Indulging on Clementine grilled salmon

Hello there! I am excited to post about a new recipe that I tried last Sunday. This is a one-dish meal. Perfect for fancy lunch or a nice dinner.

The recipe was based on this one, but I ended up making something sufficiently different to actually write about it, instead of just re-posting :-). The thing is, due to certain circumstances I have an excess of couscous and clementines with me; I recently bought salmon to have my monthly intake of omega-3 oils, and I wanted to try something that involved all three (and I also owed you a salmon recipe... even though the ingredients list changed a bit : P). I am happy to share decent results!

One thing you should know, though: I am more of a pragmatic than picky cook. That is, I arbitrarily substitute/delete ingredients depending upon my pantry inventory. Feel free to try, improve, and come back with feedback ;-). Without further due...

Clementine Salmon on Couscous

Portions: I cook for myself, so I actually had to scale down the recipe... just double up the quantities and you'll get the original recipe for 2 people.

It may have taken me about 20 minutes to prepare.


Ingredients:

Filet:
1 salmon filet
1/8 tsp clementine zest
1/8 tsp lemon zest
Freshly ground salt and pepper
A few rosemary leaves (fresh or dry)
A tinge of African heat hot spices (optional)

Couscous:
1/3 cup of cooked couscous (at least a bit warm)
1 clementine
2 campari tomatoes (or half a regular tomato)
1 or 2 scallions
olive oil and lemon to taste

1. Combine zests, rosemary, spices, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.

2. Coat your salmon fillet, let it stand for 10 or 15min. Let it stand while you heat some oil* on a pan. Swirl to coat.

3. Put the seasoned face of the filet down on the pan and cook until browned (depending on how thick your filet is, this could be 3 to 5 min.)

Add salt and pepper to the other side of the steak and flip. Let it cook for another 3min or so.

4. In the mean time, chop clementine in thirds, tomatoes, and scallions. Place couscous in a bowl and your just chopped friends. I added a bit more of salt and pepper here.

When salmon is ready, place it on top of everything. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice to taste. Enjoy!

Last comments: I have to say I was stingy with the scallions and I regret. I didn't use the original garlic nor the onions because I was not in the mood, but having a substitute like the scallion does add to the taste. Otherwise, it's too bland. Also, for the beginner cook, watch out your salmon while you chop, you want your filet browned, not blacked (like mine :-) ).

Oh, and sorry for the quality of the pictures. It's the very first time I photo-document while I cook and I found it best to use my cellphone. It's hard enough for me to follow the recipe!

* I personally use canola oil. As far as I know, you should not saute with olive oil. Even though it is much tastier, at high temperatures its chemistry changes and it's bad for health. A common substitute is avocado oil, but I haven't tried it. For more substitutes, look over at Spectrum oils: their labels indicate whether the oil is refined for high heat or not.