Salmon with Honey Garlic Glaze

As you might know, I am preparing for a move to Schaffhausen, Switzerland and I am already scouting the area and checking what a foodie can do there in terms of eating out and cooking. One place I found is Oceanis Comestibles. They supply our restaurant with fantastic fish and other delicacies. I was talking to the owner, Hasan, and showed him some of my recipes. He liked what he saw, and we agreed on a collaboration. 

As our proof of concept, Hasan challenged me with a beautiful piece of salmon belly. All I asked him was to leave the skin on. I remembered some delicious local honey I was given a while ago, and went to work. The result? A beautiful salmon in honey garlic glaze, on a bed of parsnip mash. This recipe is super easy to follow, and the result is absolutely delicious. Let’s get started!

You will need:

600g salmon belly or filet, with skin
600g parsnips
300g potatoes
2 tbsp soy sauce
​4 tbsp honey
6 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
60ml lemon juice 
1 whole lemon
3 cloves of garlic
Some fresh thyme
Salt to taste
​

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Add the olive oil and half of the butter (3 tbsp) to a pan. I like to use cast iron here, to get a nice quick sear. Cut the salmon into four equal pieces and sear on high heat for about 2 minutes. Carefully turn the pieces around and sear for another minute, until slightly crispy. 

Remove the salmon from the pan and set aside. Cut the garlic into thin slices and add it together with the honey, lemon juice, and soy sauce to the pan. Let it simmer until it reduces a bit, and the consistency is a little less runny. I like to squeeze a fresh lemon here, but store bought lemon juice works as well - it’s only about the flavor in this step.

While the glaze is reducing, peel and cut the parsnip and potatoes into slices and put to boil. I like to cut the roots in slices to simply have them boil faster - you can also boil them as a whole, it will just take longer. I have not noticed any difference in flavor so far.

When you can easily cut a slice of parsnip with a fork, they are soft enough. Drain the water, then add the remaining 3 tbsp of butter and lightly puree everything. I like to still have some potato and parsnip chunks here, just for some added texture. Add salt to taste, and set aside.

Cut the lemon into thin slices, then cut the slices in half. Add the salmon back into the pan and baste with the reduced glaze, which by now should have a syrup-like consistency. Top each piece of fish with half a lemon slice and some fresh thyme, then put the pan in the oven and bake with the grill function for about 10 minutes. 
Divide the parsnip mash over four plates, then top each portion with a piece of salmon, some more glaze and some fresh thyme, and serve immediately.

As you can see in the pictures, I don’t really have a cast iron pan, so I used my dutch oven. It still worked, I just had to be very careful when I removed the salmon, so it wouldn’t break apart. A cast iron pan is now on my Christmas wish list! 

As for the dish, I could not have been happier with the result. Everyone loved it, and I cannot wait for the next challenge in this Oceanis x TwoFoodiesEating collab.