The Good Rabbi's Blog

For the record, there is nothing remotely Russian about these recipes. I call it "Russian" because these twists on some old stock favourites in my repertoire were inspired by two Russian friends of mine (more on that later). So before all of the culinary readers write in, keep that in mind. :-)

This past week, the weather here in our nation's capital has been unseasonably warm (given that it's January). As such, I determined that a little bit of grilling would be in order. Since the lovely market down the street from me had a sale on salmon, I bought a couple fillets, and I decided to cedar smoke them. Apart from this, I had no idea what I was going to make, or what kind of glaze to use for the salmon. Here's where my Russian friends come in.

My friend Olga has many talents. She's an amazing salsa dancer, she has excellent taste in fashion (especially shoes), and she's a very crafty person. One of her "unsung" talents, however, is that this girl can open her refrigerator, look at a number of items in it that are seemingly unconnected, and concoct a meal (and a good one at that). This kind of improvisation was the inspiration for the side dish I made.

I opened up my fridge, and saw I had some extra firm tofu, some Swiss chard, half of an onion, and some white wine. I also had some leftover cinnamon-chipotle rub that I had made for some steaks not too long ago, and some fresh garlic. After cutting, washing, and spin-drying the swiss chard (stems and leaves), rubbing the tofu, and searing it on the grill, and dicing up the onion and garlic, I was in business. I heated some olive oil and sautéed the onion and garlic. I cubed up the seared tofu, and added it to the pan with the swiss chard. After sautéing for a minute or so, I added some more of the leftover rub (which contained both salt and pepper for seasoning), and some of the white wine, and lowered the heat and covered it. Meanwhile, I went to tend to the salmon.

Olga has a twin sister Anna that I'm also pretty friendly with. Despite our both having started our professional lives as economists, we've both managed to wander into the culinary arena. I was in pretty constant contact with her while I was in culinary school, and now she's in culinary school up at the Culinary Institute of America. In addition to sharing a lot of the crafty talents that Olga has, Anna has been one of the quiet inspirations behind some of the winning items I've put on menus recently. She has a particular gift (even if she may not know it) for balancing flavour profiles in order to create combinations that really engage the palette. Remember that watermelon & feta cheese salad I served at my wedding? Guess who turned me on to that?

In a saucepan, I mixed some maple syrup, with some grapefruit juice, roasted garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and a wee bit of olive oil. I brought it to a boil, then reduced it to a simmer, and let it reduce for a while, until it reached a glaze consistency. Some of this would be used as a basting liquid, and some of it would be for the finished product.

Anyway, I have always liked cedar smoking salmon. It produces a light kiss of smoke that perfectly complements the salmon, whereas most smoked fish dishes have an element of burning building. I've used this recipe with much success over the years, and I've managed to pass this on to various people, including a certain disgracefully-aging gentleman. Basically, I soak a cedar plank in either water or wine for at least an hour (you really want the liquid to penetrate it so it smoulders and smokes, instead of having a dry fire in your grill which, needless to say, will destroy your fish). Once the grill is good and hot (whether you're using charcoal, or propane with propane accessories), you want to put the plank directly over the coals or the burner. When the wood just starts to smoke, put the fish on the plank skin side down, and let it cook for about 10 minutes per inch of thickness, or about 9-12 minutes per pound.

When salmon is correctly cooked, it should be creamy in the middle - often people think that this is undercooked, but that would be mistaken. Baste with the glaze every now and then, but resist the temptation to keep opening the grill. The smoke has to work its magic. You'll want to take the fish off (plank and all) when it registers a temperature of about 135 degrees (it will continue cooking when you take it off, so let it rest for a few minutes with some foil on top). I serve it right off the plank, as the skin sticks to the plank, so people take what they want, and the skin remains. Pour some of the remaining glaze over the top, and you're ready to go.

To further toast my Russian friends, I paired this meal with an extra-chilled vodka grapefruit martini, as I was in the mood for a cocktail. If you're in the mood for wine, a chilled glass of either Sauvignon Blanc or Gewürztraminer.