Salmon with Caramelized Brussel Sprouts and Shitaki Mushrooms, Balsamic Reduction (serves 4)
-4 8oz. salmon filet, skin on
-2 cups brussel sprouts (very base cut off and outer leaves peeled, cut into quarters)
-2 cups shitaki mushrooms (stems removed, cut into quarter inch slices)
-2 medium shallots, cut into small dice
-2 cloves garlic, cut into fine dice
-2 tbsp freshly chopped thyme
-2 tbsp fresh basil, thinly sliced
-1 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, thinly sliced
-3 tbsp unsalted butter
-olive oil
-kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
- In sautee pan over medium high heat, sautee mushrooms in olive oil. season with some salt and pepper. After nicely browned, remove from pan and set aside.
-Season salmon filets with salt, pepper and some fresh chopped thyme and place skin side down in large pre-heated sautee pan with olive oil. You can start with a high heat to get some sear on skin and then reduce to medium low. Add a tbsp of butter. This will add some flavor and help to brown the skin. You can continue to cook the filet on the skin side and do not need to flip it. You will see it start to cook thru from the bottom and become gradually less translucent near the top. Cook until the bottom two thirds of the filet appear cooked and top third still appears translucent.
-As salmon is cooking, in separate sautee pan, add some olive oil and turn to medium high. When oil just starts to lightly smoke, add brussel sprouts and season with some salt and pepper. Do not agitate the pan too often, as you want the sprouts to start getting nice and dark brown (caramelized). Flip or stir occassionally to evenly brown. After they have become uniformly brown, reduce heat some and add remaining two tbsp of butter, shallots, garlic and remaining thyme. Incorporate well and allow to cook together for several minutes. Add shitaki mushrooms, basil and parsley and incorporate. Check seasoning.
-To plate, arrange a pile of sprout-mushroom mixture in the center of plate. Squirt some balsamic reduction over and around vegetables. Place a salmon filet on top of each pile of veg and serve.
