Fire Up the Grill

Salmon 101

A small 3-oz serving of wild salmon has about 156 calories and 23 grams of protein, plus 6 grams of fat. Omega 3 fatty acids are salmon's claim to fame, “providing anywhere between 2-3 grams per 3-oz. serving,” says Julia Renee Zumpano, a registered dietitian at the Center for Preventive Cardiology Cleveland Clinic. (To put that into perspective, that's the nutrient equivalent of taking three days' worth of soft gels of fish oil in supplement form.) “Omega 3 fatty acids can help reduce blood triglycerides, blood pressure, and reduce swelling.”

“Wild is better than farmed,” says Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, an assertion with which most of our experts agree. Zumpano points out that farmed salmon may contain more saturated fat, calories, pollutants and antibiotics than wild salmon. Salmon does have low mercury levels, according to the FDA.

Cook's Notes: So it was a no brainer what to serve for dinner. The sauce was enough for 6 salmon fillets. Grilled chicken could be substituted for the salmon. The sweet savory taste was so good you'll find yourself spooning right out of the pan.  

Salmon with Cherry Balsamic Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4-6 salmon fillets
• 1 can (15 oz.) dark cherries
• 1 TB cornstarch
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup dark good quality dark balsamic vinegar ( I used a Black Cherry Balsamic)
• 1/4 tsp.each sea salt and ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 TB. cherry jam

Directions:

• Rinse salmon and pat dry. Place a large piece of foil  on a plate and add the salmon fillets. 
• Drain cherries and reserve 1/3 cup of juice. Add cornstarch to the reserved cherry juice and mix well. 
• In a saucepan add reserved cherry juice, cherries, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt . pepper, wine and cherry jam.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring to combine ingredients.Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 5 minutes or until sauce has reduced and thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.  
• Divide the sauce in half reserving rest of sauce for serving. 
• Remove salmon from the plate and grill fillets on the foil. Drizzle half of the sauce over the salmon and grill salmon about  9 minutes. Serve the cooked salmon with rest of the Balsamic Cherry Sauce.