Maple and Dijon Roast Salmon with Fingerling Potatoes and Spinach

**OLYMPICS SNOWBOARD CROSS SPOILER ALERT**


A B.C.-inspired meal to celebrate Canada's gold medal in womens snowboard cross today (one of my favourite events - it's like roller derby on a snowboard!). Actually a note on the wine first (2007 Gray Monk Pinot Noir) - I was hoping to sneak out of the office and catch the race at a nearby bar, but unfortunately scheduled a meeting at the same time that I couldn't get out of. So I was diligent about not responding to text messages, answering phone calls or emails, or using the interweb until after I got home from work and streamed the event online. I made it all the way to the wine store next to my house (iPod in tow, to block out potential discussion of the event by passersby) and when I was paying for my Pinot Noir, making small talk with the clerk, he mentioned how psyched he was about the womens snowboarding gold medal. "DAMN!" I exclaimed, "I was just about to stream that online, I've made a point of avoiding all human/computer contact in the last 2 hours so I could be surprised!". Needless to say, he felt badly, and I got a discounted bottle of wine!

Ingredients:
- salmon (individual piece or fillet, just adjust the glaze recipe accordingly)
- spinach
- new/fingerling potatoes



Salmon glaze ingredients:
- lemon juice
- mayonnaise (seems odd, but keeps the salmon moist)
- mustard (I used both dijon and a dill-pepper my roommate stole from a stampede party, but feel free to improvise)
- maple syrup

1. Combine equal parts of all ingredients. I made an entire fillet of salmon and about 1-2 tablespoons of each suited me. Adjust to suit your individual taste.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover a baking tray or other oven suitable dish with tinfoil (enough to wrap around the salmon) and put salmon in middle. Curl edges up so when you pour the glaze on top it does not leak. Cover salmon with glaze and fold tinfoil over to seal salmon. Set aside.
3. Slice potatoes in half. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add potatoes. Also, put salmon in oven.
4. Allow potatoes to boil until soft (approx. 10 minutes). Once soft, drain water and dump potatoes into baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil, butter, salt, pepper as desired (I used butter, of course), and put in oven with salmon. Set timer for another 5 minutes.
5. The salmon will be done when you stick a fork in it and it flakes slightly along the grain of the flesh, but the meat itself does not separate. It may be done after 5 minutes, or may take another 5 minutes.
6. While waiting for salmon and potatoes to finish, add a small amount of water to the pot you used to boil potatoes just to cover the bottom an inch or so (if still clean) and add a significant amount of spinach (it will shrink when you wilt it). Over medium heat, stir spinach until it reduces to about half the size and then drain. It should only take 2 minutes or so.
7. Remove salmon and potatoes from oven. Drain spinach and plate. Cut salmon steaks and serve on top of spinach, with potatoes on the side. I finished my potatoes with chives, but rosemary, thyme, garlic, or various other spices/herbs would also be delicious.
8. Enjoy with a glass of wine!

A note on the wine pairing: I enjoyed this meal with a 2007 Gray Monk Pinot Noir (in keeping with the B.C. theme). It was actually a lighter wine than I expected - very clear, bright, ruby colour. This wine has a toasty, berry aroma, which follows through on the palette with hints of raspberry and tea. Would probably have been delicious if I somehow incorporated the wine into my cooking of the salmon (but don't worry, the cooking with wine segment will follow in not too much time when I have my annual duck roast).

Tip: when preparing a salmon prior to cooking, run your hand along the highest point of the fillet, against the grain. Your fingers should hit and lift any bones still in the salmon. You can remove these easily with tweezers (but please, buy a pair just for kitchen use!).

Curried Butternut Squash Soup Au Gratin

I meant to add a history lesson to last week's post but forgot (too much Riesling?), however this week's post is just as a good an opportunity to explain how cuisine is so geographically determined. Obviously only certain foods will grow in certain climates, so it's no small wonder there's very little mango in traditional British dishes. However the methods of food preparation are also influenced by geography - ever notice that Chinese food generally has a short cooking time? And that there is so much baking involved in French food, but hardly any in say Japanese food? Well there were/are a lot more trees around Europe than Asia, and the woodstove was prevalent in Europe. So items requiring longer baking times (breads, casseroles, etc) became very popular in Europe and were never really developed in Asia due to the natural resources available.

However, this is really just a way of distracting you from the fact that tonight's recipe is not quick, and does involve some work (I assure you it's also difficult to go horribly wrong too). That being said, you will definitely make a large enough quantity that if you spend a lazy Sunday afternoon preparing the soup, you can refrigerate and easily have lunch for a week. You can mix up the spices on this too (curry is a bit unconventional - ginger, clove & nutmeg, and even caramelized apples are more traditional and all delicious). And if you omit the gratin finishing, it's also vegan friendly.

Ingredients:
- 1 butternut squash (I have a hard time finding them under 2 lbs, but if you get one smaller just adjust the other ingredients)
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chopped kale (you can also use broccoli, leeks, nothing - but kale is really good for you!)
- 4 cups stock or water (plus more to water down as required)
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp chili pepper
- butter

1. Turn the oven to about 425 degrees. Roast squash for about 30 minutes, turning over once .
2. Remove squash - cut lengthwise to two evenly sized halves. Remove seeds in the centre of each with a spoon and discard. Brush exposed flesh of squash with butter and return to over for another 30 minutes (or until squash is all soft and starting to brown around the edges).
3. Meanwhile - chop/dice/mince the other ingredients.
4. In your largest pot for soup, turn heat to medium and melt about 1 tbsp butter. Add onions and sautee until soft, translucent, and sweet smelling. Add garlic and continue.
5. Add about a cup of the stock/water to the pot and cook the kale (like you would cook spinach). Just leave to simmer in the pot with heat turned off once it's ready.
6. Remove squash from oven. When cool enough you can handle it, peel skin off (this shouldn't be too difficult, but you probably have to use a knife). Cut the Squash into small chunks, and add to food processor or blender. You will probably have to do this in 2 batches. Before pureeing, add about half a cup of the stock you used to cook the kale. Continue to add stock until it reaches desired consistency, then return entire mixture to pot. Repeat until all squash is pureed with stock and in the pot. Turn heat on again to medium and start to add more stock/water until desired consistency is reached, stiring regularly.
7. Stir in desired spices. Laddle into bowls and either finish with one of the below recommendations or just enjoy as is!

Options for finishing:
1. Au gratin - I sliced some remaining sourdough (I made more... not the same loaf as my first post) and layed it on top of the soup in an oven proof bowl, then layered sliced Gruyere on top and broiled it like French onion soup. Great success!
2. Just before serving, add a large dollop of sour cream to the centre of each bowl, and top with chives.
3. You can also finish with caramelized apples on top, which I haven't tried but I think it would be delicious. Especially if the soup was made with baking spices and you swapped some of the stock for apple cider.


A note on wine pairing - a quick google search revealed that this is not an easy dish to match wines with. A lot of sites recommended the Riesling (especially if you were going with the apple option, this would be delicious!). More in the mood for red (and thinking the heavy spices and roastiness could handle it) I opted for a 2007 Bolla Sangiovese di Romagna. I think the heavy spice notes in this medium bodied wine complimented the spices in the soup, but overall the wine was far too acidic for this soup. Without the Gruyere finishing, it would have over powered the soup. I asked around at my wine class a few days later and the woman who does wine/food pairings professionally recommended Sangiovese if I was going to go red. My instructor stood pretty firm on the white, recommending Riesling. I think he's probably right, I might pick up a bottle for next time I eat this soup (when not at the office).

To encourage us to be more comfortable with wine language, tonight in class we had to write promotional ads for different wines. I wrote a personal ad for a Pinot Noir I thought I would share:

Subtle, yet complex single francophone seeks dinner partner. Likes fine french cuisine, preferring either duck or salmon. Although young, am surprisingly spicy and vivacious. Seeking companion that will compliment my dry nature without overpowering my medium intensity. Offer is for an immediate, short term commitment only: my impressive body will only decrease with age.

Have a great week - I hope to post my quiche recipe this weekend!