just the coho

Seeing as this week is a special travel edition about Seattle, I thought I'd share a recipe for one of the staple foods of the Pacific North West!  A simple, quick & tasty way to make Salmon (coho or no).

A few years back I went to visit my Auntie Kathy at her home in southern California.  On the final night of my trip we went out to a fabulous seafood restaurant called King’s Fish House in Carlsbad.  I can’t remember what I ate, though I’m sure it was good. But I do vividly remember what my Aunt had... Coho.  

Why do I remember this?  Because it’s become an ongoing family joke ever since.  See, most of our family lives of the west coast, and all of my mother’s family has a history of fishing.  Because of that we’re a bit spoiled when it comes to having a range of fresh salmon of all different varieties to eat.  

So when my aunt asked the waiter what type of salmon it was on the menu, he politely told her “Coho”.  To which my aunt scrunched her nose and said, “Oh, just the coho?”  The waiter looked confused at her apparent disdain for the fish and began to assure her that Coho is in fact quite good.  At that point we both looked at each other and burst out laughing realizing how this must have seemed to the waiter.  

In the end she did order the Coho, and she enjoyed it.  But every time I eat Coho now I giggle to myself a little.

That being said, salmon is one of my staple foods.  We’re lucky in BC to have it so available and pretty cheap!  Here’s a quick & easy way to prepare it keeping it moist & letting the fish shine through.

• Wild Coho fillets (1-4)
• lemon juice
• lemon pepper
• dried dillweed
• olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350F.  

Get out a glass ovenproof dish (pyrex or something), that’s just big enough to fit your salmon fillets in.  Spray the bottom of the dish with a little olive oil (that’s assuming you have an olive oil sprayer... I’ve been using “A Touch Of Oil” for years, and I’d highly recommend buying one http://www.dvo.com/oil-sprayer.html.... if you don’t have one, just lightly coat the bottom with olive oil.

Put your fish in the dish, skin side down.

Next take your lemon juice (fresh or from the squeezy bottles works fine), and pour a little into the dish around the sides of the fish.  You don’t want to pour it directly on the fish, and you don’t want too much of it... just enough to cover the bottom is fine.

Sprinkle the fish with dill & lemon pepper.  You don’t want to go crazy with it, just lightly sprinkled is fine.

Throw it in the oven for about 35 minutes for a fillet that’s about an inch thick.  Keep in mind that every fish is different, so if it’s a tiny piece or really thin, check it after about 20 minutes.  If it’s a lot thicker, then cook it longer.

How do you know it’s ready?  Well it’ll easy flake apart with a fork, and it’ll be opaque throughout.  If the insides look like sashimi, it’s not done yet.

enjoy!