HONEY AND MUSTARD MARINATED NORWEGIAN SALMON WITH THYME AND ROSEMARY APPLES

 

Norwegian Salmon

 After purchasing Norwegian salmon at the market the other day, only one thought entered my mind.  And that was Andreas Viestad and his Kitchen of Light cookbook.  When I arrived home, I perused the book and found one of his favorite salmon recipes that piqued my interest:  Honey and Mustard Marinated Norwegian Salmon with Rosemary Apples.

However, I was taken aback by salmon being served with apples.  Apples?  So I threw away my thoughts about salmon and lentils that day and made it, and I was pleasantly surprised.  I added sprigs of fresh dill to the marinade and fresh thyme sprigs to the apples, and served it with smashed dill potatoes.  It was another great New Scandinavian Cooking dish....without the flight to Norway.

For the Salmon:

Yield:  Serves 2

1/2 pound Norwegian salmon fillet, skin on
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 Sprigs fresh dill
Fleur de sel

Rinse fish under cold running water and pat dry.

In a shallow dish, mix the olive oil, honey, mustard, garlic, lemon juice and dill.  Place fish in mixture, turning to coat it with the marinade.  Cover and marinate for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator.

 

Salmon in Marinade

 

For the Thyme and Rosemary Apples:

Yield:  1/2 cup; serves 2

1 green apple

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary

Peel and core the apple and cut into 8-10 slices.  Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the cut apple, thyme and rosemary sprigs.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook, turning apple slices until tender, about 8-10 minutes.  Remove cooked apple from the heat and discard the thyme and rosemary sprigs. Set aside.

To Finish:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove salmon from refrigerator and brush off marinade.  Reserve the marinade.  Transfer the salmon to a lightly oiled baking dish, skin side down. Let salmon sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.  Place salmon in oven.  After 8 minutes of baking, pour the reserved marinade over the salmon. Continue to bake salmon for another 4-5 minutes or until the flesh flakes nicely with a fork.  Remove salmon from oven and season lightly with Fleur de sel.

Serve alongside the apples.