Yukon Salmon and Summer Vegetable Sauté

Sometimes for dinner, especially when I eat alone which is often, it's easiest to make a grilled cheese sandwich and call it a night. If I'm particularly lazy I'll have a bowl of cereal (or two, or three). However, my abundant garden demands I step it up and regardless of who or how many I'm cooking for, I've been doing a pretty good job of making the most of our summer produce.

Yukon Salmon is in season right now and I love it so. According to The Chef, there are two kinds of Yukon Salmon, the deluxe version, and the lesser "chum" version I had tonight. I found it to be delicious and absolutely recommend it. Here's a link to a story out of Seattle that explains the difference between the two varieties: Click Here

For the vegetable sauté I of course used zucchini which I eat pretty much every day now. Since we are in the dog days of (zucchini) summer, I have my sauté perfected. The components can be switched out at will but must start with the caramelized shallot base.

This dinner was a one pan meal too thanks to my trusty cast iron skillet. In about 20 minutes I had a fine dinner which I paired with a Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc. I love summer.

For one serving:

• 5-6 ounces Yukon Salmon
• 1/3 cup fresh shelled peas
• 1/3 cup small diced zucchini
• 2 tablespoons chopped shallot
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Caramelized Sherry Vinaigrette (optional, but yummy-honey might work here too)
• Salt to taste

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the shallot and stir frequently for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook for a couple minutes more. Add the peas and sauté until the vegetables have caramelized a bit and the peas are bright green. Add salt to taste and transfer to a plate.

Add the bread crumbs to the skillet and stir constantly until golden. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Turn the heat up to medium high and add the other tablespoon of olive oil. Add the fillet of salmon skin side down and cook, undisturbed for 3 minutes. Sprinkle the top of the fillet with salt. Flip the salmon over and cook until it has reached the desired level of doneness. Flip back over, spoon the vinaigrette over the fillet and turn the heat off. You should be able to separate the fillet from the skin fairly easily.

Place the salmon on top of the reserved vegetables. Sprinkle the bread crumbs around the plate and on top of the salmon. Garnish with the fresh basil.