Braised Salmon Steaks (p. 363) with Basic Rice Pilaf (p. 225)

It's nice to get out of the world of soups and pastas and back to meat dishes for a little while -- last night's choice was Braised Salmon Steaks using Alaskan wild salmon.

Dredge the steaks in flour and shake off any excess. Fry the steaks for a couple of minutes per side just to brown them a little and then remove the fish to an oven safe dish.

They look really pretty after being fried:

Using the same skillet that the fish was fried in, sauté thinly sliced onion with garlic, a bay leaf, and salt until the onions are very soft. Add paprika and lemon juice to the onions and mix together well. Leave the pan on the heat only until the lemon juice has had the chance to warm up, then pour the mixture evenly over the fish steaks.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the steaks are thoroughly cooked.

This was really nice (although the Harris Teeter salmon wasn't the best we've ever had -- Fresh Market has spoiled us.) The fish was a little sweet from the paprika, and the onions were delicious.

I paired the fish with a basic rice pilaf, which ended up going really well with the salmon. It's also pretty easy to make and I got to use more of my homemade chicken stock.

Keep the chicken stock at a low simmer while gently sautéing pine nuts and chopped almonds in olive oil over low heat.

When the nuts begin to brown and smell delicious, set them aside with a slotted spoon.

Using the same pan and olive oil that the nuts were in, sauté onions until they are very soft. Add dry rice to the onions and stir for a few minutes, until the rice has darkened slightly, and then add the hot chicken stock, a cinnamon stick, and salt and pepper.

Stir the ingredients together and then let cook, covered, over a low heat until the liquid has been absorbed. Mine only took about 15 minutes.

Once the pilaf is ready remove it from the heat and set it aside for five minutes. Add the toasted nuts as well as golden raisins that have been plumped in hot water and stir together. Ta da!

This was surprisingly sweet (because of the raisins) and the taste of the toasted nuts added a lot. Matt thought the rice went so well with the fish because the pilaf was pretty filling and the fish pretty light.

All in all, another delicious meal!

salmon -- $8.09

onion -- $1.11

lemon -- $.50

Total Cost of Braised Salmon Steaks: $9.70

almonds -- $1.99

raisins -- $3.19

onion -- $1.11

Total Cost of Basic Rice Pilaf: $6.29