CSA zero returns: slow roasted salmon and sorrel-potato salad
Let's see how long I can keep it up
The theme of CSA Zero is less recipes, and more concepts for how to address my CSA mess. This year, like last year, I will endeavor to share how I am using my CSA ingredients each week. Usually this doesn’t last very long, but hey, this week I knocked it out of the park the first week so I am feeling really confident.
First off this year, a new vegetable that I have never cooked before. Sorrel! Different from the red drink that is so good. Not sure if it’s related to hibiscus, and not checking because being ignorant is part of my charm!
This year we’re starting small:
Oregano
Asparagus
Lettuce
Sorrel
Radishes
Sorrel, if you, like me, hadn’t had it before, is a sour sort of green? Like if spinach was cool tasting. Tart, bright, but with the mouthfeel of fresh spinach that’s on the mature side, a bit toothsome, but pleasantly so. It feels a bit like the rhubarb of vegetables, although I guess I’m realizing just now that rhubarb is a vegetable too. Ugh. Whatever. Tangy isn’t a flavor that vegetables have enough, is my point. The general consensus around sorrel seems to be that it should go with fat, usually seen in a rich buttery or creamy sauce, perhaps over a fatty fish (like salmon), or in a soup. I saw a really great looking recipe that had it in what can only be described as a french stir fry, with fried white beans, sorrel, and feta. It sounded delicious, but I hate making beans, I’d rather do just about anything else with my time.
This time, it’s a sorrel potato salad with oregano and citrus scented fish, and broiled asparagus. Look at that three ingredients in one dish! This potato salad is really more of a potato… salad… if you get me. It’s like… a salad. With potatoes. I based this recipe on one that I read a machine translation of, that was originally french. IDK if this is how french do potato salad usually, but I’m feeling super continental about this so am not interested in corrections. Tres bien! hon hon!
Slow roasted salmon with semi-desiccated citrus and oregano
Timing: I was able to do everything in the time it took for the fish to cook, so about 50 minutes.
Make it vegan: Hey if you had some cooked white beans, maybe gigantes, that you gave a quick fry to… I bet that would be great. I won’t be cooking those beans, but you could! Use a lot of oil, sorrel loves fat.
Ingredients:
Salmon (just over a pound)
2 sad older citrus
1 bunch sorrel (about 120g, stems removed)
1 bunch asparagus
Some sprigs of oregano
2 shallots (one would do ya fine)
White wine vinegar
Small potatoes
Dijon
First: Preheat the oven to 225.
Locate the most dehydrated and unapetizing citrus you have lying around. Zest it into a small bowl. For me this was a clementine from… at least late April, and a lemon. Add a little olive oil. Smoosh. Smoosh onto salmon. Salt. Pepper. Put onto a bed of oregano, because your CSA gave you like four cups of oregano, what do people do with fresh oragano? Put some oregano on top, and hey, you found some rosemary on the counter, use that too. Bake for around 50 minutes, give or take.
While salmon is baking:
make a potato salad and a vinagrette.
Put small yellow potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water, salt, bring to a boil. Cook until done. (For me this was 15 minutes)
Chop one shallot finely, and one clove of garlic. Toss into a small jar with a good amount of white wine vinegar. (Maybe a few tablespoons, idk. Too much, maybe, or maybe just enough.) Set aside. Add a teaspoon or so of dijon mustard, juice of half a lemon, pinch of MSG, large pinch of salt, tablespoon (or less, didn’t measure) honey, pepper, and enough olive oil. Mix well. Finely chop a tablespoon of sorrel, add that too.
Finely slice one shallot, mix with a splash of white wine vinegar in a larger bowl. You will make the potato salad in this. Remove the stems from your sorrel, slice into ribbons, add to the bowl.
Rinse potatoes until they are just cool enough to handle. Quarter, toss in the bowl with the sorrel. Add vinaigrette, toss well.
Finish cooking salmon. Turn on broiler. Broil asparagus with some oil and stuff until done. Put it all in a large bowl. Add a bit more dressing on top. Gorgeous, beautiful, wow. I don’t usually cook stuff that makes me think “wow, french!” but this did. I know nothing about french food.
Leftover salmon jeon with maangchi’s spicy salad
When making salmon I like to set about 6 oz aside for the next night. Then I will make this with it, my version of Maangchi’s tuna jeon recipe. (it is my version because I’ve made it a lot of times and no longer check the recipe, so might have changed things, but also might not have!)
Flake 6 oz salmon. Finely chop half an onion and a clove of garlic. Add a teaspoon or small drizzle of sesame oil. Add an egg, beaten. Add 2tbs of buchimgaru or flour. Add pepper. Bit of salt if necessary, buchimgaru is seasoned already, but a pinch of salt never hurts. Fry in a bit of peanut oil. This will make 4-6 small pancakes.
Eat with rice, kimchi, and some banchan. This week I’m making this salad from Maangchi, and adding some slivered breakfast radishes, because CSA zero.