Venezuelan Salmon

Tonight I needed a meal that was light, quick and easy since Russ and I wanted to run after work and still be able to eat at a decent hour. I decided on one of the recipes I brought home from my time in Venezuela several years ago. I spent most of a summer while in graduate school in Caracas, Venezuela staying with Ernesto’s family. Ernesto is my Venezuelan brother and his family took me that summer as their American daughter. It was a wonderful experience and I got to see lots of their beautiful country! I also was able to enjoy lots of its delicious food and drinks. I fell in love with mangos there, tasted papaya, arepas, and yuca for the first time, ate lots of fresh seafood, enjoyed a Venezuelan cook out, drank lots of fresh juices including passion fruit, snacked on too many delicious pastries, and the list goes on and on. One of the seafood dishes I ate on multiple occasions for every meal including breakfast was Ernesto’s Dad’s salmon. I have made arepas for Russ before, but I have not made him any of the other Venezuelan dishes yet… so tonight I decided to serve Senor Vidal’s Salmon a la Plancha.

To make the salmon you start by sprinkling it with garlic powder, salt, pepper and then marinate it in a mixture of white wine, olive oil, and parsley. Senor Vidal cooks his salmon on the griddle, but we decided to grill it. We let it marinate for about an hour and then Russ grilled it for about 10 or so minutes on the Egg. I served it with corn and a salad.

This is a super simple recipe that has great flavor and for me brings back wonderful memories of sitting in their kitchen with the doors and window open and eating salmon for breakfast. My family loves this dish too and my Dad has made it on a number of occasions. Tonight’s salmon turned out really well, only it was not as good as Senor Vidal’s. Next time we’ll marinate it a little longer. Russ really liked the salmon and we both enjoyed the simplicity of the dish and its great flavor. Russ rates the salmon a 9.

Filet de Salmon a la Plancha, Senor Vidal

1. ajo en polvo (garlic powder)
2. perejil molido (dried parsley)
3. pimienta (pepper)
4. aceite de oliva (olive oil)
5. vino blanco (white wine)
6. sal al gusto (salt to taste)

Cook for about 10 to 12 minutes