When I was young, my overtired mom stuck to a small repertoire of simple weeknight dinners. She worked full time but came home before her father. It was entirely up to her to feed us every evening. My mom loved to eat, but you wouldn’t know it from the school dinners (hot dogs and frozen vegetables, pasta with bottled sauce, tender grilled chicken breast, tough grilled pork chops).
Then one evening, near the end of elementary school, my mom introduced me to a new dish. It was salmon covered in mustard and mayonnaise and then grilled. The colors were bright. The taste is great. By itself, a fish showing off in a pocket suggested luxury rather than utility.
My mother passed away when I was 21. There are many things I miss about my mother, but not her cooking. But last summer I really wanted that salmon. In all those years I never once attempted to make one myself. Maybe he thought that would make him miss her too much. Maybe I’m just being snobbish about the idea of hot mayonnaise. I decided it was time to give it a try.
I made a few adjustments, including using Dijon mustard instead of my mom’s yellow and using wild Alaskan salmon instead of the farmed stuff she used to buy (the former is leaner, has a fishy flavor, and can stand up to the big flavor). I added lots of fresh herbs for color and complexity and baked the salmon in the oven instead of cooking it on the grill.
I tentatively tasted the finished product, skeptical that my playing would evoke the joy I remembered from my childhood. There was no need for that. The fish remained extra moist beneath the creamy lid. mustard lent zipper; Herbs, texture, freshness. The salmon was delicious. I shouldn’t have been so surprised. It’s always been like that. It has been in constant rotation at my dinner table ever since.
Salmon with mustard, mayonnaise and (almost) any herbs
You can use any combination of herbs you like (dill, parsley, basil, cilantro, thyme, chives, chives, green garlic), but we recommend using at least two. Dill, basil, and green garlic are my favorite combo. date. If you have extra, refrigerated salmon makes great leftovers.
Serves 3-4
1 pound salmon (preferably wild)*
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
½ teaspoon. kosher salt
Twist the pepper grinder a few times.
1/3 cup chopped fresh green herbs, plus more for serving
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F.
Line a rimmed sheet pan or large baking dish with parchment paper and place the salmon on the pan. (If the plate is too short for the length of the fish, cut the fish horizontally and divide it in two.)
In a small bowl, using a spatula, mix mustard and mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper. Then gently stir in the herbs and use a spatula to spread the mixture evenly over the fish. Place in the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. (Check for doneness by cutting through the thickest part of the fish. The salmon is ready when it is completely flaky and the hot pink color of the raw fish has changed to a muted pastel.) Sprinkle with herbs and serve hot.
*The sides of wild Alaskan salmon tend to be no more than an inch thick at their thickest point. The general rule for cooking wild salmon at this temperature is 12 to 15 minutes of cooking time per inch of thickness. Farmed salmon rather than wild salmon is likely to be meatier and thicker, so cooking times may need to be adjusted accordingly.
Sarah B. Franklin He is a writer and professor at New York University. Her work has appeared in publications such as: new york times, washington post, literary huband The Nation. Her latest book is Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped American Culture. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her twins.
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