IN THE ROTATION: Summer Salmon Bowls
The perfect dinner for right now, plus a foolproof method for grilling fish
Back in May, I spent almost two weeks in Los Angeles working on the chef Michael Symon’s new cookbook, which will be out next spring. This is the fourth book I have styled for Chef Symon, and I love working with him. His recipes are super simple on the page and always delicious and fun. As you probably already know, Michael is a big proponent of outdoor and live-fire cooking, and this book is the perfect embodiment of that.
I love cooking over fire, too. It’s only natural, right? Without giving away too much about the book, it is out to prove that there is nothing that can’t be cooked on a grill. When I came back home after this shoot, I found myself gravitating toward some of the same techniques that we’d been using until I had no hair left on my right arm, and even that didn’t slow me down.
I grill a lot in the summer, though I admit, most of the time it’s on a gas grill, because it’s so convenient. I have mine just outside my kitchen and I use it almost every day. It’s just as easy as turning on the stove, but there’s less mess, and it doesn’t heat up the house.
When it comes to grilling fish, there’s an added bonus: the smell of cooked fish remains outdoors, where it belongs. I don’t need to be reminded for two days that I had salmon for dinner. Plus, I like my fish (especially salmon) seared when appropriate, and this is something I avoid doing inside.
To make things even simpler, I like to use a pan on the grill. While this method does leave you with a pan to wash, it’s a worthy trade-off, because it opens up all sorts of tasty possibilities — including the salmon bowl recipe I’m sharing today.
A super-easy way to grill fish
Many people (including me) have some trepidation about cooking fish directly on the grill, because there is always the possibility that it might stick. But cooking in a cast-iron skillet, which can absolutely withstand the extreme heat of the grill, all but eliminates this eventuality.
If you’re cooking fish in a pan on the grill and it does stick a little, don’t stress. One way to combat this, and to make handling the fish a bit easier, is to slide the pan to the cool side of the grill. This will help the fish release from the pan a little more easily.
Safety tip: When you’re done grilling, you may want to use the hot pan to carry the fish indoors. In this case, be sure to wrap a dry towel around the handle to remind yourself— and anyone else who wanders into the kitchen— that the pan is still hot. Better yet, switch off the grill, transfer the fish to a plate, and leave the pan on the grill to cool.
The first fish I cooked this way after my trip to L.A. was striped bass from my local fisherman. I take what he has, and then I think about how I’ll cook it and what I’ll serve it with. Striped bass is meaty and moist (though somewhat bland), and needs to be cooked through. It’s also fairly thick, so it can withstand the high heat of the grill and the screaming hot cast-iron skillet.
I had some garlic scape pesto in the fridge, so I seasoned the fish with salt and pepper and coated it with some of the pesto. I put some oil in the pan and added the fish. It was delightfully sizzling in just a few minutes, and the oil-base marinade ensured it didn’t stick.
The striped bass turned out so well that I decided to adapt one of our dinner go-tos — summer salmon bowls — using a similar technique.
