So Many Dishes

I’ve written about any number of salmon recipes. I was sure that I had posted this one. But I went through my old posts, and I can’t find one about this dish. I’m correcting that omission right now.

Suzy Karadesh, the originator of the Mediterranean Dish blog, has published two cookbooks in the last few years. I love the original book; I’ve yet to cook out of the second one. But the original cookbook has so many fantastic recipes, and this dish is one of my favorites.

Foil-baked salmon with cherry tomatoes, olives, and thyme is a very straightforward recipe. You make a topping of tomatoes, olives, shallots, garlic, herbs, then pile it on top of a salmon fillet, seal it in foil, and bake. It doesn’t get much easier. Usually, I use Kalamata olives in this dish, but I decided to add some of the cracked green olives I bought a couple weeks ago. Good idea!

Although I’ve only been making this recipe for a few years, it has already been established in family lore. That’s because of a near disaster when I cooked it in Ben’s kitchen on one of our visits. I turned the oven on to preheat without checking to be sure it was empty. It was not! I can’t remember what had been in the oven, but it went straight to the garbage. We let the smoke clear before I finally baked the fish.

The only issue I have with this dish is getting the fish fully cooked. The time indicated in the recipe is just not long enough. The heat needs to penetrate the foil, plus we prefer salmon that is no longer I’ve translucent. We don’t like salmon rare. For Ken and me, cooking it to the recommended temperature of 145 degrees results in perfect fish. Yet, I’ve seen recipes that say it’s done at 125 degrees. I’m okay with that for tuna, but not salmon. I’m giving the original cooking time, but I suggest using an instant-read thermometer and checking to achieve your preferred degree of doneness.

Foil-Baked Salmon with Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, and Thyme

• 1 1/2 cups halved cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/2 cup pitted olives, either Kalamata or a mix of Kalamata and green olives
• 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1 to 1 1/2 pound salmon fillet, skin removed
• Juice of 1/2 large lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with enough aluminum foil to hang over the edges on all sides. Top the foil with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, shallot, garlic, thyme, and oregano. Drizzle with the olive oil, then toss to combine.

Season the salmon with salt and pepper and place the salmon in the middle of the pan. Drizzle the lemon juice all over the salmon and spoon the tomato and olive mixture on top. Take another large piece of foil and tent it over the salmon. Go around the edges to fold them shut, making a parcel to enclose the salmon.

Bake the salmon in the oven until almost fully cooked, about 15 minutes (or longer).

If desired, carefully remove the top piece of foil, then turn the oven on to broil. Return the salmon to the oven and broil for 3 minutes, watching for the tomatoes begin to burst. (If doing this step, you can put the fish under the broiler when it reaches 140 degrees; it will finish cooking under the broiler. But the tomatoes are plenty soft without this step). Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

I’m always serve lemon wedges with the dish. We like to add a little extra lemon juice. I took the easy route for the side, and bought a bag of precut broccoli and cauliflower florets, which I steamed. We had the remains of a delicious five-grain sourdough loaf that I’d bought the day before, and that was a delicious addition to our dinner. I have so many good recipes for salmon, but this one is still near the top of my list.

Happy eating!