Salmon with Tangerine Couscous
I went by the fish market on the way home from work and got some delicious fresh salmon. I slow cooked the salmon Michael Symon's way. 200 degrees, 25 minutes.
While that was cooking, I prepared the tangerines. I used 5 tangerines for this recipe, but you could use less. I wanted to make sure I really got the citrus flavor throughout. I started by zesting three of them. I juiced four tangerines. I segmented 1 tangerine. I chopped some cilantro and toasted some walnuts. (I also had a few pistachios in the cabinet.)
In a saucepan I added about a 1/2 cup of chicken stock, 1/2 the tangerine zest and about 1/2 cup of juice, and about a tablespoon of honey. I added a dash of salt and come red pepper flakes. I reduced it down to a few tablespoons over a medium heat. After the salmon was finished, I glazed the top of the salmon with the reduction and sprinkled some zest and cilantro leaves for garnish.
I prepared the plain couscous based on the box directions. The instructions called for two cups of liquid, so I added a cup of chicken stock, 1/4 cup of water and 3/4 cup of tangerine juice. In a bowl I mixed the rest of the tangerine zest, a tablespoon of olive oil, about a 1/2 cup of cilantro, one heaping teaspoon of cumin and salt and pepper. I added this mixture and the nuts to the couscous and fluffed with a fork.
You could easily replace the couscous with brown rice (for a gluten free version) or another grain. It just happened to be what I had in the cabinet. The salmon could easily be replaced by chicken or a white fish. Even a pork chop would work well I think. I could see adding dried cranberries or maybe even pomegranate seeds. (If I had had any left over I would have used them.) Blood orange or even mandarin oranges would work fine. It's a pretty versatile dish.
Usually I blog YOU GOTTA TRY THIS! But I have to admit, this wasn't my all time favorite. David liked it a lot, but he really likes fruit dishes.
The salmon was AMAZING as always. I can't stress enough how you should try this. It doesn't taste fishy at all ... just fresh. SO GOOD! And I don't think you can pull this off without the pistachios. They added a nice crunch and salt.
But if I was going to make this again, I would cut down on the tangerine quite a bit. I think I would add all chicken stock to the couscous and no juice. I would add maybe two small tangerines segmented and a little zest and that's all. I would skip the glaze. But David said no, he liked the tangerine flavor so pronounced. It's definitely different and worth a try to see what you think if you are feeling adventurous. Tangerine couscous. Who knew?
You can play with the amounts of all the ingredients. You really can't go wrong. Add more or less of the ingredients to get the taste that is best for your pallet. David thought more tangerine, I thought less was best. Here is what you need to get started:
Salmon with Tangerine Couscous
- One box plain couscous or other rice or grain
- Salmon, portioned as desired for each person
- 2-5 tangerines, zested, juiced and segmented as desired for tangerine taste
- 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
- Walnuts, pistachios or other nut, toasted
- Cumin, 1-2 teaspoons
- Olive oil, 1 tablespoon or more if desired
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Red pepper flakes, to taste
- Honey, 1 tablespoon
- Chicken stock, 1-2 cups as needed for couscous
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