# Side Dish for Salmon



## slamdaccord96

My mom loves salmon so I was planning on making that for dinner on Mother's Day. It will probably be herbed and then either grilled or baked. What would be some good side dishes? She is very into eating healthy so keep that in mind. I was thinking a couscous or whole wheat pasta dish and some sort of vegetable. I am planning a strawberry shortcake for dessert also. Any suggestions?


----------



## suzanne

I would go with whatever vegetables are at the peak of their season. If you have a farmers' market near you, check out what they have. Asparagus is always good. In fact, just about any veg is good with salmon, although a green veg is better than red/orange/yellow for color contrast on the plate.


----------



## bubbamom

Steamed brocolli for the vegie and perhaps risotto? Or how about a fresh strawberry/spinach salad?


----------



## chrose

One of my favorite methods of accomplishing both is to make a large batch of julienned mirepoix. Season with thyme , olive oil, S&P, and top the fish with it. You can bake it, grill it. If you bake it just leave as is on a pan. If you grill put it in foil and semi cover it to steam the veggies a little, or on a plank even without the foil. Gives you a veg, and an entree in one and they complement each other beautifully.


----------



## blueicus

Fiddleheads should still be available right now. A fresh and tasty idea is to do a quick blanch and then saute with some shallots, brown butter and lemon.


----------



## kuan

Green papaya salad and grilled salmon. That's what came to mind immediately.


----------



## tigerwoman

since she is into healthy and grains

how about something like quinoa \(pronounced KIN- WHAA)

you can get it at most upscale supermarkets, trader joes, whole foods, etc

in fact, trader joes makes a nice mix with quinoa

grill some nice spring asparagus, shower with some fresh lemon and lime zest and voila a lovely spring meal. 

|Thanks for appreciating your mom on mothers day. hope your meal is delish and successful

chocolate orange or chocolate mango mousse is probably easier than you think or make a rich tiramisu and use some great liquor like frangelico or amaretto instead of the sherry.


----------



## koukouvagia

I just served spinach rice last night with salmon and it went over extremely well!! It's really healthy and delicious!

-1 cup brown basmati rice (or any rice you prefer but this works beautifully)
-2 9oz bags of fresh spinach
-1 medium onion finely diced
-1 small tomato finely diced
-2 sprigs green onion
-lots of chopped fresh parsley and dill
-1/4 cup white wine
-olive oil
-salt and pepper
-dash of ground nutmeg

1. sautee the chopped onion in a large pot or sautee pan.
2. add the rice and sautee until well coated with the oil. It shouldn't be too dry or too oily.
3. Add the wine until absorbed
4. add the tomato and season with salt and pepper
5. Add water (as per the rice's instructions) and cook until tender.
6. Add the spinach and let it wilt and then stir. Cook with lid off so that excess liquid evaporates.
7. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley, dill, nutmeg and chopped spring onion.

Please let me know how you like it if you end up making it. Serve with lots of freshly ground pepper on top and yum!


----------



## cheftimoto

Pan-seared salmon with green and white asparagus, sauteed fresh morel mushrooms and topped with a warm caramelized shallot( or wild ramp) vinaigrette and mache.


----------



## dc sunshine

Potato Mash with grain mustard, simple rocket and cherry tomato salad, dressed in a simple vinaigrette. Let the salmon be the star - Rub it with a little EVOO, salt the skin side - NO pepper or it will get horrid black bits on it - hot pan - sear till skin is crispy- flip it, NOW season skin with pepper - finish in oven. Don't overcook - better off a bit under than over.


----------



## oregonyeti

Poached with cilantro, thin tomato slices, salt and pepper, and a sprinkling of Pakistani fish curry masala. And I will admit I usually microwave it rather than poach it. It comes out at least as good! Lemon juice if you wish, but I prefer none.

Roasted new potatoes on the side. Ok, I got distracted with the salmon.


----------



## slamdaccord96

Thanks so much guys! Funny thing though, after I was preparing for this wonderful side dish...she requested corn muffins so that's the carb I went with. I also made steamed broccoli (she doesn't like asparagras). Oh well, it was mother's day after all. The salmon recipe was an almond & parsley crusted filet from epicurious, it turned out great. Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions. I added them to my recipe vault!

Sarah


----------



## achefinparis

I'm sorry, I don't understand what a "julienned mirepoix" is....a Mirexpoix is a Mirepoix... That's a bit like asking for french fry style mashed potatoes, or a julienned Sofrito, no? Not here to cause controversy, but I would hope a "professional chef" and "reviewer" would know the difference between julienne and mirepoix, and their respective relevance to cuisine. Do you mean something like a julienned vegetable medley? If so, I would agree. I'm glad this was resolved, no less. My recommendation would have been a Southern style Succotash that could be kicked up to match the flavor profile of your salmon/salmon seasonings.


----------



## deepsigh

To me, the julienne of the mirepoix is obviously for presentation purposes.


----------



## Iceman

_OK._ Even though this is an old thread, I'm really bored, so I'll reply. I think an earlier poster used _"julienned mirepoix"_ as a suggestion. Now the way I see this is _"mirepoix"_, the vegetables celery, onion and carrots, being cut into a julienne.

  

I don't think it's all that hard to figure this out. _I'm glad this was resolved, no less._ Then again, I could be wrong.


----------



## boar_d_laze

The "miriepoix" juilienne is sad, actually.  It has the wrong flavor profile for a salmon garnish (non-complimentary and too bland).  More importantly a cooked celery julienne would be quite stringy and unpleasant to eat.

No means no.

BDL


----------



## teamfat

Mirepoix to me is not the destination, but the start of the journey.

mjb.


----------



## boar_d_laze

What can I say?  Plating styles have changed a lot since the seventies, and the "Bolognese" you describe sounds very dated..  On top of that, I'm not sure if Chianti is a great example of the type of cooking durangojo.does. 

For those who don't know.... Chianti was a mid-priced Italian restaurant, which opened in the late forties or early fifties.  Located in in what became the "Boy's Town" area of West Hollywood, Chianti's identity was a pleasant combination of "business lunch," "family" and "date night," but never "special occasion."  also, I don't recall that it was ever high-end or "authentic Italian," but do remember that it remained true to its Italian-American self and unaffected by the cooking revolution which began in the late sixties and seventies.  It closed about five years ago, in 2008, I think.

I first ate there in the late fifties.   During the eighties I worked at Paramount and some of the smaller studios in the area doing "three camera" shows.  On shoot nights we'd get some very long lunch breaks during the late afternoon / early evening and would leave the lot to grab a meal elsewhere.  Once in a while "elsewhere" was Chianti.  I've always like old-fashioned American restaurants and Chianti was a lot more American than it was real-deal Italian.  I remember Chianti fondly -- but as comfort food.

On the other hand, there's a lot be be said for retro.  God knows that if it hasn't become my primary interest, I sure as heck do it a lot. The plating you describe could be worth a try -- especially if the pasta was served as a garnish accompanying a main, and not as a "secundi" in its own dish.;

BDL


----------



## Iceman

_HEY *BDL* ..............._

I'm not positive, but I think you just co-mingled two(2) threads. Cool conversation tactic. LOL.


----------



## duckfat

IceMan said:


>


No offense to Ice but those photos give me a brain freeze. I sincerely hope no one ever looks at those photos and thinks that is a good representation of a Julienne. Not even RR would use those...well ok maybe RR. The only positive thing I could say about a mirepoix julienne is that you could avoid the stringy celery by peeling it before cutting but it.

I think I'd rather just have a bit of tomato cucumber beurre blanc and faux caviar with some Milk weed pods, peas and Marquise potato's.

Dave


----------



## Iceman

LOL. I'm dieing here.


----------



## opdvolunteer

Have you ever made the rice a bit before guests arrive except for the final ingredients stirred in and then reheated briefly and finished it successfully? I'd love to try this but the rest of the meal will take attention and I'd like to be able to chat with our guests while cook


----------



## cerise

You could take an Asian approach, i.e. black rice & baby bok choy.


----------



## koukouvagia

OPDvolunteer said:


> Have you ever made the rice a bit before guests arrive except for the final ingredients stirred in and then reheated briefly and finished it successfully? I'd love to try this but the rest of the meal will take attention and I'd like to be able to chat with our guests while cook


If you are referring to the dish I suggested then no, that's not possible. I would describe this more of a risotto, you can have all the components ready, even have the truce partially cooked but the bulk of this will have to be made right before you serve it.


----------

