Lemon Garlic Salmon over Rice

I stumbled upon this recipe while searching for Lemon Rice. Long, long ago I had a recipe for a delicious lemon rice but I think it must have been in one of the cookbooks I gave away when we moved. So I went on an internet search, and found this little gem Lemon Garlic Salmon by 40 Aprons. Go check it out. She has some awesome pictures and nutritional/diet facts.

Basically I followed her recipe to the tee, except left out parsley and put some of the lemon garlic butter sauce (repeat slowly: lemon garlic butter sauce, lemon garlic butter sauce, lemon garlic butter sauce, it sounds soooooo good, doesn’t it? It is! Trust me!) over brown rice. So good!

A funny thing happened to my minced garlic after cooking the sauce. It turned a strange blue-ish green color. Apparently it’s not uncommon. Garlic has naturally occuring sulfer compounds that might react to a very small amount of copper. Sulfer compounds and copper make a copper compound which is a blue-green compound. Copper can come from the lemon juice or the butter. It’s also frequently found in normal water supplies too. Perfectly safe to eat.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter (please don’t use margarine, it just won’t be the same)
• 6-8 garlic cloves , minced (only true garlic lovers need apply, lol)
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (I’m a firm believer that using fresh lemons, not bottled, is the best way to go, always)
• Sea salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 salmon fillets about 6 oz each, patted dry
• Fresh cracked pepper
• Fresh lemons, sliced for garnish
• Rice

Remove salmon from the refrigerator 10-20 minutes before cooking. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. This is a good time to start the rice. We prefer brown rice, which can be found here as “Integral” Dacsa which is a long grain rice. The cooking time for our rice is 25 minutes, using the stove top method.

Make the lemon garlic butter sauce: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add in the chicken broth, lemon juice, and a few pinches of salt. Simmer until it’s reduced by 1/3 to 1/2. It will turn into a slightly more thicker sauce. Remove from heat and set aside.

Making the salmon in 3 easy steps:

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until it’s shimmering (like a vampire in the sunlight, we don’t always have to be serious, right?)
2. Carefully place salmon fillets skin side up and cook until lightly browned on the bottom, about 2-3 minutes or until crispy. Carefully flip, taking care not to flake off any meaty bits. Cook 3-4 minutes on second side or until crisp and flesh begins to feel firm to the touch. Remove at this point if you want a medium cooked salmon or continue to cook until the flesh easily flakes with a fork.
3. Remove pan from heat and pour the lemon garlic butter sauce over. Arrange lemon slices over, if so desired. Remove the skin easily with a spoon. Place salmon over some cooked brown rice and add more lemon sauce over salmon and rice.

Que rico!