Thank you to the nice lady at the grocery store who was wielding a leek like a baseball bat and ordering some salmon. She said she steamed all of her stuff in some fancy store-bought contraption in the microwave, which didn’t sound particularly appealing to me, but the leek-salmon-soy sauce combo she mentioned did. So I played around with it a bit and came up with today’s recipe, which is simple and simply delicious. Leeks, if you are unfamiliar, are related to onions and have a sweet, delicate flavor. Plus, they are pretty. As a major bonus, leeks are very high in a type of fiber that our good-for-us gut bacteria love. Good gut bacteria does amazing things for you. It’s a fascinating emerging field of science (says the uber-nerd here who took a Coursera class all about it). You know what? Just read this. Page 2 has the good info on leeks. Now you want to eat leeks every week, right? Me, too. The lady in the grocery store, who was not raised in the U.S., said too few people here use leeks. I wholeheartedly agreed. Even my little one J, in the shopping cart, saw our discussion and started nodding his head (a new discovery - and a fun departure from just shaking and “no”) and said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Thanks for the support, buddy. So here’s a simple introduction to leeks, paired with some gorgeous wild-caught salmon. Talk about a serious superfood pairing! OK, a few quick notes about this salmon and leeks recipe. (You can scroll down to the recipe card if you’d rather. It’s at the bottom of the post, just above the comments section.)
Recipe Notes:
Salmon: In most areas of the US, you need to buy your salmon on the day you plan to use it. It does not keep for long. I plan for this and cook salmon on days when I know I’ll be grocery shopping. Or I use frozen wild-caught Alaskan salmon. It’s frozen right after it’s caught and cleaned, so it’s as fresh as you can get, apart from cozying up to a fisherman as he docks his boat. Leeks: Leeks need to be carefully cleaned to get the dirt out of the inner layers. See the instructions below and the photos above for the stages of this. Yield: This recipe is written to serve two, but you can certainly double the recipe if needed. Serving: This salmon dish pairs great with rice and your favorite veggie. And a glass of wine. Leftovers: This is best served as soon as it’s made. However, if you have leftovers, you can store them in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Here it’s served here with my perfect brown rice and steamed asparagus. If you’re lucky, the sauce from the salmon and the leeks will run all over your plate and make for some extra tasty rice and asparagus. Hint, hint: Make this happen. Oh and basmati brown rice is also divine with this. As is roasted asparagus instead of steamed. Just put it in the oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper and it cooks in about the same time as the fish. Or sub in some green beans or broccoli or another favorite vegetable. This is a pretty versatile dish for pairing. Do your gut microbiome a favor and try out some salmon and leeks soon. Enjoy! XO, Kathryn P.S. Have you tried leeks? What’s your favorite way to prepare them? Leave me a comment below - I’m always looking for new ideas! Salmon: In most areas of the US, you need to buy your salmon on the day you plan to use it. It does not keep for long. I plan for this and cook salmon on days when I know I’ll be grocery shopping. Or I use frozen wild-caught Alaskan salmon. It’s frozen right after it’s caught and cleaned, so it’s as fresh as you can get, apart from cozying up to a fisherman as he docks his boat. Leeks: Leeks need to be carefully cleaned to get the dirt out of the inner layers. See the instructions below and the photos above for the stages of this. Yield: This recipe is written to serve two, but you can certainly double the recipe if needed. Serving: This salmon dish pairs great with rice and your favorite veggie. And a glass of wine. 😉 Leftovers: This is best served as soon as it’s made. However, if you have leftovers, you can store them in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
