Main Dishes

Roasted Salmon with Red Onion and Apple Puree Crust with Ginger-Cider Reduction

Ingredients:

6 3-ounce salmon filets
2 tablespoons light cooking oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Red Onion and Apple Puree:

8 ounces butter
1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
9 medium apples, quartered and cored (not peeled)
2 lemons, juiced and zested
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 ounces apple brandy
1 tablespoon honey

Ginger-Cider Reduction:

1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 cup apple cider
2 cups chicken stock or Apple-Leek Stock (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, julienned
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
3 ounces whole butter

Directions:

Red Onion and Apple Puree:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut up butter, place in roasting pan and melt; add ingredients except brandy and honey to roasting pan. Roast at 350°F for about 2 hours, turning about every 20 minutes, until apples and onions are well-browned. Add the apple brandy and honey. Puree in food processor or blender until smooth. Cool and refrigerate until ready to use. Remaining puree can be frozen for later use. Makes 6 cups.

Ginger-Cider Reduction:
In non-aluminum saucepan, combine vinegar and cider, reduce to 1/3 cup over medium heat. Add stock and ginger. Reduce to 1 cup. Add thyme. Just before serving, whisk in butter.

Lightly oil baking sheet (this recipe is usually roasted on a cedar plank). Season salmon filets with salt and pepper, to taste. Evenly spread 2 tablespoons of Red Onion-Apple Puree on each filet. Bake at 400°F for about 8 minutes, until filets are cooked. Serve with Ginger-Cider Reduction.

Makes 7 half-portions.

Approximate Nutritional Analysis (per serving):

calories, 427; fat, 16 g; cholesterol, 172 mg; sodium, 3 mg; fiber, 1 g; percent calories from fat, 37%.

Source:

Reprinted with permission of Mark Rosenstein from In Praise of Apples (Lark Books, 1996).