Roasted Salmon with Quinoa and Carrot Oil Recipe

Roasted Salmon with Quinoa and Carrot Oil Recipe

  • 4 tablespoons pine nuts
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into brunoise
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
  • ½ medium onion, diced fine
  • ½ cup finely diced domestic or shiitake mushrooms
  • ½ cup quinoa
  • 1 cup Chicken Stock, low-salt canned chicken broth, or Vegetable Stock, plus a bit extra, if needed
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon minced parsley
  • 4 salmon fillets, 6 ounces each
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • ½ cup Carrot Oil
  1. For the quinoa:
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the pine nuts on a baking sheet in 1 layer and toast until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Chop medium-coarse and reserve.
  3. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat until almost smoking and sauté the onion for 1 minute. Add the carrots and the mushrooms and sauté 1 minute. Add the quinoa and Sauté 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, raise the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes, adding extra stock if it dries out. Transfer to a strainer if there is excess liquid, then return to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and stir in the nuts and parsley. Reserve, keeping warm.
  4. For the salmon:
  5. If you are going to finish the salmon in the oven, preheat to 400°F. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the salmon flesh-side down and sear 3 to 4 minutes, add the butter, turn over the fish, and cook another 3 to 4 minutes on the other side. Or sear flesh-side down, then place in the preheated oven until medium rare, about 5 minutes. Then add butter and sear the other side until brown. Remove from the pan.
  6. To serve:
  7. Mound about ½ cup of quinoa in the center of each warm serving plate. Place a portion of salmon on top of the quinoa and drizzle the carrot oil around the salmon.
  8. Good, chewy substitutes for quinoa:
  9. Wild Rice with Pine Nuts or Curried Couscous
  10. Substitutes for carrot oil:
  11. Basil Oil, Curry Oil–especially nice if you substitute curried couscous–Beet Oil, or Roasted Garlic-Black Olive Oil
  12. For the fish, substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
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