to moisten completely and season generously with salt and pepper.
Put the salmon in a single layer in a smallish buttered gratin dish or baking dish (bottom measured 10 by 7 1/4 inches; 2.8 liter); the fillets should not touch one another. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil. Spoon the couscous mixture over the top of the fish so that it completely covers them and fills the whole dish. Pour in the water. Drizzle with a little more olive oil. Put the dish in the oven and bake 25 minutes.
How easy was that? So the salmon sort of poaches in the water which the couscous then absorbs. The top comes out slightly crisp and the fish is perfectly cooked in the couscous. The raisins give a nice sweetness which contrasts with the salty olives and capers. If you want, you could use a spatula to nicely scoop out each salmon fillet, but we just used a spoon and dug in. I served it with braised fennel with lemon.
By the time Annie arrived, dinner was ready. We popped open a bottle of wine and Annie helped herself to a plate. "This salmon is fantastic!" she exclaimed, her mouth full. It seems her salmon hiatus is over.
OK, it's a little embarrassingly stalkerish how i found this site, but i have to tell you...i love it. Made this salmon dish last night and it was perfect. looking forward to trying more things from this site.
Posted by: erin | January 18, 2006 at 05:15 PM
Wow. Thank you so much. I'm glad you made it and that you liked it. It's sort of fun to make, isn't it? I just love how you pour the water in, bake and everything comes out perfect. Definately keep posting and letting me know your thoughts on various recipes.
Posted by: Grant | January 19, 2006 at 12:40 AM
I made this last night, and it as great. Thanks so much for the recipe; I love this blog!
Posted by: hkazi | January 26, 2006 at 07:51 AM
Loved the meal! Tried it last night, and it was delicious. One comment, I prepared the couscous with chicken broth instead of water. It gave the meal a bit more weight, spices and salt!
Posted by: nikkicr | April 19, 2006 at 06:28 AM
This was a very easy to prepare and went over quite well. I added a bit of brine from the capers to the water for just a little more salt. Thanks for the recipe.
Posted by: Brett | February 22, 2007 at 08:21 AM
Made this for dinner tonight, and the boyfriend and I loved it! This may just be my new favorite way to make salmon. Great blog, by the way. :)
Posted by: Ngoc | January 29, 2008 at 09:47 PM
This is fantastic! I also made this dish using chicken broth to add a bit more weight, and I also used mixed raisins too add some additional color to the dish.
Alongside it I served a spinach salad topped with roasted butternut squash, red onions, pistachios, fresh figs, goat cheese, and a balsamic vinaigrette. The flavors played wonderfully together and everyone LOVED it!
Posted by: Susan | September 12, 2009 at 08:59 PM
Hello, very useful to me all the information that is on this page, especially the one related to this information
Posted by: places to have sex | April 21, 2010 at 01:58 PM
Is it possible to have king kong jumping around and surviving his
various crash landings? Why not? Please explain this in terms of
atomic physics using natural units (planck units). An answer might
discuss the force of the impact of King Kong (use approximate
equations) and the chemical bonds in his bones. Ignore factors of 2,
pi, and such pesty constants.
Posted by: generic propecia | April 27, 2010 at 04:42 PM
I really love the way information is presented in your post. I have added you in myt social bookmark…and i am waiting for your next post.
Posted by: nike air max | November 21, 2010 at 01:36 AM
I have been reading a lot off late to grasp more knowledge on this topic, but after reading your article I realized there is a lot more than I read and you are the only one who could make this happen. You are the only one from whom I could get the entire information on the topic. Thanks!!! You are fantastic
Posted by: generic viagra | January 11, 2011 at 12:37 AM