Herb-Crusted Salmon

Kyle and I hit up Whole Foods Market for the first time last weekend as we transition our diet into eating solely organic foods and attempting to eat more locally grown foods. I must admit that he had a terrible time pulling me away from the butcher, the cheese monger, and the seafood monger and I'd estimate that nearly half of what we spent that day was divided between these three areas - and I'm not at all ashamed to admit it. I mean, Whole Foods is a 40 minute drive for us and I really didn't know the next time we'd be back (although little did I know then that we're going back tonight) so I loaded up the cart with great meats and cheeses that freeze well and was like a kid in a candy store at the seafood monger as I picked out wild shrimp and wild salmon - two things that we cannot find at the seafood counter in our local supermarket but that I feel are totally worth the extra money (although not that much extra because the wild jumbo shrimp were on sale for $10.99/lb - a bargain in my eyes!).

So back to the salmon. We don't eat a lot of fish. And while I have been fully aware of the health benefits fish provides, it's never been a big part of our diet because of two reasons: 1.) Kyle claims that he's never been a big fan, and 2.) I've been afraid to cook it for fear of it being horrible. I've recently decided that I've had enough of these two excuses and so fish will now be a more regular part of our weekly menus...starting with this salmon we picked up last weekend. I had no idea how to prepare it but bought it anyway, figuring that I can find a recipe when I got home. Well...uhh...I never really found an actual recipe that I wanted to follow but was inspired by Katie's herb-crusted salmon and decided to make a few changes. The salmon was paired with some herb-roasted potatoes (quartered small white potatoes, mixed with garlic powder, thyme, rosemary, Kosher salt, black pepper, and drizzled with olive oil then baked for 35-40 minutes at 400 degrees F) I got 2 big thumbs up from Kyle on this one, a real treat for me to see, and so as my fish confidence rises, you'll be seeing more and more fish dishes here. Enjoy!

Herb-Crusted Salmon

• 2 6oz salmon filets (about 1 1/2" thick)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup garlic and herb breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp fresh thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• couple sprinkles of garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp milk

1. In a medium oven-safe saute pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Pre-heat broiler in oven and move rack to middle of oven.
2. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, adding the milk last and adding enough so that the mixture just starts to stick together when pressed.
3. Cover flesh side of each salmon piece with breadcrumb mixture and carefully place salmon skin-side down in the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes.
4. Transfer saute pan to oven and continue to cook fish under the broiler for an additional 3-4 minutes or until fish is firm and begins to flake. Be sure that the breading does not burn under the broiler. Using an oven mitt or pot holder, remove the pan from the oven and serve fish. Provided the fish is thoroughly cooked, it will come right off the skin as you eat it.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2