In an effort to eat less red meat and more lean proteins and seafood, I decided to purchase some salmon fillets for a nice mid-week meal. Salmon is such a versatile fish that can be cooked multiple ways. I sometimes forget I own a grill pan, so I decided to create a sweet and spicy rub and then grill my fillets. What to serve my salmon with? Well, the options are endless, but salmon with lentils du Puy is a popular French dish that I decided to do a spin-off of. I made my lentils with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette. They came out tender and delicious and were perfect underneath my sweet and spicy rubbed salmon!
What’s your favorite way to prepare salmon fillets and/or lentils?
Lentil Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup lentils
- 1/2 small onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Sea salt and ground pepper for seasoning
Lentil Directions:
- Combine lentils and 2 1/2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, 5 minutes.
- Add onion, cover, and continue cooking until lentils and onions are just tender, 15-25 minutes.
- Drain, reserving the cooking liquid and transfer lentils to a bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk 2 tbsp reserved cooking liquid with vinegar, oil, mustard, garlic, and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Toss the dressing with the lentil mixture.
- Serve salmon atop the lentils.
Salmon Rub Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 4 salmon fillets
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Directions:
- Coat a grill or grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over medium heat.
- While the grill is heating, combine the brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper.
- Brush each fillet with the oil and then rub each fillet with the spice mixture, coating both sides.
- Grill the salmon, flesh side down, until charred, 4-5 minutes.
- Flip the salmon and cook another 5-6 minutes for medium doneness. For well done fish, cook another 1-2 minutes.
- Serve salmon over a bed of lentils.
This looks delicious. I’ve never made a rub so I will definitely try this recipe. Have fun at the Metro Cooking Show. Can’t wait to hear about it.
I love my grill pan! The only thing that stinks about it is cleaning it, but if I can get over that it’s worth every second it takes to scrub because you can get such great grill flavor inside!
That. Looks. Amazing.
I love the idea of combining salmon and lentils–two of my favorites that I don’t usually put together. Thanks for sharing:)
I love salmon but never thought to eat it with lentils. I think I need more lentils in my life.
I love the rub you used on this salmon! This could be versatile for so many other things! Thanks so much for sharing this 🙂