FISH with a Kick! Pineapple Salmon

Today is the day! I always know we are getting to the end of the season because the kids are back in school and the crew ships home all their fish. It is my annual job to collect the fish at the airport and meet people so that we can get the fish into their freezers as quickly as possible (thank you Todd for your help every year). It is always an adventure but today I am feeling blessed because it is not 100 degrees outside, just 85 today. Now that there is fish in the freezer it is time to pull some out and cook some up!

Claire caught a white king salmon this summer and so I thought I would use it for this recipe but once the dust settled the white king was on the bottom of the pile and the Coho was on top, so I used Coho but really, any salmon would be delicious with this. You are probably wondering how the Kings taste, white vs. red, they taste the same to me but the locals claim it is a delicacy. As for the reason the fish is white? I asked Google, because that what we do these days, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game had the answer, https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=738 In a nut shell, The difference in flesh color comes from their genetically-determined ability to metabolize naturally occurring pigments from their food…follow the link if you want the full explanation but yes, they are the same species.

Pineapple Salmon

I put down my parchment paper and then put the pineapple down; be sure to not put your pineapple directly on the pan as it may have a reaction to the metal…I read that and thought I should pass that along. I rinsed and seasoned the fish with salt and pepper. Don't be afraid to generously salt the fish, the marinade doesn't have salt and we found that we needed a little more salt than I put on it.

Speaking of marinade, here is the stuff...the sweet chili sauce can be found in the asian section at your local grocery store. It has a sweet and spicy kick to it so heads up. The marinade smelled amazing and my kids started appearing from their homework and bedrooms wondering what smelled so good and what was for dinner. This is starting to sound like a mom dinner win!

Here is the salmon, marinade applied, all ready to go into the oven. It is making me drool just thinking about it this morning...to bad there weren't any left overs, the kids loved it. One thing to note, I left off the red pepper flakes (I am cooking for kids) and we found the heat in the sweet chili sauce was more than enough for us...this dish definitely has a kick to it. I also omitted the green onions and sesame seeds, keeping it kid friendly. **The lime wedges, squeezed on the fish just before eating, made this amazing!

I found this recipe delicious and pretty easy to follow, we will be making this one again. I paired it with roasted potatoes and a fresh garden vegetables. Claire thought it would be amazing with a ginger cilantro rice...so many options!

Enjoy ~ Momma Mary

Baked Pineapple Salmon

Ingredients:

Cooking spray, for pan

Pineapple rings, fresh or canned, enough to provide a bed for your fish. I used one can.

1 large salmon fillet (about 3 lbs.)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tbsp. melted butter

3 tbsp. sweet chili sauce

2 tbsp. freshly chopped cilantro

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. freshly grated ginger (I used dried and it was yummy)

2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (I left these off and I was glad because it was plenty spicy)

Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Thinly sliced green onions, for garnish

Lime wedges, for serving **these take this to a whole new level of delicious**

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil and grease with cooking spray. In the center of the foil, lay pineapple slices in an even layer.

2. Season the salmon with salt and pepper and place on top of pineapple slices.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together butter, chili sauce, cilantro, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. Brush all over salmon fillet.

4. Bake until the salmon is cooked through, about 15-25 minutes depending on thickness.

5. Switch the oven to broil, and broil for 2 minutes, or until fish is slightly golden.

6. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions and serve with lime wedges.