Salmon is my favourite fish. It’s full of good fats and a great source of protein. It is also one of those ingredients that can be prepared in a million different ways, be it raw, steamed, baked, pan-fried etc. No matter the preparation, it’s pretty much going to be a great dish.
Today I decided to pan-fry a fillet and while figuring out what base to put it on, I came by some zucchinis and had a flash of inspiration. What could be better than a bed of zucchini noodles?
Ingredients
- Salmon fillet
- Zucchini
- Salt
- Pepper
- Flour
Sauce
- Creamy peanut butter x 1 tbsp
- Tabasco Sauce x 1 tsp
- Salt
PREPARATION:
Salmon
1) Pat dry the salmon on both sides. The dryer the better.
2) Season salmon with salt and pepper
3) Sprinkle a pinch of flour on the skin. This allows the salmon skin to dry up even more. After all, the dryer the better. 🙂
4) Heat some olive oil in a skillet on high heat
5) Place salmon in skillet skin side down, and bring down to medium heat. Pan-frying salmon needs to be a gradual rise in temperature so that the fillet is nicely cooked throughout, yet the skin is just nice and crispy. If the heat is too strong the skin burns up very quickly and will be flaky.
6) Lightly press it to the pan for 30 – 60s, paying extra attention to the centre. Salmon very lightly curls up in the heat so you need to ensure that you get even crisping of the skin.
7) Skin side of salmon should pan fry for about 4-5 mins, depending on thickness.
An indicator that the skin side is done is that the fish will lift off the pan extremely easily without any force. I also usually take an estimate by looking at the sides of the salmon. As long as both the sides are fully cooked, it is about time to flip it.
8) Flip salmon over and continue to cook the flesh side for another 2-3 mins.
9) Take off pan and leave to rest
Zucchini Noodles (Zoodles)
1) Making the zoodles depends on personal preference. You can use a julienne peeler, or if you like thicker cut noodles, you can use a potato peeler and then slide them up. Just remember to remove both tips first.
2) In the same skillet that you were pan-frying the salmon, turn the heat back up and add the zoodles to the pan. There is no need to add anymore oil, as using the residual oil in the pan after the salmon will add more taste to the zoodles.
3) Stir fry for 3-5 mins, until tender.
4) If you are doing a serving of one, you can do this in the same skillet while the salmon is pan-frying.
To serve
1) To make the sauce for the zoodles, whisk all the sauce ingredients in a bowl together with some oil from the skillet.
2) Add the zoodles into the sauce and mix well
3) Serve salmon on top of the zoodles
Enjoy!